The ancient Tamil land was ruled by three famous lines of kings, namely, Cera (ceerar), Chola (coolar) Pandiya (paantiyar). The land ruled by them was Chera Nadu (ceera naatu) –Chera country, Chola Nadu (coola naatu)-Chola country and Pandiya Nadu (paantiya naatu)-Pandiaya country respectively.

The landmass covered by the present-day Kerala State formed a major part of Chera Nadu, the Central and Northern parts of present Tamil nadu were the then Chola nadu and the Southern part of Tamil Nadu was the Pandiya Nadu.

Tamils are of Dravidian origin. Many historians claim that the Dravidians, before the dawn of the history of the Tamils, were spread all over India. For various reason they eventually split into small groups. Consequently, the original language also split into different languages. Tamil is found to have retained about 80 per cent features of the original Dravidian language.

There are three major sub-groups in the Dravidian family of language, namely, South Dravidian, Central Dravidian and North Dravidian.

The language of the South Dravidian sub-group is mainly,

1. Tamil
2. Malayalam
3. Kodagu
4. Kota
5. Toda
6. Kannada
7. Tulu

The languages of the Central Dravidian sub-group are mainly:

8. Telugu
9. Gondi
10. Konda
11. Pengo
12. Manda
13. Kui
14. Kuvi
15. Kolami
16. Nayki
17. Parji
18. Gadba

The languages of the North Dravidian sub-group are mainly:

19. Kurukh
20. Malto
21. Brahmi

Tamil is spoken predominantly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is spoken also in several other Indian states. In addition, Tamil speaking populations are found in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji Islands and South Africa. Recent Tamil immigrants are found all over the world.
The distribution of Tamil-speaking population found in the States of India according to the book ‘Distribution of Languages in India in States and Union Territories’ published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages is given below:

________________________________________________________________________
State/Union Territory Tamil-Speaking
Population Percentage

Andhra Pradesh 55242 1.27
Assam & Meghalaya 2992 0.02
Bihar 15167 0.03
Gujarat 15995 0.06
Jammu & Kashmir 823 0.02
Kerala 505340 2.37
Madhya Pradesh 28735 0.07
Tamil Nadu 34817421 84.51
Maharashtra 233988 0.46
Karnataka 990409 3.38
Orissa 9160 0.04
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. 6128 0.02
Rajasthan 3564 0.01
Uttar Pradesh 9222 0.01
West Bangal 21454 0.05
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 14518 12.62
Delhi 37 343 0.92
Lackshadeep, and Minicoy Islands 113 0.35
Manipur 834 0.08
Tripura 82 —-
Dadra and Nagar havel 11 0.01
Goa, Daman, and D 3347 0.39
Pondicherry 419830 88.95
Nagaland 469 0.09
Arunachal Pradesh 638 0.14

Art of Music

The ancient Tamils had their own music system and musical instruments. They had five kinds of Pan (pan), namely Mullai (mullai), Kurinji (kurinci), Marudham (marutam), Neythal (neytal) and Palai (paalai). Apart from this, they had seven musical notes, viz., Kural (kural), Thuttam ((tuttam), Kaykkilai (kaikkilai), Uzhai (ulai), ili (ili), Vilari (vilari) and Tharam (taaram). These seven notes might be roughly equated with the seven modern musical notes sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, da, and ni. They had their famous yazhs (yaalkal) that are comparable with the modern Veena (veena), Periyazh (periyaal), Maharahazh (makarayaal), Sengattuyazh (cenkoottuyaal), Sagottaiyazh (cakootai) and Siriyazh (ciiriyaal) are the names denoting different kinds of Yazhs (yaalkal). We learn through the Sangam works that the Tamils had many other musical instruments.

It appears that in the period of Alwars (alvaarkal) and Nayanmars (naayanmaarkal), the native system of music was retained with some deviations. In the year 1943 the patron of Tamil language, literature and arts, Dr. Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar started the Tamil Music Academy (Tamil icai cankam) at madras and thereby he attempted to restore and enrich the Tamil music.

Dance

Tamil is broadly classified into lyal (iyal) ‘prose’, Isai (icai) ‘poetry’ and Nadakam (naatakam) ‘drama’. Nattiyam (naattiyam) or Kuthu (kuuttu) is mainly concerned with dance. The ancient Tamils had two kinds of Kuthu: (1) Vetiyal (veettiyal) and (2) Podhuviyal (potuviyal). Vetiyal is especially meant for royal families and Podhuviyal is meant for the public. Later on this convention had disappeared. Since the kings had slowly lost their power the arts patronized by them also gradually lost their glamour. Thus the Vetiyal (veettiyal) type of drama became extinct. The ancient Tamil country is the home of the classical dance known as `paratanaatyam’ “Bharata Natyam.”

Drama and dance gradually emerged as two different branches. In 1960s and 1970s cinema has overshadowed drama.

