Thamizh Chemmozhi

Among the world languages the Classical status was originally given only to Greek and Latin. During 1800 – 1900 A.D., Sanskrit was regarded a Classical language as a result of the English translations of the ancient Sanskrit texts by great savants like William Jones, Max Muller and others. In the later part of 19th century, Dr. Robert Caldwell established beyond the pale of controversy the reality of Dravidian Family of Languages and the high antiquity of Tamil, which according to him, is the most highly cultivated of all Dravidian idioms, can dispense with its Sanskrit altogether, if need be, and not only stand alone, but flourish without its aid. His study provided the base for the formation of Pure Tamil Movement, founded by the great Tamil savant Paritima̅̄l Kalain͂ar (V.G. Suryanarayana Sastri), who gave the clarion call to recognise Tamil as a Classical language, which in his high esteem was a high language (உயர்மொழி), unique language (தனிமொழி) and Classical language (செம்மொழி). His view was further nurtured by the renowned scholars Maṟaimalai Aṭikaļ and Tēvanēya -p-pa̅va̅ṇar who opined that Tamil was the primary classical language of the world.

It is essential to note that even before the advent of Dr. Robert Caldwell, native scholars with erudition in Sanskrit discriminated the unique features of Tamil, independent of Sanskrit. Civan͂a̅n̲a Muṉivar of 18th century A.D. underscored the special aspects of Tamil, in his elaborate commentary on the Pa̅yiram (-Prologue) of Tolka̅ppiyam. Its substance is given here below:

“The morpho-phonemic rules, the technical terms, the implied verb, verb compound and other grammatical categories, the classification of words into rational category (-uyartiṇ̣ai) and non-rational category (-aḵriṇ̣ai), the classification of literary themes into Akam (love) and Puṟam (warfare and related themes), the behavioural divisions such as Kuṟin͂ci (union of lovers) and Vetc̣i (cattle lifting) and their related aspects, the prosody of Veṇpā and other metres – these and other related features are not found in Sanskrit”.

Among the reputed Tamilologists with multi-lingual erudition who voiced for the Classical status of Tamil through their impartial research, let us first quote Kamil V. Zvelebil:

“those of 26,350 lines of (Sangam) poetry promote Tamil to the rank of one of the greatest Classical languages of the world …. It is only the Tamil Culture that has produced uniquely so in India – an independent, indigenous literary theory of a very high standard including metrics and prosody, poetics and rhetoric.

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Sangam poetry is the expression of a linguistic, prosodic and stylistic perfection; it is a finished, consummate and inimitable literary expression of an entire culture, and of the best in that culture. In this sense, it is truly a classical product, a classical literature”.

A.K. Ramanujan, another scholar of global reputation, endorsed the above view and further added that among the two Classical languages of India, Sanskrit is not in current usage while Tamil continues its existence with a classical past.

Apart from the views of the aforesaid scholars, the historians and archaeologists established the fact that the Indus-Valley Civilisation is Pre- Aryan and Proto – Tamilian, indicating that the language of the Indus people was Proto-Tamil, the ancient form of Classical Tamil. The influence of Tamil on the Vedic Sanskrit was identified by Dr. M.B. Emneau and Dr.T. Burrow. Ka̅tya̅yana and Patanjali, the great commentators on the Aṣṭa̅dhya̅yi of Pa̅ṇiṇi exhibited their acquaintance with Tamil while explaining some grammatical rules. The presence of Tamil words in Greek, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malay and other global languages has been proved beyond doubt by the specialists. The cultural and commercial commingling of the Tamils with the West and East was established through the numismatic, epigraphical and literary evidences.

Thus, the classical status of Tamil and the international contact of the Tamils with the global people become evident.

Though the scholars and linguists unabatedly emphasised for more than a century that Tamil has been a classical language, the credit goes to Dr. Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi, the Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, whose sagacious and tenacious efforts prompted the Government of India for the official recognition and declaration of Tamil, as a Classical language on 12.10.2004. It is a memorable day in the annals of the Tamils.

* தமிழ்
* English

ஆய்வரங்க நிகழ்ச்சி நிரல் அடங்கிய கோப்பை இங்கே பதிவிறக்கம் செய்யலாம்.

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chemmozhimanadu கட்டுரையாளர் மற்றும் நோக்கர் 31.1.2010 க்கு முன் பதிவு செய்து 15.4.2010 க்குள் இசைவுக்கடிதம் அனுப்பியிருந்தால் மட்டும் தொடர்பு கொள்ளவும் 4 days ago reply
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chemmozhimanadu நீங்கள் நோக்கராக இருந்து அழைப்பிதழ் பெறவில்லை எனில் (+9444261503) செல்பேசி எண்ணில் தொடர்பு கொள்க. 4 days ago reply
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chemmozhimanadu If you are an observer and you are yet to receive the invitation please contact Ph:+9444261503. 4 days ago reply
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chemmozhimanadu Invitation have been sent to all Delegates. அனைத்து பேராளர்களுக்கும் அழைப்பிதழ் அனுப்புப்பட்டுவிட்டது. 4 days ago reply
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chemmozhimanadu The full program schedule is available at the website for download. ஆய்வரங்க நிகழ்ச்சி நிரல் அடங்கிய கோப்பை இங்கே பதிவிறக்கம் செய்யலாம். 4 days ago reply
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chemmozhimanadu or send it to The Coordinator, World Classical Tamil Conference - Seminar, 6, Palaru Illam, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai-600005. 5/5 57 days ago reply
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