Tamil Development Department
Policy Note 2021-2022
Demand No 46
Thangam Thennarasu
Minister for Industries, Tamil Official language and Tamil Culture, Archeology
31.8.2021
Introduction
Language connects people.
Hunting progressed into agriculture
Language moved not only the lips but also the hearts of human beings !
Their feelings were kept safe and secured by communicating within themselves .
Anthropologists opine that in the evolution of man there was just 0.1 genetic change between man and chimpanzee.
Man learnt to pronounce numerous sounds due to the development of organs like larynx, throat and tongue.
Thereafter, he elevated himself to communicate effectively,
the language thus served as a sword, at once a shield.
Animals have their own style of communication.
The fragrance of Flowers invites bees for photosynthesis;
Cuckoo sings in ecstasy with the quest for pairing;
the roar of Lion reigns supreme;
the scream of fearful monkeys;
spreading of feathers by the peacock is an expression of love;
Flowers are identified by the murmerous humming dances of bees;
Frog gets frittered away by its own cry.
For the sake of mating and searching for prey, animals pass on signals of calling, while man used his exclusive tool of communication to win over hearts.
His language is impregnated with the imprints of the past and dreams of future.
His lingua franca paved the way for the contribution of his knowledge to posterity.
Not only the genetic information, but also the line of wisdom he passed on to future generations.
Mother Tongue: –
The learning process starts in the mother’s womb itself by hearing the words of mother and starts recognizing mother’s voice even when the child starts moving its tender fingers from inside.
That is why it is appropriately called Mother Tongue.
Noam Chomsky’s theory states that children have the innate biological ability to learn language.
Precisely for this reason, mother tongue could effortlessly be learnt.
Protecting the mother tongue and holding it aloft are not just born out of affinity for alliterative alphabets and the reverberating rhythms.
The purpose is to know and recognize the values and cultural heritage carried on by generations and thus ennoble themselves.
Unconsciously we get glued to our mother tongue in the heart of hearts.
This turns curses into blessings even when we get scolded in mother tongue while we are abroad.
Tamil language: –
Linguists state that Tamil is one of the ancient languages of the world continuously spoken by people till date.
It has the pride of being a classical language retaining its continuum for ages.
Both the Tamils living in this state and the Tamil diaspora are tied together by the invisible fibre.
With awe and wonder, the world looks at Tamils who hold their mother tongue so close to their hearts.
When we delve deep into the essentials of Tamil, all her unique features parade into our minds.
The very word ‘Tamil’ itself is mellifluous, since it is a synonym for sweetness,
Jeevaka Chinthamani rightly states
‘தமிழ் தழீஇய சாயலவர்
(Tamil is beauty / elegance personified).
The very word ‘Tamil’ is imbibed with consonants hard, soft and medium.
The sound of ‘ழ’ is unique to Tamil.
That is why ‘Puratchi Kavignar’ praises Tamil as one that is as sweet as ambrosia ( அமிழ்து)
. The letter ‘ழ’ finds its place in words like, ‘ அமிழ்து and அழகு.
The alphabets ழ’, ‘ற,ன’ do stand distinct to Tamil.
Mahakavi Bharathi, a polyglot, sings in praise of Tamil: –
For sweetness Tamil is unexampled
Of all the tongues that I have sampled”
Manimekalai, Kambaramayanam and Thiruvaimozhi also extol the sweetness of Tamil.
Exclusively in Tamil Nadu, one can find original names
such as Tamil Selvan, Tamilarasi.
When they develop their affinity to Tamil the original names become causatives.
The term Tamil
It makes an interesting research to go into the origin of the term Tamil.
According to Tamil Savant Robert Caldwell ‘ Tamil ‘ is the corrupt derivative of Dravidam’, but, Prof. Dr. M. Varadarasan differs from this view stating,
” Foreigners often mispronounce the word ” Tamil and hence it took the derivative form ‘ Dravidam ‘”.
There are people who would also interpret the term ” No parallels ‘ ( தம்+இல்).
It is evident from the rock inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka that Tamil Nadu was independent and not formed a part of his regime.
Greatness of Tamil
Tamil is not only a classical language, it very much continues to be the lingua franca of Tamils.
We can well adore its beauty as an exhibit in the museum, at the same time, it is of practical use.
It is adaptive to numerous changes and ranges to vast expanse.
The sea is deep and beyond borders only because it is all prepared to accept whatever comes in.
Absorbing the impact of other languages, Tamil enriches itself and intrinsically develops itself day by day.
We can at once enjoy the beauty of Kurinchi (the mountainous range) and immerse in the rain dews bubbling with joy as well sail in the sea of knowledge by coining technical terms of various domains including Information Technology, Literature, Sciences, history, anthropology, geography, geology, biology, physics, botany and agriculture.
Above all, the recent excavation at Keezhadi has been promising and a silver coin has been dug out at the depth of 146 cm and it stands as a testimony that Tamil civilization and culture date back to 6th Century CE.
The excavations carried out by the Government of Tamil Nadu bring out the internal, external, scientific evidences to establish the glory of Tamil and spread it across the world.
Conclusion:
Tamil Development remains the life breath of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
The department of Tamil Development is engaged in,
– Coinage of Technical Tamil terms
-Compilation of Tamil Etymological Dictionaries
– Publication of rare works of Tamil Literature
-Honouring deserving Tamil Scholars,
Writers with Awards
-Translation of selected Tamil classics into various languages
and thus effectively implementing the Tamil official language and to instill the values of Tamil cultural heritage, like, hospitality, valour, compassion, nobility, etc., in the minds of future generations.
As a result, the young minds presently tethered to the mechanical routine will be weaned into the lofty ideals embedded in the literatures.
With all strength in will, this department strives to create a world Tamil community with courage coupled with benignness.
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