How Tamil is a classical language?

Answer 1

Vanakkam to cool_honeybabe ,all the thamizhar's and others who are interested in this question.

Tamil Is a classical language. It has a Very rich literary Heritage that spans more than 2500 years (of written records), and may be far older than that.

And Tamil is THE only classical language that is STILL being spoken by people as a LIVING language all over the world(not only in thamil nadu).

sankrit had died and only lives on in scholarly papers/priests whereas Tamil thrives even today. Tamil is also the ONLY classical language thats native to India. Tamil belongs to the Dravidian language family(even the word "Dravida" is a sanskrit attempt to pronounce Thamil)

Sanskrit belongs to the Indo_European language family and is not native to South Asia whereas the Dravidian languages are Native to South Asia.

a list of the world's classical languages is as follows

* Indo-European languages:
o Classical Greek (Attic dialect of the 5th c. BC)
o Classical Sanskrit (defined by Panini's grammar, ca. 5th c. BC)
o Classical Latin (literary language of the 1st c. BC)
* Afro-Asiatic languages:
o Classical Arabic (based the language of the Qur'an, 7th c.)
o Classical Hebrew (based on language of the Tanakh of ca. the 6th c. BC)
* Classical Tamil (a Dravidian language, declared a classical language by the Government of India in 2004)
* Classical Chinese (a Sino-Tibetan languages; based on the literary language of the Zhou Dynasty from ca. the 5th c. BC)


Professor George L. Hart, Dean of Linguistics in the University of Berkeley California has a wonderful article on Why Tamil IS a classical language.

his article is as follows
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Professor Maraimalai has asked me to write regarding the position of Tamil as a classical language, and I am delighted to respond to his request.

I have been a Professor of Tamil at the University of California, Berkeley, since 1975 and am currently holder of the Tamil Chair at that institution. My degree, which I received in 1970, is in Sanskrit, from Harvard, and my first employment was as a Sanskrit professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1969. Besides Tamil and Sanskrit, I know the classical languages of Latin and Greek and have read extensively in their literatures in the original. I am also well-acquainted with comparative linguistics and the literatures of modern Europe (I know Russian, German, and French and have read extensively in those languages) as well as the literatures of modern India, which, with the exception of Tamil and some Malayalam, I have read in translation. I have spent much time discussing Telugu literature and its tradition with V. Narayanarao, one of the greatest living Telugu scholars, and so I know that tradition especially well. As a long-standing member of a South Asian Studies department, I have also been exposed to the richness of both Hindi literature, and I have read in detail about Mahadevi Varma, Tulsi, and Kabir.

I have spent many years -- most of my life (since 1963) -- studying Sanskrit. I have read in the original all of Kalidasa, Magha, and parts of Bharavi and Sri Harsa. I have also read in the original the fifth book of the Rig Veda as well as many other sections, many of the Upanisads, most of the Mahabharata, the Kathasaritsagara, Adi Sankara’s works, and many other works in Sanskrit.

I say this not because I wish to show my erudition, but rather to establish my fitness for judging whether a literature is classical. Let me state unequivocally that, by any criteria one may choose, Tamil is one of the great classical literatures and traditions of the world.

The reasons for this are many; let me consider them one by one.

First, Tamil is of considerable antiquity. It predates the literatures of other modern Indian languages by more than a thousand years. Its oldest work, the Tolkappiyam,, contains parts that, judging from the earliest Tamil inscriptions, date back to about 200 BCE. The greatest works of ancient Tamil, the Sangam anthologies and the Pattuppattu, date to the first two centuries of the current era. They are the first great secular body of poetry written in India, predating Kalidasa's works by two hundred years.

Second, Tamil constitutes the only literary tradition indigenous to India that is not derived from Sanskrit. Indeed, its literature arose before the influence of Sanskrit in the South became strong and so is qualitatively different from anything we have in Sanskrit or other Indian languages. It has its own poetic theory, its own grammatical tradition, its own esthetics, and, above all, a large body of literature that is quite unique. It shows a sort of Indian sensibility that is quite different from anything in Sanskrit or other Indian languages, and it contains its own extremely rich and vast intellectual tradition.