Drawing and Painting:

The kings also patronized the art of drawing and painting. All over Tamil Nadu we can see temples, small and big, and almost all the temples are decorated by drawings and paintings. The paintings at Cithannavasal (cittannavaasal) near Pudhukkottai are worth seeing.
Architecture and Scripture

Tamil Nadu is famous for huge temples and marvelous gopurams ‘temple tower’. Rajarajan, the Chula king, constructed a temple in Tanjavur. This temple gopuram is very tall and it is called Thanjaipperiya Koil (tancaipperiya Kooyil) “the big temple of Tanjavur.” His son Rajendra Chola, who subdued the rulers of the region up to the river Ganges, constructed another big temple in Gangai Konda Cholapuram (kankai konta coolapuram). Except that the Thanjai periya Koil (tancaip periya kooyil) is bigger in size than the temple in Gangai Konda Cholapuram, they are exactly similar. The former was named as “Rajarajeswaram” and the latter was named as “Gangai Kondacholeswaram.” These temples are famous for the huge nandis (bulls) and lingams. The temples of Madurai Meenakshi Amman, Kanchipuram Varadharajapperumal, and Chidambaram Natarajar are worth seeing. The skill of Tamils in architecture and sculpture can be seen in these temples. The five cars carved in rocks at Mahabalipuram are extremely beautiful. There are also other works that show the skill of Tamils in sculpture. The Collections of Vigrahas ‘ icons’, statues, drawings and paintings, etc., found in the museums of Madras, Tanjavur, Pattiswaram and Kaverippumattinam deserve special mention.

Day-to-Day Life

The Tamils are mainly rice-eaters. Sambar (caampa: r), Rasam (racam) and curd (tayir) or Buttermilk is taken along with rice. Potato, beans, carrot, cabbage, eggplant, okra, and other vegetables, are the side dishes. Majority of the Tamils are non-vegetarians, though their intake is mainly vegetarian food. On special occasions a kind of sweet dish known as Payasam (paayacam) is served. After taking meals, they occasionally chew betel leaf and areca nut.

In urban areas, people favor the eatables, Iddli (ittili), Dhosai (toocai), Puri (puuri), etc., and the drinks coffee, tea or milk. In rural areas people take rice. Now a day almost all the villages are being urbanized in this respect. Especially youngsters are fond of Tiffin in the morning times. It may also be mentioned that there are people in villages who usually take Kanchi (kanci)-(rice porridge) in the morning times. Idly (ittili), Vada (vatai), Pongal (ponkal), Upma (upumaa), Puri (puuri), Chappathi (cappaatti), Dhosai (toocai), etc., are the tiffin items. Iddli (ittili), Chatni (cattini) and Sambar (caampa: r) are more common items.

As far as the clothing are concerned, Tamil gents wear dhotis (worn in the so-called lungi fashion) and shirts and ladies wear saris and jackets. Gents use pants and shirts too, though not very common. Boy’s wear half-pants and shirts. Young girls wear Dhavani (taavani), Pavadai (paavaatai) and Ravikkai (ravikkai). Some orthodox gents adorn themselves with turbans.

Silk saris namely, Kanchipattu (kaancippattu) saris woven in the town, Kanchipuram in Tami Nadu are famous for occasions to wear by ladies, their durability, etc. Ladies use a variety of ornaments. Few of them are, Modhiram (mootiram)’ ring,’ Valayal (valayal) ‘bangle,’ Mukkuthi (muukkutti) ‘nose ornament,’ Thodu (tootu) ‘ear ornament,’ necklace (neklacu) ‘neck ornament,’ Kolusi (kolucu) ‘leg ornament,’ etc. Married women wear Thali (taali) ‘mangala sutra’ as the symbol for marriage. Generally gents wear wristwatch, rings, etc. In rural areas some people wear earrings, wrist-chains, etc. Almost all the people in the rural areas are agriculturists and agricultural laborers. The office-going people, coolies, business people and other laborers inhabit the urban areas.

When known persons meet, they exchange respect and affection by the Tamil phrase vanga vanakkam (vaanka vankkam). This vanga vanakkam (please do come/welcome/greeting) is similar to namasthe or namaskar, the greetings words used widely in the North India. At the time of departure poy varukiren (poovvarukireen) or varukiren (varukireen) is used. Though this means literally ‘I come’ but implies ‘now I go and will be back to meet you again’ in the Taamil society.

Festivals:

There are a number of festivals observed in Tamil Nadu. Very famous festivals are Pongal (ponkal), Deepavali (tiipaavali) and Karthikai (kaarttikai). Among them Pongal is considered to be the special festival of Tamil Nadu and it is called Tamizhar Thirunal (tamilar tirunaal), the festival of harvest celebrated for four days in mid-January.

The first day of Pongal is known as Bogi (pooki) or Bogipandikai (pookippantikai). On that day people worship the rain, the Rain God, or the Rain Goddess. Also, all the old and unusable articles are burnt in bonfires. The second day of Pongal is the Pongal Proper. On this day people worship the Sun God. The third day is mattu Pongal (maattupponkal). On this day they bathe the cattle and worship them, as they are the mainstay of farm life. The fourth day is known as Karinal (karinaal) or Kanru Pongal (kanrupponkal). On this day villages assemble at a public place and many native games. Pongal festival takes place towards the final stage of harvest. Makara Sankaranthi celebrated elsewhere in India is the Pongal day.

Deepavali (tiipaavali) is enthusiastically celebrated in both urban and rural areas of Tamil Nadu. It is believed that Deepavali is celebrated in memory of demon, Narakasuran who was killed by Lord Vishnu on the day of Deepavali. Symbolically this means god destroys bad.

