Editing Tamil language (section)

{{Short description|Dravidian language in South India and North-eastern Sri Lanka}}
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{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Tamil
| altname          = {{Transliteration|ta|ISO|Tamiḻ}}
| nativename       = 
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|ta|t̪amiɻ||ta-தமிழ்.oga|help=}} <br/>
"Tha-mi-zhl"
| states           = {{ubl
  |  [[Languages of India|India]]
  |  [[Languages of Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]
  }}
| region           = * [[India]]
** [[Tamil Nadu]]
** Union territory of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] ([[Puducherry district|Puducherry]] and [[Karaikal district]]s)
** [[Kerala]]
** [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]
** [[Karnataka]]  (south)
** [[Andhra Pradesh]]  (south)
** [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] (Parts) <ref name="Talbot 2001 27–37">{{Harvnb|Talbot|2001|pp=27–37}}</ref>  
* [[Sri Lanka]]
** [[Northern Province, Sri Lanka|Northern Province]]
** [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Province]]
** [[Central Province, Sri Lanka|Central Province]]
* [[Singapore]]
| ethnicity        = *[[Tamils]]
*[[Sri Lankan Moors]]
| speakers         = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|78.721340|2}} million
| date             = 2011–2019
| ref              = <ref name="Ethnologue28|tam">{{Ethnologue28|tam}}</ref>
| speakers2        = [[second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|7.623000|2}} million (2011)<ref name="Ethnologue28|tam">{{Ethnologue28|tam}}</ref><br/>Total: {{sigfig|86.344340|2}} million (2011–2019)<ref name="Ethnologue28|tam">{{Ethnologue28|tam}}</ref>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Dravidian
| fam2             = Southern
| fam3             = [[Southern Dravidian languages|Southern I]]
| fam4             = Tamil–[[Kannada dialects|Kannada]]
| fam5             = Tamil–[[Kota language (India)|Kota]]
| fam6             = Tamil–[[Toda language|Toda]]
| fam7             = Tamil–Irula
| fam8             = Tamil–[[Kodava language|Kodava]]–[[Urali language|Urali]]
| fam9             = [[Tamiloid languages|Tamil]]–[[Malayalamoid languages|Malayalam]]
| fam10            = [[Tamiloid languages|Tamiloid]]
| fam11            = Tamil–[[Paliyan language|Paliyan]]
| ancestor         = [[Old Tamil language|Old Tamil]]
| ancestor2        = [[Middle Tamil language|Middle Tamil]]
| script           = {{ubl
  | [[Tamil script]]
  | [[Tamil-Brahmi script]] (historical)
  | [[Grantha script]] (historical)
  | [[Vatteluttu script]] (historical)
  | [[Pallava script]] (historical)
  | [[Kolezhuthu|Kolezhuthu script]] (historical)
  | [[Arabic script]] ([[Arwi]])
  | [[Latin script]] (informal)
  | [[Tamil Braille]] ([[Bharati Braille|Bharati]])
  }}
| nation           = *[[Official languages of India|India]]
**[[Tamil Nadu]]<ref name="TN">{{citation |title=Official languages of Tamil Nadu |url=http://www.tn.gov.in/welcometn.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Tamil Nadu Government |access-date=1 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021154022/http://www.tn.gov.in/welcometn.htm |archive-date=21 October 2012}}</ref>
**[[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]<ref>{{citation |url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |title=Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India: 50th report (delivered to the Lokh Sabha in 2014) |page=155 |publisher=National Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. |access-date=8 June 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708012438/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
*[[Languages of Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Languages Policy |url=http://www.languagesdept.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38&Itemid=163&lang=en |website=languagesdept.gov.lk |publisher=Department of Official Languages |access-date=20 May 2021}}</ref>
*[[Languages of Singapore|Singapore]]<ref name="statutes.agc.gov.sg">{{Singapore legislation|title=Republic of Singapore Independence Act|ed=1985}}, s7.</ref>
| minority         = {{plainlist|
*[[Languages of South Africa|South Africa]]{{efn|protected language}}<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|title=Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 1: Founding Provisions |publisher= South African Government|website=www.gov.za}}</ref>
*[[Languages of Malaysia|Malaysia]]<ref name="MS">{{citation |title=School languages |url=http://www10.gencat.net/pres_casa_llengues/AppJava/frontend/llengues_detall_print.jsp?id=632&idioma=5 |url-status=dead |publisher=LINGUAMON |access-date=26 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902021816/http://www10.gencat.net/pres_casa_llengues/AppJava/frontend/llengues_detall_print.jsp?id=632&idioma=5 |archive-date=2 September 2015}}</ref>}}
| agency           = [[India]]
* [[Central Institute of Classical Tamil]]
* [[Department of Tamil Development and Information (Tamil Nadu)]]
* [[International Institute of Tamil Studies]]
* [[Tamil University]]
* [[World Tamil Sangam]]
[[Sri Lanka]]
* [[Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government|Department of Official Languages]]
[[Singapore]]
* [[Ministry of Digital Development and Information|Tamil Language Council]]
[[Malaysia]]
* [[Ministry of Education (Malaysia)|Malaysian Tamil Language Standardisation Council]]
[[Canada]] and [[United States]]
* [[Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America]]
| iso1             = ta
| iso2             = tam
| lc1              = tam
| ld1              = Modern Tamil
| lc2              = oty
| ld2              = Old Tamil
| linglist         = oty
| lingname         = Old Tamil
| lingua           = 49-EBE-a
