The document explores the linguistic diversity of Tamil people and cultures, particularly focusing on the significance of language as a representation of thought across disciplines. It discusses the classification of languages into families, specifically within India, highlighting the major families and the complexity of their structures. Additionally, it illustrates the cultural aspects of Tamil, including traditional practices, literature, and the presence of numerous ancient temples that embody Tamil heritage.

1. http://www.inbaminge.com/t/folk/Thekkampatti%20S%20Sundarrajan%20Nattupura%20Padalgal%20-%20Folk%20Songs/
cittaantarettinam Dr.S.Sundarabalu
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
Bharathiar University
Coimbatore-46
India
Sunder_balu@yahoo.co.in
9715769995
• Tamil People and Cultures

4. 4

6. The famous Tamil work Silappathikaram belongs to the later Sangam period.
(epic)
(Written by iLango atikaL )
(Silappathikaram)
-

7. English: GOOD MORNING
Polish:DOBRY
Tamil: vanakkam

10. • What is Language
• Philosophers logicians, psychologists, literary critics,
creative writers, linguists, and many others have been
interested in language and have defined it from the
point of view of their own disciplines
• Speech is the representation of the experience of the
mind -Aristotle
• Language is the expression of ideas by means of
speech sounds combined into words
-Henry Sweet
• A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols, by means
of which a social group co-operates.
-Bloch and Trager
• The totality of the utterances that can be made in a speech
community is the language of that speech community
-Bloomfield

11. Some Common Features of Languages
1. Wherever humans exist, language exists.
2. All languages are equally complex and equally capable of expressing any idea in
the universe.
3. All languages change through time.
4. The relationships between the sounds and meanings of spoken languages are
arbitrary.
5. All human languages utilize a finite set of distinct sounds (phonemes) that are
combined to form meaningful elements or words, which themselves form an
infinite set of possible sentences.
6. All grammars contain rules for the formation of words and sentences of a similar
kind.
7. Every spoken language includes isolated sound segments like p, n, or a, which
can all be defined by a finite set of sound properties or features. Every spoken
language has a class of vowels and a class of consonants.
8. Similar grammatical categories (for example, noun, verb) are found in all
languages.
9. There are semantic universals, such as “male” or “female”, “animate” or
“human”, found in every language in the world.
10. Every language has a way of referring to past time, negating, forming questions,
issuing commands, and so on.
Source: An Introduction to Language (1993) by Fromkin & Rodman

12. • Language Family

13. • Language Family
• A set of languages deriving from a
common ancestor or "parent." Languages
with a significant number of common
features in phonology, lexicology,
morphology and syntax stem from a
common ancestor. Subdivisions of a
language family are called "branches.”

14. • "It is estimated that there are more than
250 established language families in
the world, and over 6800 distinct
languages, many of which are
threatened or endangered.“
(Keith Brown and Sarah Ogilvie, Concise Encyclopedia
of Languages of the World. Elsevier Science, 2008)“

16. Group Language
Lexicon
"father" "mother" "brother" "two" "three" "four" "horse"
Germanic Old English fæder modor broðor twa thrie feowre eoh
Italic Latin pater mater frater duos tres quattuor equus
Celtic Old Irish athair mathair brathir do tri ceathair ech
Hellenic Greek pater meter phrater 1
duos tri tetra hippos
Indic Sanskrit pitar matar bhratar dva trayas chatvari asva
Iranian Avestan pitar matar bratar dwa trayo chatvaro aspa
Slavic Russian otech matka brat dva tri chetyre
loshaa
(kon)
Armenian Armenian hayr erku erek' cork'
Tocharian Tocharian B pacer macer procer wi trai s'twer yakwe

17. • Indian Language Family

21. • India is one of the most linguistically diverse
countries in the world. Most languages in India
belong to one of the four language families:
• Indo-Aryan,
• Dravidian,
• Tibeto-Burmese and
• Austro-Asiatic.
• According to the 2001 Indian Census there are a
total of 122 languages and 234 mother tongues.
• However, these figures cannot be accepted as final as the Census does not report languages
spoken by fewer than 10,000 speakers (for instance, in 1961 around 1652 mother tongues
were returned in the Census but only 193 languages were classified).

