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embak ogan pasemah rejang serawai baybayin buhid hanunoo tagbanwa kulitan mon burmese burmese western pwo karen s gaw karen shan tanchangya lik tai scripts ahom khamti tai le modern mon chakma tai tham new tai lue pyu v t e the tamil script தமிழ் அரிச்சுவடி tamiḻ ariccuvaṭi tamiɻ ˈaɾitːɕuʋaɽi is an abugida script that is used by tamils and tamil speakers in india sri lanka malaysia singapore and elsewhere to write the tamil language 4 it is one of the official scripts of the indian republic certain minority languages such as saurashtra badaga irula and paniya are also rendered in the tamil script 5 characteristics edit diverging evolution of tamil brahmi script center column into the vatteluttu alphabet leftmost column and the tamil script rightmost column the tamil script has 12 vowels உயிரெழுத்து uyireḻuttu soul letters 18 consonants மெய்யெழுத்து meyyeḻuttu body letters and one special character the ஃ ஆய்த எழுத்து āytha eḻuttu ஃ is called அக்கு akku and is classified in tamil orthography as being neither a consonant nor a vowel 6 however it is listed at the end of the vowel set the script is syllabic not alphabetic and is written from left to right history edit see also tamil brahmi pallava script grantha script vatteluttu kolezhuthu and arwi historical evolution of tamil writing from the earlier tamil brahmi near the top to the current tamil script at bottom tirukkural palm leaf manuscript the tamil script like the other brahmic scripts is thought to have evolved from the original brahmi script 7 the earliest inscriptions which are accepted examples of tamil writing date to the ashokan period the script used by such inscriptions is commonly known as the tamil brahmi or tamili script and differs in many ways from standard ashokan brahmi for example early tamil brahmi unlike ashokan brahmi had a system to distinguish between pure consonants m in this example and consonants with an inherent vowel ma in this example in addition according to iravatham mahadevan early tamil brahmi used slightly different vowel markers had extra characters to represent letters not found in sanskrit and omitted letters for sounds not present in tamil such as voiced consonants and aspirates 7 inscriptions from the 2nd century use a later form of tamil brahmi which is substantially similar to the writing system described in the tolkāppiyam an ancient tamil grammar most notably they used the puḷḷi to suppress the inherent vowel 8 the tamil letters thereafter evolved towards a more rounded form and by the 5th or 6th century they had reached a form called the early vaṭṭeḻuttu 9 the modern tamil script does not however descend from that script 10 in the 7th century a new script for tamil was formed in the pallava kingdom created by the simplification of pallava grantha letters and adding additional vaṭṭeḻuttu letters to be able to write some necessary sounds 2 by the 8th century the new tamil script supplanted vaṭṭeḻuttu in the pallava and chola kingdoms which lay in the north portion of the tamil speaking region however vaṭṭeḻuttu continued to be used in the southern portion of the tamil speaking region in the chera and pandyan kingdoms until the 11th century when the pandyan kingdom was conquered by the cholas who inherited while being feudatory of pallavas for a short time 3 2 francis 2024 distinguishes the grantha and tamil alphabets as two closely related writing systems that were used for sanskrit and tamil respectively while noting that the correspondence between language and script was not absolute sanskrit loanwords could be written with grantha graphemes within otherwise tamil inscriptions and tamil words would rarely be written in grantha 11 12 lockwood 2008 uses the terms