| image            = Word Tamil.svg
| imagecaption     = The word ''Tamil'' in the [[Tamil script]]
| map              = Idioma tamil.png
| mapcaption       = 
| dia1             = [[Sri Lankan Tamil dialects|Eelam]]
| dia2             = [[Malaysian Tamil|Malesiyat]]
| dia3             = [[Bangalore Tamil dialects|Bunagurr]]
| dia4             = [[Iyengar Tamil|Iyengar]]
| dia5             = [[Kongu Tamil|Kongu]]
| dia6             = [[Madras Bashai|Chennai]]
| dia7             = [[Madurai Tamil|Madurai]]
| dia8             = [[Tirunelveli Tamil|Tiruneveli]]
| dia9             = [[Sankethi language|Sankethi]]
| dia10            = [[Indian Tamil dialect of Sri Lanka|Estate]]
| dia11            = [[Central Tamil dialect|Central]]
| dia12            = [[Brahmin Tamil|Brahmin]]
| dia13            = [[Arwi]]
| dia14            = [[Lingua Malabar Tamul|Malabar]] {{Extinct}}
| notice           = IPA
| sign             = [[Signed Tamil]]
| glotto           = tami1289
| glottoname       = Modern Tamil
| glottorefname    = Tamil
| glotto2          = oldt1248
| glottoname2      = Old Tamil
}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
{{Tamil transliteration}}'''Tamil'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|æ|m|ɪ|l|,_|ˈ|t|ɑː|m|-}} {{respell|TAM|il|,_|TAHM|-}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tamil, n. and adj. |url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/197399?redirectedFrom=tamil |website=OED Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=24 January 2023}}</ref>}} ({{lang|ta|தமிழ்}}, {{Transliteration|ta|ISO|Tamiḻ}}, {{IPA|ta|t̪amiɻ|pron|ta-தமிழ்.oga}}, also written as ''Tamizhil''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Musthafa |first=Manavai |url=https://www.google.com.qa/books/edition/Tamizhil_Ariviyal_Padaipilakkiyam/SBu4EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tamizhil&pg=PT1&printsec=frontcover |title=Tamizhil Ariviyal Padaipilakkiyam |date=2023-04-02 |publisher=Pustaka Digital Media |language=ta}}</ref> according to linguistic pronunciation) is a [[Dravidian language]] natively spoken by the [[Tamil people]] of [[South Asia]]. It is one of the longest-surviving [[classical language]]s in the world,<ref name="Circulation and the Historical Geog">{{citation |last=Stein |first=B. |title=Circulation and the Historical Geography of Tamil Country |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=37 |issue=1 |year=1977 |pages=7–26 |jstor=2053325 |doi=10.2307/2053325|s2cid=144599197 }}. "Tamil is one of the two longest-surviving classical languages in India" (p. 7).</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Steever|1998|p=6}}. "one of India's two classical languages, alongside the more widely known Indo-Aryan language Sanskrit".</ref> attested since {{circa}} [[300 BC|300 BCE]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100707000020/http://www.ciil-classicaltamil.org/project1.html Definitive Editions of Ancient Tamil Works]}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Abraham |first1=S.A. |title=Chera, Chola, Pandya: Using Archaeological Evidence to Identify the Tamil Kingdoms of Early Historic South India |url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/17189/1/AP-v42n2-207-223.pdf |journal=Asian Perspectives |volume=42 |issue=2 |page=207 |year=2003 |s2cid=153420843 |doi=10.1353/asi.2003.0031 |hdl=10125/17189 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="companion">{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1992|p=12}}: "...the most acceptable periodisation which has so far been suggested for the development of Tamil writing seems to me to be that of A Chidambaranatha Chettiar (1907–1967): 1. Sangam Literature – 200BC to AD 200; 2. Post Sangam literature – AD 200 – AD 600; 3. Early Medieval literature – AD 600 to AD 1200; 4. Later Medieval literature – AD 1200 to AD 1800; 5. Pre-Modern literature – AD 1800 to 1900"</ref><ref name="Maloney1970">{{citation |last=Maloney |first=C. |title=The Beginnings of Civilization in South India |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=603–616 |year=1970 |jstor=2943246 |doi=10.2307/2943246|s2cid=162291987 }} at p. 610</ref><ref name="Palani">{{citation |last=Subramaniam |first=T.S. |title=Palani excavation triggers fresh debate |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2408091.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |location=Chennai, India |date=29 August 2011}}</ref>

Tamil was the [[lingua franca]] for early maritime traders in South India, with [[Tamil inscriptions]] found outside of the Indian subcontinent, such as [[Indonesia]], [[Thailand]], and [[Egypt]]. The language has a well-documented history with literary works like [[Sangam literature]], consisting of over 2,000 poems. Tamil script evolved from Tamil Brahmi, and later, the vatteluttu script was used until the current script was standardized. The language has a distinct grammatical structure, with agglutinative morphology that allows for complex word formations.

Tamil is the official language of the state of [[Tamil Nadu]] and union territory of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] in India. It is also one of the official languages of [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Singapore]]. [[Tamil diaspora|Tamil-speaking diaspora communities]] exist in several countries across the world. Tamil was the first to be recognized as a [[classical languages of India|classical language of India]] by the [[Government of India|Central Government]] in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-06 |title=Haryana's South connect: When it made Telugu second language in school |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/haryanas-south-connect-when-it-made-telugu-second-language-in-school-5570917/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>