Tamil is a member of the Dravidian family of languages. It is thought these languages are derived from a language spoken in India prior to the invasion of
the Aryans c.1500 B.C.
The Dravidian languages have their own alphabets, which go back to a common source that is related to the Devanagari alphabet used for Sanskrit. Tamil is the oldest language of the Dravidian languages and is considered by some to be amongst the oldest surviving languages in the world.
Tamil literature is among the most ancient in Asia, dating from some 2,000 years ago. There are two literary languages: Classical and Modern Standard Tamil. The spoken language has numerous dialects, with caste differences also being reflected in speech.
the Aryans c.1500 B.C.The Dravidian languages have their own alphabets, which go back to a common source that is related to the Devanagari alphabet used for Sanskrit. Tamil is the oldest language of the Dravidian languages and is considered by some to be amongst the oldest surviving languages in the world.
Tamil literature is among the most ancient in Asia, dating from some 2,000 years ago. There are two literary languages: Classical and Modern Standard Tamil. The spoken language has numerous dialects, with caste differences also being reflected in speech.
There are about 70 million people speak Tamil.
Tamil is the state language of the India State of Tamil Nadu (formerly known as Madras) where there are 65 Million speakers, but it is also spoken in Sri Lanka (3 million), Malaysia (1 million) Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, and some parts of East Africa.
Tamil Music and Dance
Bharata-natyam, one of India's major classical dance forms, and Carnatic music are both widely practised. Carnatic music, referred to as "classical music" in South India, is a very old tradition.
Tamil Nadu has a rich tradition of folk music. Tamil folk music tends to be vivacious and is best experienced at a live performance, although folk music also remains a major source of inspiration for the more popular film music.
Tamil Food and Drink
Rice plays an essential role in the Tamil diet. Lentils, too, are consumed extensively, as accompaniment to the rice preparations. Coconut is also used a lot in Tamil kitchens, as are fish and other seafood.
Though several communities in the state are strictly vegetarian, there is a whole range of non-vegetarian dishes - exotic, succulent, and full of fire. Fish and other seafood like crab are also cooked in the traditional Tamil kitchen, with spices and traditional seasoning.
Known for its spicy, hot fare, Chettinad cuisine hails from the deep southern region of Tamil Nadu. Chettinad cuisine is far cry from the bland cuisine of traditional Tamilian - it is one of the spiciest, oiliest and most aromatic in India.
Tamil words in English
Did you know t English words came from Tamil?
Curry | from Tamil kari "sauce, relish for rice." |
|---|---|
Candy | possibly from Tamil kantu "candy." |
Catamaran | from Tamil kattu-maram "tied wood," from kattu "tie" + maram "wood, tree." |
Coolie | possibly from Tamil kuli "to hire." |
Ginger | possibly from ancient Dravidian inchiver, from inchi "root." |
Mango | from Tamil mankay, from man "mango tree" + kay "fruit." |
Pariah | from Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan "drummer" (at festivals, the hereditary duty of members of the largest of the lower castes of southern India), from parai "large festival drum." Especially numerous at Madras, where its members supplied most of the domestics in European service. Applied by Hindus and Europeans to members of any low Hindu caste and even to outcastes. Extended meaning "social outcast" is first attested in 1819. |
How many languages are spoken in the world?
Ethnologue lists 6,912 living languages in the world today. Keep in mind, however, that the number of languages may never be determined exactly. Languages are not
always easily treated as discrete entities with clearly defined boundaries because they represent a continua of features extending across geographic, political and
social boundaries. Not all scholars agree on the criteria that clearly distinguish
"language" from "dialect". At the same time, estimates of how many people speak a given language can vary considerably. Some surveys include only
first language (native) speakers, others include both first and second language speakers (i.e., those who use the language in daily life but are not native speakers of it).