grantha sanskrit and grantha tamil for the two related scripts and more specifically pallava grantha sanskrit and pallava grantha tamil for their pallava period forms he notes that the two forms were closely related with corresponding letters deriving from the same brāhmī source forms but that individual letters could nevertheless differ in their shapes and orthographic functions lockwood states that the pallava grantha tamil script was subsequently adopted by the cholas and became the direct basis of the modern tamil script 13 the use of palm leaves as the primary medium for writing led to changes in the script the scribe had to be careful not to pierce the leaves with the stylus while writing because a leaf with a hole was more likely to tear and decay faster as a result the use of the puḷḷi to distinguish pure consonants became rare with pure consonants usually being written as if the inherent vowel were present similarly the vowel marker ஃ called tamil குற்றியலுகரம் romanized kuṟṟiyal ukaram lit short u sound a half rounded u which occurs at the end of some words and in the medial position in certain compound words marking a shortened u sound also fell out of use and was replaced by the marker for the simple u ு the puḷḷi ஂ did not fully reappear until the introduction of printing but the marker kuṟṟiyal ukaram ஃ never came back for this purpose into use although its usage is retained in certain grammatical conceptual words whereas the sound itself still exists and plays an important role in tamil prosody citation needed the forms of some of the letters were simplified in the 19th century to make the script easier to typeset in the 20th century the script was simplified even further in a series of reforms which regularised the vowel markers used with consonants by eliminating special markers and most irregular forms relationship with other indic scripts edit the tamil script differs from other brahmi derived scripts in a number of ways unlike every other brahmic script it does not regularly represent voiced or aspirated stop consonants as these are not phonemes of the tamil language even though voiced and fricative allophones of stops do appear in spoken tamil thus the character க் k for example represents k but can also be pronounced g or x based on the rules of tamil phonology a separate set of characters appears for these sounds when the tamil script is used to write sanskrit or other languages also unlike other brahmi scripts the tamil script rarely uses typographic ligatures to represent conjunct consonants which are far less frequent in tamil than in other indian languages where they occur conjunct consonants are written by writing the character for the first consonant adding the puḷḷi to suppress its inherent vowel and then writing the character for the second consonant there are a few exceptions namely க்ஷ kṣa and ஶ்ரீ śrī iso 15919 is an international standard for the transliteration of tamil and other indic scripts into latin characters it uses diacritics to map the much larger set of brahmic consonants and vowels to the latin script letters edit mangulam tamili inscription in mangulam madurai district tamil nadu dated to tamil sangam period c 400 bce to c 200 ce explanation for mangulam tamil brahmi inscription in mangulam madurai district tamil nadu dated to tamil sangam period c 400 bce to c 200 ce left tampiran vanakkam doctrina christum was the first book in tamil printed on 20 october 1578 right a book in tamil printed in 1781 basic consonants edit consonants are called the body mei letters the consonants are classified into three categories vallinam hard consonants mellinam soft consonants including all nasals and itayinam medium consonants there are some lexical rules for the formation