Karthikai (kaarttikai) is commonly celebrated by all Tamils putting Deebam (tiipam) ‘lights’ every night throughout the Tamil month Karthikal (kaarttikai). During this period people worship Lord Murugan also called Kartikeyan or Subramanyan son of Lord Siva.

Apart from these popular festivals, there are several other festivals such as car festivals in many villages and towns. Tamil Nadu is full of fairs and festivals in particular, car festivals.

There are also a number of folk deities who are worshipped with equal if not more fervor all over Tamil Nadu. Also the rituals and ceremonies that take place at birth, naming, ear boring, puberty, marriage and death differ from region to region, from caste to caste, and from religion to religion.

There are fifteen universities in Tamil Nadu engaged in the development of the Tamil language, literature, culture, etc. They are namely, Annamalai University at Annamalainagar, established 50 years ago; Madras University, which was established over 150 years ago; Madurai Kamaraj University at Madurai; Tami University at Tanjavur; Bharathiyar University at Coimbatore and Bharatidasan University at Tiruchirappalli and like. Apart from these universities, the International Institute of Tamil Studies functioning at Cennai also works for the development of Tamil studies. There is also a technological university in Cennai named Anna University. Mother Theresa Woman’s University at Kodaikkanal and Gandhigram Deemed University are the other universities in Tamil Nadu.

Tamils have made significant contributions to Indian culture and the independence struggle. People like, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Poet Subramania Bharati, are notable among them. In the sciences, Sir C. V. Raman and Professor Chandrrasekhar received the Nobel Prize from Tamil Nadu. There are many novelists who have received the prestigious Sahithya Academy awards and Gnana Peeth Awards for their outstanding literary works.

The recorded history of the Tamil literature can be broadly grouped under seven periods. They are:
1. Sangam Period – 3rd Century BCE-2nd Century CE
2. Later Sangam Period – 2nd Century CE- 6th Century CE
3. Pallava Period – 6thCentury CE-9the Century CE
4. Chola Period – 9th Century CE-12th Century CE
5. Nayak Period – 3th Century CE-17th Century CE
6. European Period – 17th Century CE-19th Century CE
7. Present Period – 20th Century CE onwards

For our purposes, the Tamil literature may broadly be classified into:

(i) Sangam Classics
(ii) Bhakthi/Devotional Literature
(iii) Ethics, and
(iv) Modern Literature

(i) Sangam Classics

The early Tamil literatures are called Sangam literatures. Though there are controversies over the period of these classics, generally the period between 200 BCE and 500 AD is considered the period of Sangam. Sangam classics are mostly descriptive. They describe nature, human feelings, love lover, husband-wife relations, war, etc. Pathuppattu (pattuppaattu), an anthology of ten poems, and Ettuthokai (ettuttokai), a collection of eight anthologies, are two major Sangam classics. The following are known as Pathuppattu (pattuppaattu).

1. Thirumurukarruppadai (trirumurukaarruppatai)
2. Porunararruppadai (porunaraarruppatai)
3. Perumpanarruppadai (perumpaanaarruppatai)
4. Sirupanarruppadai (cirupaanaarruppatai)
5. Mullaippattu (mullaippaattu)
6. Maduraikanchi (maturaikkaanci)
7. Nedunalvadai (netunalvaatai)
8. Kurinchippattu (kurincippaattu)
9. Pattinappalai (pattinappaalai)
10. Malaipadukadam (malaipatukataam)

The following are known as Ettuthokai (ettuttokai).
1. Narrinai (narrinai)
2. Kurunthokai (kuruntokai)
3. Aynkurunuru (ayankurunu: ru)
4. Pathirruppathu (patirruppattu)
5. Paripadal (paripaatal)
6. Kalithokai (kalittokai)
7. Agananuru (akanaanuru)
8. Purananuru (puranaanuuru)

In addition to these, there is another set of poems known as Pathinenkizhkankku
(patinenkiilkanakku) which includes the following:

1. Naladiar (naalatiyaar)
2. Nanmanikkadikai (naanmanikkatikai)
3. Iniyavai Narpathu (iniyavai naarpatu)
4. Inna Narpathu (innaanaarpatu)
5. Kar Narpathu (kaar naarpatu)
6. Kalavazhi Narpathu (kalavali na: rpatu)
7. Thinaimozhi Aymathu (tinaimoli aimpatu)
8. Thinaimalai Nurrayamathu (tinaimaalai nuurraimpatu)
9. Aynthinai Aymathu (aintinai aimpatu)
10. Aynthinai Ezhu pthu (aintinai elupatu)
11. Thirikadugam (tirikatukam)
12. Thirukkural (tirukkural)
13. Asarkkovai (aacaarakkoovai)
14. Pazhamozhi Nanuru (palamoli naanuuru)
15. Sirupanjamulam (cirupanca muulam)
16. Mudumozhikkanci (mutumolikkaanci)
17. Elathi (eelaati)
18. Kaynnilai (kainnilai)

Many of the poems in this collection seem to belong to the post-Sangham age. It is
widely accepted that among these, Thirukkural was composed before the 2nd century CE. The Thirukkural consists of 1330 Kural (kural), which are short verses of seven words. Thiruvalluvar is the author of this book. This book consists of three major divisions, namely, Arathuppal (arattuppaal), Porutpal (porutpaal) and Inbathupal (inpattuppaal).