As a result of such indeterminacy, some mutually intelligible varieties such as German and Dutch are considered to be separate languages because they are spoken in different countries (political considerations), while mutually unintelligible Mandarin and Cantonese are considered to be varieties of Chinese because they are spoken in one country, share a common writing system of great antiquity, and are perceived to be one language by speakers of distinct varieties (historical, political and social considerations). In addition, some languages are poorly studied. As a result, it has not been possible to establish whether they are separate languages or dialects of other languages.
| World area | Languages | Speakers | ||||
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Median | Mean | |
| Africa | 2,092 | 30.3% | 675,887,158 | 11.8% | 25,391 | 323,082 |
| Americas | 1,002 | 14.5% | 47,559,381 | 0.8% | 2,000 | 47,464 |
| Asia | 2,269 | 32.8% | 3,489,897,147 | 61.0% | 10,171 | 1,538,077 |
| Europe | 239 | 3.5% | 1,504,393,183 | 26.3% | 220,000 | 6,294,532 |
| Pacific | 1,310 | 19.0% | 6,124,341 | 0.1% | 800 | 4,675 |
| Totals | 6,912 | 100.0% | 5,723,861,210 | 100.0% | 7,000 | 828,105 |
- Africa
Africa has the second largest number of languages after Asia but it accounts for only 11.8 % of all language speakers in the world. - Americas
The Americas are rich in languages with small numbers of speakers. - Asia
Asia has the largest number of languages and the largest number of speakers, accounting for 61% of all language speakers in the world. There is a striking difference between median and mean number of speakers. - Europe
Europe has the smallest number of languages and the second-largest number of speakers after Asia, accounting for 26.4% of all language speakers in the world. Unlike Asia, the majority of Europe's languages have a substantial number of speakers. As a result, Europe has the largest median and mean of all world areas.
- Pacific
The Pacific accounts for 0.1% of all language speakers in the world and has the lowest median number of speakers of all world areas.
The most spoken Languages of the world
The table below lists 30 languages spoken by close to 5 billion, or by approximately 77% of the current world population of 6,5 billion people.
Keep in mind that these numbers are sometimes based on old census data, and
in some cases, there is no reliable census data for certain languages. The information about the number of second-language speakers is often extremely difficult to establish exactly, so the breakdown between the number of 1st and 2nd language speakers is not always possible.
Languages with over 100 million speakers | |||
| Languages | Speakers (in millions) | ||
1st language | 2nd language | Total | |
| Mandarin | 873 | 178 | 1,051 |
| English | 340 | 168 | 508 |
| Hindi/Urdu | 242 | 224 | 466 |
| Arabic (all varieties) | 206 | 246 | 452 |
| Spanish | 322 | 60 | 382 |
| Russian | 145 | 110 | 255 |
| Bengali | 171 | 34 | 211 |
| Portuguese | 177 | 15 | 192 |
| Indonesian | 23 | 140 | 163 |
| German | 95 | 28 | 123 |
| Japanese | 122 | 1 | 123 |
| French | 65 | 50 | 115 |
These languages are spoken by over 4,041,000,000 people, or 61% of the current world population. | |||
Languages with 20 - 99 million speakers | |||
| Languages | Speakers (in millions) | ||
. | 1st language | 2nd language | Total |
| Punjabi | 88 | - | 88 |
| Javanese | 75 | - | 76 |
| Telugu* | 70 | 5 | 75 |
| Tamil* | 66 | 8 | 74 |
| Marathi | 68 | 3 | 71 |
| Korean | 67 | - | 67 |
| Vietnamese | 67 | - | 67 |
| Italian | - | - | 61 |
| Turkish | 51 | - | 51 |
| Kannada* | 44 | - | 44 |
| Polish | 43 | - | 43 |
| Ukrainian | 37 | - | 37 |
| Persian/Dari/Tajik | 36 | - | 36 |
| Gujarati | 46 | - | 36 |
| Malayalam* | 36 | - | 36 |
| Hausa | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| Oriya | 33 | - | 33 |
| Burmese | 32 | - | 32 |
| Swahili | 1 | 30 | 31 |
| Yoruba | 20 | 2 | 22 |
| Thai | 20 | - | 20 |
These languages are spoken by another 1,034,000,000 people, or by close 16% of the current world population. | |||
Telugu*, Tamil*, Kannada* And Malayalam* Are our Dhravidian Languages
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