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A member of the Dravidian family of languages, Tamizh is primarily spoken in India. Official language of Tamil Nadu and Pondhicherry, Tamizh is also the official language of Sri Lanka and has a significant number of speakers in Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji and South Africa. In 2004, Tamizh was officially declared a classical language of India as it met the 3 following criteria:

1. Its origins are ancient.

2. It has an independent tradition.

3. It possesses a considerable body of ancient literature. 

The earliest Tamil writing is attested by inscriptions and post-herds from as early as 5th century BCE.  3 periods can be distinguished by observing grammatical and lexical changes: 

1. Old Tamil (from about 450 BCE to 700 CE)

2. Middle Tamil (700–1600)

3. Modern Tamil (from 1600).

The Tamil writing system evolved from the Brahmi script. The shape of the letters has changed enormously over time, eventually stabilizing when printing was introduced in the 16th century CE. The major addition to the alphabet was the incorporation of Grantha letters to write unassimilated Sanskrit words, although a few letters with irregular shapes were standardized during the modern period. A script known as Vatteluttu (“Round Script”) is also in common use.

Spoken Tamizh has also seen substantial changes over time, majorly in the phonological structure of words. This contributed to a system of distinct difference in terms of the language being spoken colloquially and written. In the early 21st century more than 66 million people Tamil speakers were recorded to exist on planet earth.

However, to most Tamilians, Tamizh is more than a mere language. It is an identity. Wonder how this ancient language survived the wave of time? Check out the video below and stay tuned to RAAGA for more Tamizh History all this week!