Third, the quality of classical Tamil literature is such that it is fit to stand beside the great literatures of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Chinese, Persian and Arabic. The subtlety and profundity of its works, their varied scope (Tamil is the only premodern Indian literature to treat the subaltern extensively), and their universality qualify Tamil to stand as one of the great classical traditions and literatures of the world. Everyone knows the Tirukkural, one of the world's greatest works on ethics; but this is merely one of a myriad of major and extremely varied works that comprise the Tamil classical tradition. There is not a facet of human existence that is not explored and illuminated by this great literature.

Finally, Tamil is one of the primary independent sources of modern Indian culture and tradition. I have written extensively on the influence of a Southern tradition on the Sanskrit poetic tradition. But equally important, the great sacred works of Tamil Hinduism, beginning with the Sangam Anthologies, have undergirded the development of modern Hinduism. Their ideas were taken into the Bhagavata Purana and other texts (in Telugu and Kannada as well as Sanskrit), whence they spread all over India. Tamil has its own works that are considered to be as sacred as the Vedas and that are recited alongside Vedic mantras in the great Vaisnava temples of South India (such as Tirupati). And just as Sanskrit is the source of the modern Indo-Aryan languages, classical Tamil is the source language of modern Tamil and Malayalam. As Sanskrit is the most conservative and least changed of the Indo-Aryan languages, Tamil is the most conservative of the Dravidian languages, the touchstone that linguists must consult to understand the nature and development of Dravidian.

In trying to discern why Tamil has not been recognized as a classical language, I can see only a political reason: there is a fear that if Tamil is selected as a classical language, other Indian languages may claim similar status. This is an unnecessary worry. I am well aware of the richness of the modern Indian languages -- I know that they are among the most fecund and productive languages on earth, each having begotten a modern (and often medieval) literature that can stand with any of the major literatures of the world. Yet none of them is a classical language. Like English and the other modern languages of Europe (with the exception of Greek), they rose on preexisting traditions rather late and developed in the second millennium. The fact that Greek is universally recognized as a classical language in Europe does not lead the French or the English to claim classical status for their languages.

To qualify as a classical tradition, a language must fit several criteria: it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich body of ancient literature. Unlike the other modern languages of India, Tamil meets each of these requirements. It is extremely old (as old as Latin and older than Arabic); it arose as an entirely independent tradition, with almost no influence from Sanskrit or other languages; and its ancient literature is indescribably vast and rich.

It seems strange to me that I should have to write an essay such as this claiming that Tamil is a classical literature -- it is akin to claiming that India is a great country or Hinduism is one of the world's great religions. The status of Tamil as one of the great classical languages of the world is something that is patently obvious to anyone who knows the subject. To deny that Tamil is a classical language is to deny a vital and central part of the greatness and richness of Indian culture.



(Signed:)
George L. Hart
Professor of Tamil
Chair in Tamil Studies

the link to the original article
http://tamil.berkeley.edu/Tamil%20Chair/TamilClassicalLanguage/TamilClassicalLgeLtr.html
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Indian government declared Thamil as a classical language on 2004 (Even before it declared Sanskrit as a classical language!)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/854977.cms


The main thing to note in his article is this definition of a classical language and how Tamil more than fulfills it!

"To qualify as a classical tradition, a language must fit several criteria:

it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich body of ancient literature. Unlike the other modern languages of India, Tamil meets each of these requirements. It is extremely old (as old as Latin and older than Arabic); it arose as an entirely independent tradition, with almost no influence from Sanskrit or other languages; and its ancient literature is indescribably vast and rich."


And on top of this we have to remember that the language spoken by the Indus civilization people are Dravidian.