of words the tolkāppiyam describes such rules some examples a word cannot end in certain consonants and cannot begin with some consonants including r l and ḻ there are six nasal consonants in tamil a velar nasal ங் a palatal nasal ஞ் a retroflex nasal ண் a dental nasal ந் a bilabial nasal ம் and an alveolar nasal ன் the order of the alphabet strictly abugida in tamil closely matches that of the nearby languages both in location and linguistics reflecting the common origin of their scripts from brahmi tamil language has 18 consonants mey eluttukkal traditional grammarians have classified these 18 into three groups of 6 letters each this classification is done based on the method of articulation and hence the nature of these letters vallinam hard group mellinam soft group and idaiyinam medium group all consonants are pronounced for a half unit māttirai time length when isolated consonants combined with vowels will be pronounced with the time length of the vowel citation needed tamil consonants 14 consonant iso 15919 category ipa க் k vallinam k ங் ṅ mellinam ŋ ச் c vallinam t͡ʃ s ஞ் ñ mellinam ɲ ட் ṭ vallinam ʈ ண் ṇ mellinam ɳ த் t vallinam t̪ ந் n mellinam n̪ ப் p vallinam p ம் m mellinam m ய் y idaiyinam j ர் r idaiyinam ɾ ல் l idaiyinam l̪ வ் v idaiyinam v ழ் ḻ idaiyinam ɻ ள் ḷ idaiyinam ɭ ற் ṟ vallinam r ன் ṉ mellinam n extra consonants used in tamil edit the tamil speech has incorporated many phonemes that were not part of the tolkāppiyam classification the letters used to represent these sounds known as grantha are regarded as supplementary to the standard alphabet they are taught from elementary school and are incorporated in tamil all character encoding tace16 grantha consonants in tamil 14 consonant iso 15919 ipa ஜ் j d͡ʒ ஶ் ś ʃ ஷ் ṣ ʂ ஸ் s s ஹ் h h க்ஷ் kṣ kʂ there is also the ligature ஶ்ரீ śrī equivalent to श्री in devanagari combinations of consonants with ஃ ஆய்த எழுத்து āyda eḻuttu equivalent to nuqta are occasionally used to represent phonemes of foreign languages especially to write islamic and christian texts for example asif அசிஃப் azārutīn̠ அஃஜாருதீன் genghis khan கெங்கிஸ் ஃகான் citation needed a nuqta like diacritic is used while writing the badaga language and double dot nuqta for the irula language to transcribe its sounds 15 there has also been effort to differentiate voiced and voiceless consonants through subscripted numbers two three and four which stand for the unvoiced aspirated voiced voiced aspirated respectively this was used to transcribe sanskrit words in sanskrit tamil books as shown in the table below 16 17 க ka க kha க ga க gha ச ca ச cha ஜ ja ஜ jha ட ṭa ட ṭha ட ḍa ட ḍha த ta த tha த da த dha ப pa ப pha ப ba ப bha the unicode standard uses superscripted digits for the same purpose as in ப² pha ப³ ba and ப bha 18 vowels edit vowels are also called the life uyir or soul letters together with the consonants mei which are called body letters they form compound syllabic abugida letters that are called living or embodied letters uyir mei i e letters that have both body and soul tamil language has 12 vowels which are divided into short and long five of each type and two diphthongs tamil vowels 14 independent vowel sign iso 15919 ipa அ n a a ɐ ஆ ா ā aː இ ி i i ஈ ீ ī iː உ ு u u ஊ ூ ū uː எ ெ e e ஏ ே ē eː ஐ ை ai ɐi̯ ஒ ொ o o ஓ ோ ō oː ஔ ௌ au ɐu̯ compound form edit using the consonant k as an example formation compound form iso 15919 ipa க் அ க ka kɐ க் ஆ கா kā kaː க் இ கி ki ki க் ஈ கீ kī kiː க் உ கு ku ku க் ஊ கூ kū kuː க் எ கெ ke ke க் ஏ கே kē keː க் ஐ கை kai kɐi̯ க் ஒ கொ ko ko க் ஓ கோ kō koː க் ஔ கௌ kau kɐu̯ the special letter ஃ represented by three dots is called āyta eḻuttu or aḵ it originally represented an archaic tamil retention of the dravidian sound ḥ which has been lost in almost