Arathupal deals with family life and ascetic life, which are called Illaram and Turavaram respectively. Perhaps this could be somewhat equated with the Sanskrit division Dharma.
Porutpal deals with the rulers and the ruled and all the other aspects relevant to them. Perhaps this could be equated with the Sanskrit division Artha.
Inbathuppal deals with love both premarital and extramarital. In short, Thirukkural is a very good guide for life and an excellent literary work to enjoy. This book has been translated into many Indian and foreign languages.

The famous Tamil work Silappathikaram (cilappatikaaram) belong to the later Sangam period. Saint Ilango, a Chera prince, wrote this epic. Silappathikaram is the story of a chaste woman, by name Kannaki. All Tamils know the story of Kannaki. The author, Ilango, says in the prologue that the work is based on the truth that (i) a chaste woman is worthy of worship even by great people, (ii) the Aram (Dharma) becomes the destroyer of the kings who do injustice and (iii) the fate inevitably makes one to suffer the effect of one’s own actions. There is another epic known as Manimekalai (manimeekalai) by Sathnar, a contemporary of Saint Ilango. These two epics are known together as ‘Twin Epics’.

(ii) Bhakthi/Devotional Literature

Bhakthi literature deals with religious philosophy, the history of saints, etc. Most of these
are devotional poems. Religious teaching is found to have entered Tamil literature, for the first time in Manimekalai. Sathanar the author of this book believed in Buddhism. The philosophy of Buddha is extensively discussed in Manimekalai.

After the 7th century CE, there was an acute fight between Saivites and Jains as well as Saivites and Buddhists. The Nayanmars (naayanmaarkal), the saints of Saivism, took much pain to spread and establish their religion all over Tamil Nadu. They were, to a great extent, successful in their attempt. Saivism as well as Vaishnavism clashed with Jainism and Buddhism. Consequently Jainism and Buddhism lost their ground in Tamil Nadu. Jains, Saivites, and Vaishnavites extensively use the medium of literature for the propagation of their religions. Sivagasinthamani (ciivakacintaamani) is the outstanding work of Jains. Kambaramayanam (kamparaamaayanam) is the most celebrated work of Vaishnavites. Thiruvasakam (tiruvaacakam) is one of the most popular Saiva Bhakthi songs. Apart from these, there are many works for various religious groups.

(iii) Ethics

The major part of Thirukkural deals with morals. Literature was chosen as the best instrument to teach morals. The poetic works Naladiar (naalatiyaar), Nanmanikkadikai (naanmanikkatikai), Elathi (eelaati), Sirupancamulam (cirupancamuulam), Athiccudi (aatticuuti), Konraiventhan (konraiveentan), etc., are very popular in Tamil Nadu. Many memorize the verses of these works.

(iv) Modern Literature

Modern literature must be dealt with fewer than two headings:
(1) Prose and (2) Poetry.
It may be noted that prose writings have gained more popularity in this century. Prose style is chosen as a better medium for novels, short stories, essays, etc.

Prose: Prose literature may be generally classified into
two components: (1) Novels and (2) Short stories.

Novels

The first novel published in Tamil was Prathaba Mudaliar Sarithiram (Pirataapa mutaliaaar carittiram). Vedanayagam Pillai who lived in the 19th century wrote this novel. Now there are a number of novels in Tamil. Among the recent novelists Akilan, N. Parthasarathi, Jayagandhan, Sandilyan Ashoka Mitram and others are eminent writers. Mu. Varadarajan’s Kallo Kaviyamo (kallookaaviyamoo), Nencil Oru Mul (nencil oru mul) and Akal Vilakku (akal vilakku), Akilan’s Pavvai Vilakku (paavai vilakku) and Nencin Alikal (nencin alaikal). Parthasarathi’s Kurincimalar (kurincimalar) and Ponvilangu (ponvilanku), Sandilyan’s Yavana Rani (yavana raani), Kadal Pura (katalpura) and Raja Muthirai (raajamuttirai), etc, are excellent works in the sphere of Tamil novels. Also Akilan received the ‘Gnana Peeth’ award for his novel, Sithirappavai (cittirappaavai).

Short Stories

Jayakantan is one of the eminent and popular storywriters in Tamil. He is not only a storywriter, but also a novelist. His novels Parisukkupo (paaricukkup poo), Vazhkai Azhaikkiratu (vaalkkai alaikkiratu), etc., are worth reading. Among his novels, Akkinippiravesam (akkinip piraveecam) are extremely good. Another storywriter who deserves our appreciation is R. Sutamani. She has written many stories among which Unam (uunam) stands unique. Jayasirpiyan, Sundara Ramasamy, A. Madhavan, Ashoka Mithiran, Navabharathi P. Pukazhenthi, Puvai S. Arumugam and others are well known writers in the field of Tamil short story writing.

Apart from these stories, there are a number of stories published in several weekly and monthly magazines. Kumudam (kumutam), Anandha Vikadan (aanantavikatan), Kalaimagal (kalaimakal) Kalki (kalki), Tiipam (tiipam), Kungumam (kunkumam), Taay (taay), Minnambalam (minnampalam) and several others are the journals that give primary importance to stories.

Poetry

The late poet Subramanya Bharathi started a new era in the history of poetry. He used poetry as an instrument to arouse patriotism and he was successful in this to a great extent. His poetry went not only to the hands of scholars but also to the hands of common people. The complete works of Bharati were published under the title Bharathiyar Kavithaikal (paaratiyaar Kavitaikal). Among his works Kannan Pattu (kannan paattu), Kuyil Pattu (kuyil Paattu) and Panchali Sabadham (paancaali capatam) are outstanding.

