Countries
Malaysia, Mauritius, Puducherry, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu
  
India, Nepal
  
National Language
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu
  
Nepal
  
Second Language
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, kerala, Puducherry
  
Republic of Brazil
  
Speaking Continents
Asia
  
Asia
  
Minority Language
Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles
  
People's Republic of China
  
Regulated By
Official language Commission of Government of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur Tamil University
  
Language Academy of Nepal
  
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.
- Before the term "Nepali" was coined, historically the language was first called the Khas language, Gorkhali or Gukhali.
- Nepali has borrowed many loanwords from neighboring Tibeto-Burmese languages.
  
Similar To
Malayalam
  
Hindi
  
Derived From
Not Available
  
Sanskrit Language
  
Alphabets in
Tamil-Alphabets.jpg#200
  
Nepali-Alphabets.jpg#200
  
Phonology
  
  
Scripts
Tamil
  
Devanagari
  
Writing Direction
Left-To-Right, Horizontal
  
Left-To-Right, Horizontal
  
Hard to Learn
  
  
Hello
வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)
  
नमस्ते (namaste)
  
Thank You
நன்றி (Naṉṟi)
  
धन्यवाद (dhanyabad)
  
How Are You?
நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்? (Nīṅkaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ?)
  
तिमीलाई कस्तो छ? (timi lai kasto cha?)
  
Good Night
நல்ல இரவு (Good night) / irravu vanakkam (Good night)
  
शुभ रात्री (subha ratri)
  
Good Evening
நல்ல மாலை (Nalla mālai)/ மாலை (irravu vanakkam)
  
शुभ सन्ध्या (subha sandhya)
  
Good Afternoon
பிற்பகல் வணக்கம் (perpagal vanakkam)
  
Good afternoon
  
Good Morning
காலை வணக்கம் (Kaalai Vanakkam)
  
शुभ प्रभात (subha prabhat)
  
Please
தயவு (Tayavu)
  
कृपया
  
Sorry
மன்னிக்கவும் (Maṉṉikkavum)
  
माफ गनुस् (maapha ganus)
  
Bye
சென்று வருகிறேன் (Sendru Varukiren)
  
नमस्ते (namaste)
  
I Love You
நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (Naan Unnai Kadalikiren)
  
म तपाइलाइ माया गर्छु। (ma tapainlai maya garchu)
  
Excuse Me
என்னை மன்னியுங்கள் (Eṉṉai maṉṉiyuṅkaḷ)
  
माफ गनुस् (maapha ganus)
  
Dialect 1
Kongu
  
Doteli
  
Where They Speak
Kongu
  
Nepal
  
How Many People Speak
Not Available
  
Dialect 2
Madurai Tamil
  
Bajhangi
  
Where They Speak
Madurai, South Tamil Nadu
  
India, Nepal
  
Dialect 3
Tirunelveli Tamil
  
Baitadeli
  
Where They Speak
South Tamil Nadu, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli
  
Nepal
  
How Many People Speak?
78.00 million
  
21
30.00 million
  
36
Native Speakers
70.00 million
  
15
25.00 million
  
32
Second Language Speakers
8.00 million
  
24
5.00 million
  
29
Native Name
தமிழ்
  
नेपाली (nēpālī)
  
Alternative Names
Damulian, Tamal, Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili
  
Eastern Pahadi, Gorkhali, Gurkhali, Khaskura, Nepalese, Parbate
  
French Name
tamoul
  
népalais
  
German Name
Tamil
  
Nepali
  
Pronunciation
[t̪ɐmɨɻ]
  
Not Available
  
Ethnicity
Tamil people or Tamilans
  
Gurkha, Khas people, Madhesi and Tharu
  
Origin
300 BC
  
19 BC
  
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
  
Khas language, Gurkhali, Parbatiya, Dzongkha Lhotshammikha
  
Standard Forms
Modern Tamil
  
Nepali
  
Signed Forms
Signed Tamil
  
Signed Nepali
  
Scope
Individual
  
Individual, Macrolanguage
  
ISO 639 1
ta
  
ne
  
ISO 639 2
  
  
ISO 639 2/T
tam
  
nep
  
ISO 639 2/B
tam
  
nep
  
ISO 639 3
tam
  
npi
  
ISO 639 6
tam
  
Not Available
  
Glottocode
tami1289, oldt1248
  
nepa1254
  
Linguasphere
tami1289
  
12
  
Types of Language
  
  
Language Type
Living
  
Living
  
Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Object-Verb
  
Subject-Object-Verb
  
Language Morphological Typology
Not Available
  
Agglutinative