10 Beautiful Facts About Tamil Language

1. The word “Tamil” means “sweetness” or "sweet".

2. The Tamil language is the world’s oldest living language.

3. The Tamil script has 247 letters.

4. The Tamil language has a unique sound system that includes five long vowels and two short vowels.

5. The Tamil language has contributed many words to other languages such as Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Sinhala and English.

6. Tamil the first Indian language to be printed and published. In 1578, Portuguese Christian missionaries published a Tamil prayer book.

7. In Egypt more than 4000 town names are in Tamil.

8. The Tamil language is considered a Dravidian language and is largely spoken in India. It is also the official language of two nations, Sri Lanka and Singapore, and has large populations in Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji, and South Africa.

9. The oldest known Tamil literature dates back to over 2,000 years ago.

10. The Tamil language has a rich literary tradition that includes works such as the Thirukkural and Silappatikaram.