Another poet late Bharathidhasan, the beloved follower of Bharathi, is the most celebrated and outstanding poet in Tamil Nadu. He followed Bharati in making poetry very popular and in using it as the best instrument to inspire people. But he deviated from Bharati in many respects. Bharati believed in God but Bharathidhasan did not. While Bharati was preoccupied by the problems of the freedom struggle and other national interests, Bharathidhasan was particular in the development of the Tamil Nadu, Tamil language, Tamil people and Tamil culture. Among his literary works, Pandiyan Parisu (paantiyan paricu), Kudumba Vilakku (kutumpa vilakku) Tamil Ilakkam (Tamil iyakkam) and Azhakin Sirippu (alakin cirippu) are highly valuable.

Besides these two poets, Kannadhasan, Abddul Razan, Vairamuthu, Mudiyarasan, Surada, Tamizh Azhagan, K. C. S. Arunachalam, Ponnadiyan, and Mu enrich the field of Tamil poetry. Metha and others. Kannadhasan’s Attanathi Athimanthi (aattanatti aatimanti) and Mangani (maankani) and Mudiyarasan’s Pungodi (puunkoti) are excellent works. Sudhanantha Bharathi is a living poet in Tamil Nadu. Sri Armband influences him. His work Bharatha Sakthi (baarata cakti) is very famous. This book won the Raja Rajan Award of one lakh rupees. This award was given by Tamil University, Tanjore.

Besides these works, there are a number of anthologies of poems published in this century. Several poems are being published in weekly and monthly magazines. Mullaicaram (mullaiccaram), Kavidhai (kavitai) and a few other journals give primary importance to poetry.

In this connection, mention should be made about the new or modern poetry. The modern poets, Pichaimurthi Mani Vaidheswaran and others are interested in modern poetries. They are of the opinion that Tamils literary field needs new experiments and new developments and they believe that their attempt may contribute something to the Tamil literary field.

TAMIL GRAMMATICAL TRADITIONS

In general, grammar includes phonology, morphology and syntax. But the Tamil tradition seems to differ from this. The earliest grammar Tholkappiyam (tolkaappiyam) deals no only with phonology, morphology and syntax but also with personal and impersonal, internal and external aspects of life, literary beauties, behavioral aspects of human life, Tamil linguistic traditions, etc., and this portion is termed Porulathikaram (porulatikaaram).

According to the tradition that Tholkappiyar followed a grammar is three folded (1) Ezhuthu (eluttatikaaram), sounds and letters (2) Col. (collatikaaram), words (3) Porul (porulatikaaram), meaning.

Later on new traditions came in. According to the new tradition, a grammar is five folded: (1) Ezhuthu (eluttu), (2) Col (col), (3) Porul (porul), (4) Yappu (yaappu), versification, and (5) Ani (ani), literary beauties).

Tholkappiyam:

Tholkappiyam (tolkaapiyam), the earliest grammar available in Tamil deals with phonology and morphophonemics in the firs part known as eluttatikaaram. It deals with morphology and syntax in the second part known as collatikaaram. In the third part known as Porulatikaaram, it deals with the subject matter of literature, some literary and linguistic traditions, etc. This grammar is considered to be written in the early pre-Christian era.

Nannul (nannuul): Next to Tholkappiyam, Nannul is the outstanding work in the field of Tamil grammars. Saint Pavananti who lived around the 13th century CE wrote this grammar. This grammar contains only Ezhuthu and Col. The first chapter Ezhuthu deals with phonology and morphophonemics and the second chapter Col deals with morphology and syntax.

(t) is produced by the tip of the tongue curved towards the back and making contact at the roof of the mouth.  When the contact is released the air escapes through the mouth. It occurs initially in the borrowed words.  This occurs in a word as the first member of a consonant cluster, as the second member of a consonant cluster and in at identical consonant cluster.

The has two sound values. One is voiceless and another is voiced. The one that described above is voiceless.  The voiced one is produced in the same manner except for the vibration in the vocal cords.  This voiced sound (d) is used between two vowels.

(p) in its production the lips are closed and the soft palate is raised to close the nasal passage.  When the lips are opened the air suddenly comes out with explosion.  There is no vibration in the vocal cords.  This sound is described a voiceless bilabial stop.  This occurs in the word initial and medial positions. It occurs medially as the first member of a consonant cluster, as the second member of a consonant cluster and in an identical consonant cluster.

The usual hand movement in writing Tamil letters is from the left to the right and from the top to the bottom.  Note the strokes of the letter (ta) and (pa) as given below.  Copy them three times each.  Your letter should be similar to the one on the extreme right side.

Lips are closed when (m) is produced.  The soft palate is lowered and the air stream comes freely through the nasal cavity.  The vocal cords are vibrated in its production. This is a voiced bilabial nasal.
This occurs in the word initial, meddle, and final positions.

Compare the letters for  (pa) and  (ma).  Note the similarity and the difference between them.  Copy them three times each.  Your letter should be similar to the one given at the extreme right.