22. INDO-ARYAN
1. Assamese (S),
2. Bengali(S),
3.Bhili/Bhilodi,
4.Bishnupuriya,
5. Dogri(S)
6. Gujarati(S),
7. Halabi,
8. Hindi(S),
9. Kashmiri(S), 1
0. Khandeshi,
11. Konkani(S),
12. Lahnda,
13. Maithili(S),
14. Marathi(S),
15. Nepali(S),
16. Oriya(S),
17. Punjabi(S),
18. Sanskrit(S),
19. Shina,
20. Sindhi(S),
21. Urdu(S),
DRAVIDIAN
1.Coorgi/
Kodagu,
2. Gondi,
3. Jatapu,
4. Kannada(S),
5.Khond/Kondh,
6. Kisan,
7. Kolami,
8. Konda,
9.Koya,
10. Kui,
11. Kurukh/Oraon,
12. Malayalam(S),
13. Malto,
14. Parji,
16. Telugu(S),
17.Tulu.
AUSTRO-ASIATIC
1.Bhumij,
2. Gadaba,
3. Ho,
4. Juang,
5. Kharia,
6. Khasi,
7. Koda/Kora,
8. Korku,
9. Korwa,
10. Munda,
11.Mundari,
12. Nicobarese,
13. Santali(S)
14.Savara.

23. TIBETO-BURMESE
1.Adi, 2. Anal, 3. Angami, 4. Ao, 5. Balti, 6. Bhotia, 7. Bodo (S), 8.
Chakesang, 9. Chakru/Chokri, 10. Chang, 11. Deori, 12. Dimasa, 13.
Gangte, 14. Garo, 15. Halam, 16. Hmar, 17. Kabui, 18. Karbi/Mikir,
19. Khezha, 20. Khiemnungan, 21.Kinnauri, 22. Koch, 23. Kom, 24.
Konyak, 25. Kuki, 26. Ladakhi, 27. Lahauli, 28. Lakher, 29. Lalung, 30.
Lepcha, 31. Liangmei, 32. Limbu, 33.Lotha, 34. Lushai/Mizo, 35.
Manipuri(S), 36. Maram, 37. Maring, 38.Miri/ Mishing, 39. Mishmi,
40. Mogh, 41. Monpa, 42. Nissi/Dafla, 43. Nocte, 44. Paite, 45. Pawi,
46. Phom, 47. Pochury, 48. Rabha, 49. Rai 50.Rengma, 51. Sangtam,
52. Sema, 53. Sherpa, 54. Simte, 55. Tamang 56. Tangkhul, 57.
Tangsa, 58. Thado, 59. Tibetan, 60. Tripuri, 61. Vaiphei, 62. Wancho,
63.Yimchungr, 64.Zeliang, 65. Zemi, 66. Zou.
(Census India, 2010-11)

24. Languages at the time of formation of the
Constitution
1. Assamese 6. Kashmiri 11. Sanskrit
2. Bengali 7. Malayalam 12. Tamil
3. Gujarati 8. Marathi 13. Telugu
4. Hindi 9. Oriya 14. Urdu
5. Kannada 10. Punjabi

25. • LIST OF DRAVIDIAN LANGUAGES
• Southern
1. Tamil
2. Kannada
3. Malayalam
4. Tulu
5. Toda
6. Kota
7. Koraga
8. Badaga
9. Kurumba
10.Irula
11.Kodava (Kodagu)

26. Central
1. Telugu
2. Gondi
3. Koya
4. Konda
5. Manda
6. Pengo
7. Kui
8. Kuvi
9. Kolami
10.Naiki
11.Parji
12.Gadaba
• Northern
1. Brahui (the only Dravidian language NOT spoken in India, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh or Nepal; it is spoken in Balochistan in Pakistan)
2. Kurukh
3. Malto

27. TAMILNADU

28. TAMIL ANNAI

30. Tamil - Traditional Dress

38. • There are three types of Tamil. So It is called “Tamil
the three”.
• Tamil covers all three important aspects of a
language, prose, music, and drama.
1. Tamil for prose helps one express their thoughts in
a very simple form of prose and poems called
cheyuLL.
2. Music Tamil helps one express their thoughts with
music cheyuLL is accompanied by music in isai
Tamil.
3. Tamil in Drama helps To express thoughts through
acting. Nadakat tamil

40. Tamil Folk Dance

43. jallikattu (Tamil: callikaṭṭtu) or, the Old Tamil phrasees eruthazhuvuthal
(Tamil: ērutazhuval) or manju viraṭṭu (Tamil: is a bull
taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day.

49. 49

54. Tamil folk lullaby

55. • Occupations of Tamil Land

61. Palmyra –Palm Tree

62. Making Salt

67. Veenai – Making A Musical Instrument

69. Making Silk- Sari

71. Fish –Catching

73. Food – Vegetarian and
Non -Vegetarian

74. Worship

75. • This is a list of popular Hindu temples in the Indian
state of Tamil Nadu, known as Land of Temples. Nearly
34,000 ancient temples, many at least 800 to 1200
years old, are found scattered all over the state. Most
of the largest Hindu Temples reside here. Studded with
complex architecture, variety of sculptures, and rich
inscriptions, the temples remain the very essence of
the culture and heritage of Tamil land, with historical
records dating back to at least 3,000 years.

81. Thousand pillars Mandabam