all modern dravidian languages and in tamil traditionally serves a purely grammatical function but in modern times it has come to be used as a diacritic to represent foreign sounds for example ஃப is used for the english sound f not found in tamil it also served before palm leaves became the primary writing medium for words ending with an inherent consonsant vowel u as a pronouncing rule for a short u called tamil குற்றியலுகரம் romanized kuṟṟiyal ukaram lit short u sound following consonants rendered this behaviour கு சு டு து பு று instead of writing like in modern days without any markers for example tamil அது romanized atu it was written with a preceding ஃ like tamil அஃது romanized aḥtu another symbol ஂ represented by a small hollow circle and called aṉuvara is the anusvara now obsolete in tamil it was traditionally used as a homorganic nasal when in front of a consonant and either as a bilabial nasal m or alveolar nasal n at the end of a word depending on the context the long nedil vowels are about twice as long as the short kuṟil vowels the diphthongs are usually pronounced about one and a half times as long as the short vowels though some grammatical texts place them with the long nedil vowels as can be seen in the compound form the vowel sign can be added to the right left or both sides of the consonants it can also form a ligature these rules are evolving and older use has more ligatures than modern use what you actually see on this page depends on your font selection for example code2000 will show more ligatures than latha there are proponents of script reform who want to eliminate all ligatures and let all vowel signs appear on the right side unicode encodes the character in logical order always the consonant first whereas legacy 8 bit encodings such as tscii prefer the written order this makes it necessary to reorder when converting from one encoding to another it is not sufficient simply to map one set of code points to the other compound table of tamil letters edit the following table lists vowel uyir or life letters across the top and consonant mei or body letters along the side the combination of which gives all tamil compound uyirmei letters tolkāppiyam consonants vowels a ா ā ி i ீ ī ு u ூ ū ெ e ே ē ை ai ொ o ோ ō ௌ au independent அ ஆ இ ஈ உ ஊ எ ஏ ஐ ஒ ஓ ஔ க் k க கா கி கீ கு கூ கெ கே கை கொ கோ கௌ ங் ṅ ங ஙா ஙி ஙீ ஙு ஙூ ஙெ ஙே ஙை ஙொ ஙோ ஙௌ ச் c ச சா சி சீ சு சூ செ சே சை சொ சோ சௌ ஞ் ñ ஞ ஞா ஞி ஞீ ஞு ஞூ ஞெ ஞே ஞை ஞொ ஞோ ஞௌ ட் ṭ ட டா டி டீ டு டூ டெ டே டை டொ டோ டௌ ண் ṇ ண ணா ணி ணீ ணு ணூ ணெ ணே ணை ணொ ணோ ணௌ த் t த தா தி தீ து தூ தெ தே தை தொ தோ தௌ ந் n ந நா நி நீ நு நூ நெ நே நை நொ நோ நௌ ப் p ப பா பி பீ பு பூ பெ பே பை பொ போ பௌ ம் m ம மா மி மீ மு மூ மெ மே மை மொ மோ மௌ ய் y ய யா யி யீ யு யூ யெ யே யை யொ யோ யௌ ர் r ர ரா ரி ரீ ரு ரூ ரெ ரே ரை ரொ ரோ ரௌ ல் l ல லா லி லீ லு லூ லெ லே லை லொ லோ லௌ வ் v வ வா வி வீ வு வூ வெ வே வை வொ வோ வௌ ழ் ḻ ழ ழா ழி ழீ ழு ழூ ழெ ழே ழை ழொ ழோ ழௌ ள் ḷ ள ளா ளி ளீ ளு ளூ ளெ ளே ளை ளொ ளோ ளௌ ற் ṟ ற றா றி றீ று றூ றெ றே றை றொ றோ றௌ ன் ṉ ன னா னி னீ னு னூ னெ னே னை னொ னோ னௌ grantha compound table grantha consonants vowels a ா ā ி i ீ ī ு u ூ ū ெ e ே ē ை ai ொ o ோ ō ௌ au ஶ் ś ஶ ஶா ஶி ஶீ ஶு ஶூ ஶெ ஶே ஶை ஶொ ஶோ ஶௌ ஜ் j ஜ ஜா ஜி ஜீ ஜு ஜூ ஜெ ஜே ஜை ஜொ ஜோ ஜௌ ஷ் ṣ ஷ ஷா ஷி ஷீ ஷு ஷூ ஷெ ஷே ஷை ஷொ ஷோ ஷௌ ஸ் s ஸ ஸா ஸி ஸீ ஸு ஸூ ஸெ ஸே ஸை ஸொ ஸோ ஸௌ ஹ் h ஹ ஹா ஹி ஹீ ஹு ஹூ ஹெ ஹே ஹை ஹொ ஹோ ஹௌ க்ஷ் kṣ க்ஷ க்ஷா க்ஷி க்ஷீ க்ஷு க்ஷூ க்ஷெ க்ஷே க்ஷை க்ஷொ க்ஷோ க்ஷௌ writing order edit vowels uyireḻuttu letter animation அ a ஆ ā இ i ஈ ī உ u ஊ ū எ e ஏ ē ஐ ai ஒ o ஓ ō ஔ au ஃ aḵ ஃ is aytam but traditionally grouped with the vowel letters consonants meyyeḻuttu letter animation க் k ங் ṅ ச் ch ஞ் ñ ட் t ண் ṇ த் th ந் n ப் p ம் m ய் y ர் r ல் l வ் v ழ் ḻ ள் ḷ ற் ṟ ன் ṉ numerals and symbols edit...
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