(y) in its production the lips are spread.  The front of the tongue is raised towards the hard plate.  The soft palate is raised.  The air stream passes through the stricture and the vocal cords are made to vibrate.  This is a voiced palatel frictionless continuant. This occurs in all positions.

Compare the letter for (pa) with that for (ya) and note the difference. Copy them three times each.  Your letter should be similar to the one given at extreme right.

The letters with a dot above like  etc., are pure consonants in Tamil.  The letter without a dot represents the corresponding consonant + the vowel.

Example:

Read the following words:

Download Frame 1 Exercises (PDF)

The sound  is a peculiar sound in Tamil.  This is represented by (l).  In its production the tongue is curled back and the tip of the tongue is placed very near the roof of the mouth but not touching it.  The air stream passes through the sides of the tongue as well as in between the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth.  The vocal cords are vibrated.  The soft palate is raised.  This is a voiced retroflex palatal lateral.  This occurs in the word medial and final positions.  Medially it occurs as a single consonant between two vowels as in the word , as the first member of a consonant

cluster, and as the first member of a three consonant cluster.

Compare the letter for  (ma) with that for  (la).  Copy each of the letters four times.  Note the similarity and difference between them.  Your letter should be similar to the one given at extreme right.

Read the following words:

Download Frame 2 Exercises (PDF)

(ii) In its production the lips are spread and the front of the tongue is raised as high as possible towards the hard palate without making any constriction.  The tip of the tongue touches the lower part of the teeth.  The vocal cords are vibrated during its production. The soft palate is raised.  This is a high front un-rounded long vowel.  This occurs in all positions in a word.

(r) The air escapes between the tip of the tongue and palate in its  production.  The soft palate is raised and the vocal cords are vibrated. This sound is described as the voiced alveolar flap. This occurs in all the positions in a word.

Compare the letters  (ii) and  (ra). is formed by putting two dots on both sides of the third stroke and  (ra) is formed by adding a slightly angular short stroke as below.  While writing , it is written as  but in print it will be .  But both are correct.

Compare the letters and copy three times.

We have seen earlier about  and its production.  As we have seen earlier this letter occurs in the word initial and medial positions.  There are two sound values for this letter, namely voiced and voiceless. The one seen earlier described as voiceless (hard).  The other one is voiced (soft).  The movements of the speech organs are exactly the same as voiceless except for vibration of the vocal cords.  It occurs initially in some of the borrowed words and medially after nasal as in  (pambaram).  This may be described as a voiced bilabial stop sound.

Read the Following words:

(c) In its production the blade of the tongue touches the back portion of the alveolar ridge and the soft palate is raised.  The blade of the tongue moves away from its position slowly.  There is no vibration in the vocal cords.  This is described as the voiceless palatal affricate.  It occurs medially in modern Tamil as identical consonant cluster.

(k) The air stream is blocked by the back of the tongue while it is in firm contact with the soft palate in its production.  The soft palate is in raised position so that no air escapes through the nasal cavity.  The air comes out of the mouth with explosion when the back of the tongue is released suddenly.  There is no vibration of the vocal cords during this production.  This is voiceless velar stop. This occurs in the word initial and medial positions.

(t) It is produced when the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth.  Here the soft palate is also raised so that the air con not escape through the nasal cavity.  When the tip of the tongue is released from the upper teeth the air suddenly escapes through the mouth.  There is no vibration in the vocal cords. This is a voiceless dental stop.  It occurs initially and medially.

Write the letters for (ca), (ka) and (ta):

In Tamil, each of the letter  with or without secondary symbols for other vowels, have different pronunciation values depending upon the position in which they occur, or on the basis of letters with which they co-occur in a word.

There are secondary symbols for each vowel. The vowels as such can used in the word initial position.  In other places in a word corresponding secondary symbols are used.  The secondary symbols may be added to the consonant either over the letter or before the primary letter or after the primary letter or both, before and after etc. The secondary symbols are introduced wherever the vowels are introduced.  There are number of examples of vowel, consonant combinations are given for easy understanding of this concept.

The vowel sound,  (a) in its production the lips are kept in neutral positions. The tongue is kept as it is in the normal position and the vocal cords are vibrated. The soft palate is raised. This is called low, central, un-rounded short vowel.
In a word this sound occurs in all positions.

The vowel sound, ‚ (aa) in its production is the same as that of  (a) except for the length. This is described as a low, central, un-rounded, long vowel. This sound occurs in all positions in a word.

The vowel sound, (i) in its production the lips are spread and the front of the tongue is raised as high as possible towards the hard palate without making any sort of constriction. The tip of the tongue touches the lower part of the teeth. The vocal cords are vibrated during its production. The soft palate is raised. This sound is described as a high, front, un-rounded, short vowel. This sound occurs in all positions in a word.

The sounds (a), (aa) and (i) are represented by the letters , ‚ ,  respectively. As stated earlier for the presence of any vowel sound in a word, the vowel is used as it is in the word initial position and elsewhere the corresponding secondary symbols are used with consonants.

Look at the letters carefully and copy three times each.

Read the following words.

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When the tip of the tongue is raised against the upper teeth (n) is produced. The soft palate is lowered and the air escapes freely through the nasal cavity. There is vibration in the vocal cords. It is to be recollected here that the sound value of (ṭ) seen in Frame 1. The movements of the speech organs are the same as that of (d), the voiced one except that the air stream passes through the nasal cavity in the case of  (n). This is described as voiced dental nasal. It occurs medially as in the words, etc. and Elsewhere it is pronounced as alveolar as in the English words name, invitation etc. and in Tamil words like , etc.

