Demystifying The Tamil Language — The Oldest Language of the World
India is known for its diversity of culture and languages and according to an estimate nearly 1600 languages are spoken across the country. However, none of these 1600 languages are as ancient or as distinctive as the Tamil language. The language, which is spoken primarily in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is also spoken by more than 80 million speak it across the globe. It is one of the major languages of the Dravidian family and is deemed the oldest language in the world. Hence it is not surprising that Tamil literature is the oldest in the world, a fact that is reinstated by the wide range of religious scriptures, historical texts, and astrology books in Tamil.
Bestowed The Status Of A Classical Language
Contrary to the popular belief, Tamil is not derived from Sanskrit even though the two languages do share some common words and phrases. According to research conducted by the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), Tamil is the oldest spoken language in the world but Sanskrit is the oldest written language. Moreover, the abundance of literary and history books in Tamil further establishes its ancient origins.
All these aspects fulfill the three criteria that define a classical language, namely the language having ancient origins, its independent tradition, and possession of a considerable body of ancient literature. Hence, the language has been bestowed the status of a classical language in 2004.
Tracing The History Of the Tamil Language
Tamil language is believed to be more than 5000 years old and hence predates even the Sanskrit language. The earliest Tamil writings exist in the form of inscriptions and potsherds that date back to as early as the 5th century BCE. Furthermore, the existence of ancient scriptures, such as Garuda Puranam in Tamil, has also helped in confirming its ancient origins.
Back in 2010, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadur proclaimed the Tamil language to be the mother of all languages. He justified his statement by referring to the findings of Robert Cadwell, a linguist, who had discovered more than 20 words in the Vedas. Robert Caldwell was also responsible for coining the term Dravidian languages and was the first to declare Tamil as a classical language. The Chief Minister further stated that the roots of Tamil words are found in several languages across the globe and even though they have been modified significantly, the semantic meaning of these words has remained unchanged.
The Three Periods of the Tamil Language
To make understanding the Tamil language easier, its history has been divided into three main periods. Each of these three periods is explained in brief as follows.
Old Tamil: The time from 450 BCE to 700 CE is designated as the period of Old Tamil. The inscriptions during this time were written in a variant of Brahmi script, known as Tamil Brahmi and many of the scriptures written from the Old Tamil era have survived across the centuries.
Middle Tamil: Old Tamil gradually evolved into Middle Tamil and the transformation was complete by the end of the 8th century CE. During the era of Middle Tamil, the language underwent significant phonological and grammatical changes and it also marked the evolution of the present tense marker, which was not present in the language earlier. One of the most prominent religious texts written during this period is the Tamil Ramayana. The text was composed by poet Kambar in the 12th century and is based on Valmiki Ramayan. However, Kamba Ramayana in Tamil differs from the Sanskrit version in terms of spiritual concepts as well as specific aspects of the story.
Modern Tamil: The period of Modern Tamil began after the 13th century and it was during this period that the language evolved into its current form in both writing and speaking. The period saw the translation of many ancient texts and scriptures composed originally in Sanskrit into the Tamil language. The most prominent of these include the Bhagavad Gita in Tamil, the works of Aryabhatta, and the teachings of Chankaya, to name a few.
Relationship Between Tamil Language And Culture
The Tamil language is deeply integrated with the Tamil culture and is considered an important part of the Tamil identity. The Tamil people mostly worship the various avatars or offsprings of Shiva and Vishnu and religious texts like Vishnu Sahasranamam Tamil are extremely popular within the community. They exhibit a great passion and love for spiritual knowledge and guidance and this is evident from the numerous translation of Sanskrit texts into Tamil. Today, one can find countless versions of texts like Ramayanam and Mahabratam in Tamil that help people gain a better understanding of the mythology of North India in a language they excel in.
Final Thoughts
Tamil is one of the most beautiful languages and its popularity is increasing significantly. This is evident from the fact that many writers choose to translate various books and scriptures into this old and classical language.