Only now many sanskrit scholars are accepting that Sanskrit itself was heavily influenced by the native Dravidian languages when the aryan people moved into india(it was not an invasion but more like a series of migrations of nomadic /pastorial people. by the time they moved into india(around 1700Bc) the Indus valley civilization had already collapsed(around 2000Bc) due to the shifting of the rivers)

check out this wonderful link of the Indus valley script partial-dechiperment by the world renouned Linguistcs expert Asko-Parpola
http://www.harappa.com/script/parpola0.html


The presence of non-Indo-European vocabulary and retroflex consonants in Vedic Sanskrit is generally taken by linguists to indicate the influence of a non-Indo-European speaking substratum population, variously identified as Proto-Dravidian

Retroflex phonemes are found throughout Dravidian and Munda and are reconstructed for proto-Dravidian and proto-Munda and are thus clearly an areal feature of the Indian subcontinent. They are reconstructible for neither Proto-Indo-European nor for Proto-Indo-Iranian. The acquisition of the phonological trait by early Indo-Aryan upon its arrival in the Indian subcontinent is thus unsurprising, but it does not allow to identify the donor language (Munda or Dravidian). Since the adoption of a retroflex series does not affect poetic meter, it is impossible to say if it predates the early portions of the Rigveda; all that can be said for certain is that at the time of the redaction of the Rigveda (ca. 800 BC), the retroflex series had become part of Sanskrit phonology.

including kulāya "nest", kulpha "ankle", daṇḍa "stick", kūla "slope", bila "hollow", khala "threshing floor" are of Dravidian origin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian_substratum_in_Sanskrit

Thamils are still able to speak and understand what was written 2000 years ago!.(thrukkural). can an average hindi speaker understand 1 word of sanskrit?lol hell no.Also Thamil religious literature are mostly in thamil , the works of nayanmar and the alwars are held in much high esteem and used all over the world wherever thamils live.its a very good example of how much Thamil had retained its originality whereas many other Dravidian languages had fallen by the wayside(taken on many foreign words ; generally sanskrit)

The Influence of Thamil is found on many south-east Asian languages as well. Even the Kings Of Thailand(even though its a Buddhist country) are recited words from the Thamil "Thiruvasakam" when they are coronated(made king)

So all in all, its proven Beyond any shred of doubt that Thamizh is not only a Classical language but a Living(living=spoken day to day) Classical language. The ONLY LIVING CLASSICAL LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD:)

Thamizhan enru sollada; thalai nimirnthu nillada:)

Answer 2

Tamil Classical Language

Answer 3

Firstly - Tamil is the oldest language in the world

Secondly - Tamil is the true language which give a proper Indian idendity unlike Sanskrit whi was made in India by a bunch of intruders "Aryans"

Thirdy- Tamil language is dating back to the time of Lemuria as far as 9000BC

So there isnt a need to ask why Tamil is a classical language...

Ask why saskrit is a classical language, that makes more sense

Answer 4

Tamil is the cradle of the Indian Tongue.
Tamil is the mother of all Indian languages.

Without Tamil language there wouldn"t be Sanskrit though,
The birth of Sanskrit language is indeed through the influence of Tamil

Answer 5

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axbpE

According to researcher Peter Marshall the Tamil language is considered "one of the most sophisticated literary systems on earth." Some of the earliest extant inscriptions in this language date back to 500 BC. According to one website the Tolkāppiyam '(தொல்காப்பியம் in Tamil)', an ancient text concerning the grammar of the Tamil language which dates back to about 200 BC, is often mentioned as 'the world's oldest surviving grammar for any language.'

Answer 6

I am proud about it, Take this to central government and tell to help growing Indian classical language(Tamil) and not the Sanskrit.

Answer 7

Sanskrit which is created by the nomads can be considered classical.

Tamil is unlike that, it is way way much older, without Tamil , there isnt India,
Without Tamil, there wont be Sanskrit
Without Sanskrit there is no Hindi .

Answer 8

I am a singaporean with no roots from my ancestors at all in india.NAAN TAMIL PESUKIREAN!Is that enough to prove tamil is a classical language.

Answer 9

Tamil is an ancient language in this world, and as ancient as Sanskrit.

It is older than most of the other Indian languages, including Hindi.

It has the special alphabet "zha"

It is still alive and kicking

Answer 10

It should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own, not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich body of ancient literature
Tamil has all qualities, It arose own, has long history, and it is the only classical language alive today.

Answer 11

its becos Tamil is the most beautiful language and it can explain the most intricate meaning with ease--its a language to millions including me--the literature is awesome and not easily deciphered by the lay people--its a language which is delicate and demands its studends to b devoted to it-