The tamoul (or Tamilian ; local name: tamiḻ /தமிழ் ) is the language of the Tamouls and a language of India, spoken in the State about the Tamil Nadu and the territorial Union about Pondichéry (Old territory of French), where it has the statute of regional Langue official. It is also official language in Singapore and the Sri Lanka. There exist communities speaking tamoul in the islands Fiji, in Malaysia, Burma, South Africa, with the Mauritius and the Réunion, but also in Europe and North America and also in Oceania Notamment in Australia finally the tamoul is widespread through all the continents of the World. The full number of speakers is evaluated to 74 million, according to the edition of 1999 of the World Almanac .

The tamoul belongs to the family of the Langues dravidiennes. It has been one of the oldest languages in the world always used, remained almost unchanged for 2500 years. He is written by means of a Alphasyllabaire derived from the Grantha, coming itself undoubtedly from the Brâhmî. The language however includes/understands many dialects rather distant from/to each other.

Dialects

Being given the low level of elimination of illiteracy which reigned in India lasting several centuries, there exists a great divergence between the language tamoule written (centamil) and the spoken language (koduntamil). In the same way, the training being made more word of mount than starting from the schoolbooks, it is not rare that the pronunciation of a word varies from one village to another, even which it does not have anything any more to see with the written word…

In a more general way, there exists a tamoul arts person, used in the newspapers, the books, etc, which complies with strict rules of orthography, grammar and syntax; and a popular tamoul, used with the oral examination or in the media; such a situation can be described as Diglossie. The popular tamoul is extremely variable from one country to another, from one area to another, even from one village to another: even a speaker controlling the literary tamoul, i.e. official, can nothing include/understand with this language, which uses in abundance of the foreign names ( lugéj : luggage, of English luggage , zanti : nice, of French…) often adapted to the pronunciation of the language. This is explained by the fact that an important community tamile lies in foreign countries, the population living in these countries mixing the tamoul with the spoken language in the country. One can note that Tamil spoken in India is popular Tamil, Tamil spoken in Sri Lanka being more arts person.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the grammairiens tamouls try to bring closer the language written to the spoken language, while preserving the characteristics of this very old writing.

Alphabet

See also: Alphabet tamoul

Example of text tamoul

Tamoul

மனிதப்பிறவியினர்சகலரும்சதந்கிரமாகவஅவர்கன்மகிப்பிலும்உரிமைகளிம்சமமானவர்கள்.

Transcription

marupadiyum sandippoon

Figures

The tamoul, in the beginning derived from the grantha, used a clean numbering system decimal:

This marking system has not been used any more for several centuries, but one finds such inscriptions on the various temples hindouists. One uses the figures today known as " arabes".

Grammar

The tamoul is a post-positional language mainly SOV, and has a very strict syntax:

  • the adjectives precede the names;
  • the direct objects precede the indirect objects;
  • the adjectives and adverbial phrases of time precede those relating to the place;
The tamoul account three times: past, present and future. The context of the sentence makes it possible to locate with more precision. Not important: there does not exist verb in tamoul to express the possession; one has recourse to a formula employing a Datif (indirect object).

Substantive of the tamoul

In tamoul, each substantive can have eight case. The cases are:

  • the Personal (prone)

  • the Accusative (complement direct object)
  • the Genitive (possessive)
  • the Dative (direction)
  • the Vocative (interpellatif)
  • the Ablative (source)
  • the Instrumental (the means)
  • the Associative (with).

Verbs

Syntax is marked by the position of the conjugated verb, always at the end of the sentence. The verbs are divided into 2 groups:

  • the verbs " forts" : the radical of the present finishes in K marked G or H (example: poga, to go )

  • the verbs " faibles" : the radical of the present finishes in kk marked K (example: koḍukka , to give )

Generally, only the principal verb is conjugated according to the subject; the other verbs take a form infinitive or dependant on their role and do not carry the mark of the person.

Conjugation

  • I: nan/- één

  • you: nii/- ay
  • it: avar/- rear or-year
  • it: ava or downstream/- has or - Al
  • that: adu/- adu (or - um with the future)
  • us: nangal/- om
  • you: ningal/- ingal or - irgal (also pronoun of courtesy)
  • they, they: avargal/- argal

Ningal (you), who is used to address to several people, is also the pronoun used to address itself to an hierarchically superior, a person older than oneself or to a relative. By opposition, one will use nii (you) to address to a subordinate, a person younger than oneself or a child. Under the influence of English, the form of courtesy is used more and more for asresser with the foreigners, independently of their age or their social class.

example: To leave for India I leave for India Naan Indiavoukou poguiréen

you leave for India nii Indiavoukou poguiray it leaves for India avar (it of courtesy) Indiavoukou poguiraar avan (it simple) Indiavoukou poguiran

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • Dictionary Freelang Dictionary tamoul-French/French-tamoul
  • Association of the Students Tamouls de France Association of the Students Tamouls de France
  • Dictionary Freelang Dictionary tamoul (spoken language) - French/French-tamoul (spoken language)
  • Phonology of Tamoul spoken

Simple: Tamil language

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