Observe how the letter for the sound (na) is written and copy three times.

The letter may also be written, deleting the extended curve line at the end.

Observe how the secondary symbols for the vowels , and are added to .

The letters , , , cannot occur in the middle or end of a word. However, can occur medially before , , etc.
This can be seen in the words, ‘that’, ‘this’ etc.

Read the words and write them three times each.

(na): In its production the air stream is blocked by the back of the tongue while it is in firm contact with the soft palate as in the production of (g). The soft palate is lowered and the air passes through the nasal passage. The vocal cords are vibrated. This is described as a voiced velar nasal. It occurs only in the medial position with its corresponding voiced velar stop, (k).

Observe how letter for (ṅa) is written and write it four times. Your letter should be like the one given at extreme right.

______ ______ ______ ______

Compare the letter for (na) with the letter for (ṅa). Write them four times each:

Secondary symbols for vowels , and are added to the nasal consonant .

It is already pointed out that the letter usually occurs only in its pure consonantal form, namely  , immediately followed by letters of  series, such as , , , etc. That is,  series letters after are pronounced as soft sounds (voiced sounds) like, ga, gaa, gi etc.

Read the words aloud and write them three times each.

Read the following words.

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In Tamil there are separate scripts for short (e) and long (ee). The letter given above is short one and pronounced as in the word, egg.

(e), the short vowel in its production the lips are slightly spread. The front of the tongue is slightly raised towards the hard palate but not as high as in the case of (i) seen in the Frame 4. In this case the vocal cords are vibrated during its production. The soft palate is raised. This sound is mid, front, un-rounded, short vowel. This will not occur in the word final position.

Write five times the letter.

Read the following words.

Secondary symbol for the vowel is which is always placed before the primary letter.

Copy the secondary symbol five times.

Look at the vowel, consonant combinations.

Read and write them.

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(ee) In its production similar to (e) except for the length of duration. This sound is known as the mid, un-rounded, long vowel. That is (e) is a short vowel and that (ee) is the long counterpart of (e) just as (aa) is the long counterpart of  (a).
It occurs in all the positions in a word.

Look at the letter and copy them on the line.

Read the following words.

The secondary symbol for  is also written before we write the primary consonant. The secondary symbol for is .

Write the secondary symbol on the lines.

Look at the combinations carefully.

Write them two times each:

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(ñ): In its production the front of the tongue touches the hard palate and the soft palate is lowered. The air escapes freely through the nasal passage as in the production of other nasal sounds. The vocal cords are vibrated. It occurs in the word initial and medial positions. When it occurs before , like as in the word , the is always pronounced as ja, jaa, ji, jii,je, jee etc.
Hence, it is to be noted that the letter   occurs only in its pure consonant form namely in the middle of a word. Wherever occurs it is immediately followed by , with or without secondary symbols for other vowels. In all these cases,
has the sound value of j.

Compare the letters and with the letter for (ñ) and write them three times each. Your letter should be similar to the one given at the extreme right.

Read the following words.

Observe how the secondary symbols for the vowels , ,  ,  , ,  and are added with .

Remember again that the letter , with or without secondary symbols for other vowels, written immediately after ,  is always pronounced as j.

Read the following words and copy.

(v) In its production the lower lip is very close to the upper front teeth. The soft palate is raised. The air stream passes through the stricture without audible friction. The vocal cords are vibrated. This maybe described as a voiced labio-dental frictionless continuant. It occurs word initial and medial positions. It occurs medially as a single consonant between the vowels, as the second member of a consonant cluster and in an identical consonant cluster.

(l) This sound in its production, the tip of the tongue has contact with alveolar ridge in such a way that there is complete blockade of air in the middle of the mouth. The soft palate is raised so that the air cannot get through since they are not in contact with the sides of the palate. The vocal cords are vibrated during its production. This sound is described as a voiced alveolar lateral. It occurs in the word initial, medial, and final positions. In medial position it occurs as a single consonant in the intervocalic position, as the first member of a consonant cluster and in an identical consonant cluster.

Compare the letter with the letters (va) and (la). Write them three times each.

Observe how the secondary symbols of the vowels , , , , and go with the consonants and .

Read the following words.

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(r) This is produced by the rapid vibrations by the tip of the tongue against the middle of the alveolar ridge. The soft palate is raised to close the nasal passage. The vocal cords are vibrated. This may be described as a voiced alveolar trill. This will not occur in the word initial position. This occurs in the word medial position as a single consonant between two vowels as in the word, and as the first member of a consonant cluster.

It is to be recollected that we have seen before in Frame 3. It is very essential to know the difference between (r) and (r) in the pronunciation and writing. The difference should be maintained, because in similar context these two sounds bring change in meaning. The occurs in a word in all positions. It occurs medially as a single consonant between two vowels, as in  , as the first member of a consonant cluster, as the second member of a consonant cluster and as the first member of a three consonant cluster.

Write three times the letter.

The vowels , , , , , are added to this consonant. Note how they are written with their respective secondary symbols. For the vowel, the secondary symbol for was different not the same as the one in use in the mordern Tamil (the old secondary symbol is no longer in use).

