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Language

Tamil

TAH-mizh
Also Known As தமிழ் (Tamiḻ)
Dravidian Languages

Tamil is a Dravidian language, official in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, in Sri Lanka and in Singapore, with a continuous literary tradition attested from at least the early centuries CE in the Sangam corpus, among the longest unbroken literary traditions of any living language. India formally recognizes Tamil as a Classical Language, a designation reserved for a small number of languages with an ancient independent literature, a status Tamil holds alongside its ordinary status as a living language with tens of millions of native speakers, not instead of it. It is written in its own Tamil script, descended from Brahmi and distinct from Devanagari.

Facts
ISO 639-3 Code
ta 4
Speaker Count
75,000,000 4
Status
Living 4
Living by native-speaker count; India also separately recognizes Tamil as a Classical Language for the antiquity of its literature, a status this schemas classical value does not capture since that value is defined here as no native speakers.
Attested From (Year)
from 300 BCE 5
Circa 300 BCE; the Tolkappiyam, the oldest extant Tamil text, is dated as early as the 2nd century BCE, and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions from Keezhadi have been claimed to date to around 580 BCE, an earlier date debated among scholars.
Region
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, India; Northern and Eastern provinces, Sri Lanka; Malaysia, Singapore, diaspora communities worldwide 5
Classification
Language Kind
Safe 1
Official Status
Official Language 2
Browse and compare
Word Order
SOV 3
Tamil
Filter Results1 entry

Tamil Script

Tamil
Connections

In Family

Dravidian, Language Families
Source The Cambridge Encyclopedia of LanguageDavid Crystal (editor)

Written In

Tamil Script, Scripts
Source Wikipedia: Tamil Script
In the Other Atlases

Cases Where Used

Aastha TV

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Hope Channel

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Radio Veritas Asia

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Tamil Nadu

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Tamil

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Tamils (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1
Quote, Lead sentence 1
The Tamils ( TAM-ilz, TAH-milz), also known by their demonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent.

Original Language Of

10 Endrathukulla

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source 10 Endrathukulla (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language road action film written and directed by Vijay Milton
2.0 (film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

24 (2016 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Agni Natchathiram

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Agni Natchathiram (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Agni Natchathiram (transl. Fire star) is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language masala film
Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic psychological action thriller film directed by Sasi
All in All Azhagu Raja

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source All in All Azhagu Raja (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by M. Rajesh
Anjaan (2014 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Arrambam

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Arrambam (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Arrambam (transl. Beginning) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Vishnuvardhan.
Doctor (2021 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Doctor (2021 film) (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Indian Tamil-language action black comedy film
Enthiran

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ghajini (2005 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ghajinikanth

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Ghajinikanth (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film
Kalvanin Kadhali (2006 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Kalvanin Kadhali (2006 film) (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film
Kaththi

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Kochadaiiyaan

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Kuruvi

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Kuruvi (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Indian Tamil-language action thriller film
Maan Karate

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Maan Karate (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language fantasy sports comedy film
Maari 2

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Maari 2 (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Maari 2 is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Balaji Mohan.
Manmadhan (film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Manmadhan (film) (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
a 2004 Indian Tamil-language romantic crime thriller film
Paayum Puli (2015 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Paayum Puli (2015 film) (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Indian Tamil language action thriller film
Pudhiya Geethai

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Pudhiya Geethai (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language supernatural action drama film
Puli (2015 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Raja Rani (2013 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Raja Rani (2013 film) (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy drama film
Remo (film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Remo (film) (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film
Sandakozhi

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Sandakozhi (Wikipedia)Lead sentence [original-language]
Quote, Lead sentence [original-language]
Sandakozhi (transl. Fighting Rooster) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action drama film
Sandakozhi 2

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Sandakozhi 2 (Wikipedia)Lead sentence [original-language]
Quote, Lead sentence [original-language]
Sandakozhi 2 (transl. Fighting Rooster 2) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action drama film
Santosh Subramaniam

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Santosh Subramaniam (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film
Sarkar (2018 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Spyder (film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Spyder (film) (Wikipedia)Lead sentence [original-language]
Quote, Lead sentence [original-language]
The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu and Tamil languages
Sura (film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Sura (film) (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
Tamil-language action comedy film
Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film
Thodari

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Uyire Uyire

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Uyire Uyire (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
a 2016 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy drama film
Vedalam

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Vedalam (Wikipedia)Lead, language
Quote, Lead, language
is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action film directed and co-written by Siva
Villu (film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Villu (film) (Wikipedia)Lead, first sentence [country]
Quote, Lead, first sentence [country]
is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film
Thiruvalluvar

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Tirukkural

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Found In

Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikipedia: Tamil LanguageLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Tamil (தமிழ், Tamiḻ, pronounced [t̪amiɻ] ) is a Dravidian language spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia where they are concentrated in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry in India and the Northern and Eastern Provinces in Sri Lanka.
Sources
1. Glottolog: Tamil (Glottolog languoid tami1289)
GlottologEndangerment, AES status
Quote, Endangerment, AES status
AES status: not endangered
View the Source
2. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
David Crystal (editor), Cambridge University Press, 2010
  • Official status, Tamil entity page
    Tamil is a Dravidian language, official in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, in Sri Lanka and in Singapore, with a continuous literary tradition attested from at least the early centuries CE in the Sangam corpus, among the longest unbroken literary traditions of any living language.
  • In Family: Dravidian
3. WALS Online: Datapoint Tamil / Order of Subject, Object and Verb
WALS OnlineValue
Quote, Value
Value: SOV
View the Source
4. Ethnologue: Languages of the World
SIL International, 2024
  • ISO 639-3 Code: ta
  • Speaker Count: 75,000,000
  • Status: Living
View the Source
5. Wikipedia: Tamil Language
Wikipedia
  • infobox
    concentrated in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
  • Quote
    attested since c. 300 BCE
View the Source
Wikipedia: Tamil Script
Written In: Tamil ScriptView the Source
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