Countries
Malaysia, Mauritius, Puducherry, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu
  
Fiji, India
  
National Language
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu
  
India
  
Second Language
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, kerala, Puducherry
  
Not spoken in any of the countries
  
Speaking Continents
Asia
  
Asia, Oceania
  
Minority Language
Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles
  
Not spoken in any of the countries
  
Regulated By
Official language Commission of Government of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur Tamil University
  
Central Hindi Directorate
  
Interesting Facts
- Tamil is the oldest language in the world. Tamil was spoken in South India more than 5000 years ago.
- The first legally recognized Classical Language of India is Tamil.
- In Hindi language, nouns are followed by post positions.
- In Hindi, there are many familiar words in English which are in Hindi or of Hindi origin.
  
Similar To
Malayalam
  
Urdu
  
Derived From
Not Available
  
Sanskrit Language
  
Alphabets in
Tamil-Alphabets.jpg#200
  
Hindi.jpg#200
  
Phonology
  
  
Scripts
Tamil
  
Devanagari
  
Writing Direction
Left-To-Right, Horizontal
  
Left-To-Right, Horizontal
  
Hard to Learn
  
  
Hello
வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)
  
नमस्ते (Namastē)
  
Thank You
நன்றி (Naṉṟi)
  
धन्यवाद (Dhan'yavāda)
  
How Are You?
நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்? (Nīṅkaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ?)
  
तुम कैसे हो? (Tuma kaisē hō?)
  
Good Night
நல்ல இரவு (Good night) / irravu vanakkam (Good night)
  
शुभरात्रि (Śubharātri)
  
Good Evening
நல்ல மாலை (Nalla mālai)/ மாலை (irravu vanakkam)
  
शुभ सन्ध्या (shubh sandhya)
  
Good Afternoon
பிற்பகல் வணக்கம் (perpagal vanakkam)
  
दोपहर के बाद नमस्कार (dopahar ke bad namaskar)
  
Good Morning
காலை வணக்கம் (Kaalai Vanakkam)
  
सुप्रभात (Suprabhāta)
  
Please
தயவு (Tayavu)
  
कृपया (Kr̥payā)
  
Sorry
மன்னிக்கவும் (Maṉṉikkavum)
  
खेद (Khēda)
  
Bye
சென்று வருகிறேன் (Sendru Varukiren)
  
अलविदा (Alavidā)
  
I Love You
நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (Naan Unnai Kadalikiren)
  
मैं आपसे प्यार करता (Maiṁ āpasē pyāra karatā)
  
Excuse Me
என்னை மன்னியுங்கள் (Eṉṉai maṉṉiyuṅkaḷ)
  
मुझे माफ करें (Mujhē māpha karēṁ)
  
Dialect 1
Kongu
  
Khariboli
  
Where They Speak
Kongu
  
Delhi, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh
  
How Many People Speak
Not Available
  
240,000,000.00
  
2
Dialect 2
Madurai Tamil
  
Marwari
  
Where They Speak
Madurai, South Tamil Nadu
  
Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Sindh
  
How Many People Speak
Not Available
  
22,000,000.00
  
3
Dialect 3
Tirunelveli Tamil
  
Bundeli
  
Where They Speak
South Tamil Nadu, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli
  
Bundelkhand
  
How Many People Speak
Not Available
  
20,000,000.00
  
4
How Many People Speak?
78.00 million
  
21
380.00 million
  
5
Native Speakers
70.00 million
  
15
260.00 million
  
4
Second Language Speakers
8.00 million
  
24
120.00 million
  
6
Native Name
தமிழ்
  
हिन्दी
  
Alternative Names
Damulian, Tamal, Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili
  
Khadi Boli, Khari Boli
  
French Name
tamoul
  
hindi
  
German Name
Tamil
  
Hindi
  
Pronunciation
[t̪ɐmɨɻ]
  
[ˈmaːnək ˈɦin̪d̪iː]
  
Ethnicity
Tamil people or Tamilans
  
Hindustani people
  
Origin
300 BC
  
7th Century
  
Language Family
Dravidian Family
  
Indo-European Family
  
Subgroup
Not Available
  
Indo-Iranian
  
Branch
Not Available
  
Indic
  
Language Forms
  
  
Early Forms
Old Tamil and Middle Tamil
  
No early forms
  
Standard Forms
Modern Tamil
  
Standard Hindi
  
Signed Forms
Signed Tamil
  
Indian Signing System
  
Scope
Individual
  
Individual
  
ISO 639 1
ta
  
hi
  
ISO 639 2
  
  
ISO 639 2/T
tam
  
hin
  
ISO 639 2/B
tam
  
hin
  
ISO 639 3
tam
  
hin
  
ISO 639 6
tam
  
hins
  
Glottocode
tami1289, oldt1248
  
hind1269
  
Linguasphere
tami1289
  
59-AAF-qf
  
Types of Language
  
  
Language Type
Living
  
Living
  
Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Object-Verb
  
Not Available
  
Language Morphological Typology
Not Available
  
Fusional, Synthetic