Sheer farce called Tamil, courtesy Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin. How? At a time when dogged Stalin is ready to give US $ 10 million to any one who corroborates the writings in the world’s first civilization --- Sindhu Sabhyata --- that is 5000+ years ago was in Tamil language thus older than Sanskrit…What says he means Sanskrit is ephemeral in front of Tamil. Thus is in direct contravention of Sanskrit being the oldest language in India. A to-be first timer in the whole world today? This at best time when Sanskrit is being globally
tom-tomed as the world’s oldest / eldest language, and ironically, it is not so at all. At a time when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and the ruling DMK chief Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin is constantly harpin on two lamha Tamil Nadu is a linguistically diverse state, with Tamil being the official language. However, several other languages are spoken across different communities. Here is a list of the languages spoken in Tamil Nadu:
Tamil (தமிழ்) - The primary and official language of Tamil Nadu. But that apart, so many other lingos are spoken in equal spirit and vibrance and enthusiasm. Telugu (తెలుగు) - Spoken mainly by Telugu communities in northern Tamil Nadu.Malayalam (മലയാളം) - Spoken by communities near the Kerala border, such as in Kanyakumari and Coimbatore districts.Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) - Spoken by Kannada-speaking communities, particularly in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts. Urdu (اردو) - Spoken primarily by Muslim communities across the state.
Hindi (हिन्दी) - Spoken by North Indian migrants and in educational institutions. Irula - Spoken by the Irula tribal community in the Nilgiris and surrounding areas. Badaga - A Dravidian language spoken by the Badaga community in the Nilgiris. Kurumba - A tribal language spoken in the Western Ghats. Toda - Spoken by the Toda community in the Nilgiris. Kota - Another Nilgiris tribal language spoken by the Kota community. Other Languages Spoken Due to Migration:
Saurashtra - Spoken by the Saurashtrian community, particularly in Madurai and surrounding regions. Marathi - Spoken by some Maharashtrian communities. Gujarati - Spoken by business communities in Chennai and Coimbatore.Punjabi Spoken by a small number of Punjabi migrants. Bengali - Spoken by a small Bengali-speaking population in cities. Odia - Spoken by migrant workers from Odisha. Sindhi - Spoken by the Sindhi community, mainly in Chennai.
Tamil Nadu's linguistic diversity is a reflection of its rich cultural and historical influences. However, Tamil remains the dominant and most widely spoken language.
உத்திரட்டாதிThe word 'Tamil' or 'Tamilan' successively changed into 'Dramila', 'Dramida' and 'Dravida' in North India and at first denoted only the Tamil language, as all the other Dravidian dialects separated themselves from Tamil or came into prominence one by one only after the dawn of the Christian era.
While there isn't a definitive, agreed-upon number, Tamil has numerous dialects and variations, including spoken forms like Madras Tamil, Madurai Tamil, and Kongu Tamil, as well as a classical form used in writing.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Dialects:
Tamil dialects are primarily differentiated by phonological changes and sound shifts that have occurred over time, leading to variations in pronunciation and vocabulary.
Examples of Tamil dialects: Madras Tamil, Madurai Tamil, Kongu Tamil, Nellai (Tirunelveli) Tamil, Tanjore Tamil, and Brahmin Tamil.
Regional Variations: Dialects are spoken in different parts of Tamil Nadu and also in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Sri Lankan Tamil Dialects: Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Negombo are some examples of Sri Lankan Tamil dialects.
Spoken vs. Written (Classical) Tamil:
Tamil has a clear distinction between its formal or classic variety (centamil) used in writing and its colloquial form (koduntamil) used in everyday speech.
Other Tamiloid Languages:
While not dialects of Tamil, languages like Irula, Kurumba, and Badaga are closely related Dravidian languages and are sometimes grouped as Tamiloid languages.
Influence of Other Languages:
Some Tamil dialects, like Palakkad Tamil, have Malayalam influence, while Sankethi dialect, spoken in Karnataka, has Kannada influence.
Under the circumstances, which Tamil is being talked about by Stalin/ For that matter, how national is Tamil? Why should Tamil Nadu be a 2-lingo state when the whole country is a 3-language state?