It is to be noted that (r) cannot occur in double but (r) can.

the pure consonant, occurs with a consonant+vowel letters (, , , ), as a clusters like , , , … Of course, this trill simply occurs as as seen in the words , ,  etc.

The cluster, as found in the word and in similar position in the other words. While reading the first letter in such a cluster it is always pronounced like (ṭ) and the following as it is, that is trill. Here is pronounced as (ṭr) as in the English word, ‘attraction’. This is an important one to be noted by the learners of Tamil with respect to reading/speaking and writing.

Read the following words.

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(ai): The two elements namely, a and i and their combination form ai. In ai, a is a front vowel and i is a front closed vowel. This in its production resembles y as in the English word my. This sound occurs in a word initial, medial, and final positions. This vowel represented by the letter and used as it is in the word initial position and elsewhere the secondary symbol is used with other consonants. This may be considered as a long vowel.

Copy the letter three times.

Read the following words.

The secondary symbol for is . Note that the secondary symbol is first written and then the primary consonant is written.

The secondary symbol for was not the same as the one in use in the modern Tamil for few consonants.

Read the following words.

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: In its production the dip of the tongue is slightly curved and made to contact the middle of the palate, that is hard palate.  This air stream is completely blocked in the middle of the mouth.  The soft palate is in raised position so that no air escapes through the nasal cavity.  The air is allowed to pass by the sides of the tongue since they are not in contact with sides of the palate.  The vocal cords are vibrated in this case.  This sound is described as retroflex lateral.
This occurs medially and finally.  Medially it occurs as a single consonant in the intervocalic position, as the first member of consonant cluster and in an identical consonant cluster.
Familiarity with that is introduced in Frame 9 is to be compared here.  This is pronounced by touching alveolar region with the tip of the tongue.  But is pronounced by taking back the tip of the tongue to hard palate. This occurs word initial position whereas is not.

Copy the letter five times. (see Appendix I for hand movements).

Observe how the secondary symbols for the vowels.

(See Chart II & Appendix II)

*In old Tamil secondary symbol for was

different from that of the present one for the

consonant, (see Chart III).

Read the following words.

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In its production the tip of the tongue is made to contact the alveolar ridge.  The soft palate is lowered and the air stream is pushed through the nasal cavity.  The vocal cords are vibrated. The articulatory movements are exactly the same as those for the alveolar voiced stop .  The only difference is in the case of the above sound represented by the letter (n), the air is emitted through the nasal cavity.  This is a voiced alveolar nasal. It occurs medially and finally.

The letters  and  are different in pronounciation  (Frame 5).  The letters  etc., are always pronounced alveolar as in the English  words, name, invitation etc.   etc. can never occur in the beginning of a word. Only and its series can occur in the word initial position.  This is an important contrast between  and .

Copy the letter for three times. (see Appendix I for hand-movements).

Read the words.

There is one more nasal with three loops shape.  In its production the tip of the tongue is curled and made to contact the roof of the mouth.  The soft palate is lowered as in the production of other nasal and the air stream escapes freely through the nasal cavity.  The vocal cords are vibration.  This similar in production with except that the air stream is emitted through the nasal cavity.  This may be described as a voiced retroflex nasal.

This never occurs in the word initial position.  Medially it occurs as a single consonant between vowels, as the first member of a consonant cluster, as the second member of a consonant cluster and in an identical consonant cluster.

Compare the letter for (na) with the letter for and write them three times each.  Your letters should be similar to the ones at the extreme right(see Appendix I for hand-movements).

Observe how the secondary symbols for the vowels.

*The secondary symbol for the vowel, used in old Tamil is different from the modern Tamil for the consonants, and (see Chart III).

Also note the different secondary symbol for the vowel,used for these two consonants(see Chart III).

Read the following words.

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(o): In its production the lips are rounded with considerable protrusion.  The back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate.  This is described as a mid, back, rounded, short vowel.  It occurs initially and medially only.

In Tamil there are separate scripts for short (o) and long (oo).  The letter given above is short one and pronounced as in in the English word pollution.

Copy the letter three times (see Appendix I for hand-movements).

Read the following words.

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The case of the long vowel, (oo) , the movements of the speech organs are about the same as those for its corresponding short vowel (o)  except for the length of duration.  This sound is described as the mid back, rounded long vowel.  It occurs in all the positions in a word.

The sound, (au) is combination of  a and u.  a is an open central vowel and  u is rounded back vowel.
This sound is represented by the letter .  This sound occurs in the word initial, medial, and final positions.  This is considered as a long vowel. Like other vowels,  is used as it is in the word initial position and elsewhere the presents of this vowel is represented by the secondary symbol.

Copy the letter three times (see Appendix I for hand-movements).

Read the following words.

Compare the letter  with the letter for (au). (see Appendix I for hand-movements).

Write the letters three times each.  Your letters should be similar to the one given at the extreme right.

Read the words.

Secondary symbol for  is (see Appendix I & II for hand-movements, also look at Chart III for old and modern Tamil use of secondary symbol) .  Thus the secondary symbol for the vowel   consists of two parts and the consonant letter is placed in middle.  The secondary symbol for the vowel  (Frame 7) and the secondary symbol for the vowel  ‚ (Frame 4) together serve as secondary symbol for the vowel  .  The primary consonant letter is in between.  Look at the vowel consonant combinations below.

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