Talk:Tamil language

Semi-protected edit request on 3 March 2026

Need to change Dravidian to tamizh ~2026-13758-13 (talk) 12:48, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want made. CMD (talk) 15:20, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Legendary origin

The section says ‘ Agastya bought it to the people ‘ but also worth adding as per legends it was agastya who created and codified the grammar for Tamil. Ammamozhi (talk) 12:24, 5 April 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 31 July 2026

I am requesting the following well-cited archaeological and structural updates be integrated into the article to reflect the latest consensus, including the 2021 ASI and state carbon-dating data and the full scope of Red Sea epigraphy.

1. In the History section, please change the following sentences:

From: Between 2017 and 2018, 5,820 artifacts were found in the Keezhadi excavations. These were sent to Beta Analytic in Miami, Florida, for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating. One sample containing Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions was claimed to be dated to around 580 BCE.

To: Between 2017 and 2018, 5,820 artifacts were found in the Keezhadi excavations, which explicitly demonstrate pre-Mauryan literacy and an urbanized, secular Sangam era settlement along the Vaigai river. These were sent to Beta Analytic in Miami, Florida, for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating. One sample containing Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions was claimed to be dated to around 580 BCE. Additionally, the 2021 AMS radiocarbon dating from the Sivagalai archaeological site established a date of 1155 BCE for Tamil artifacts.

2. In the History section (specifically early maritime trade), please change the following sentence:

From: In November 2007, an excavation at Quseir-al-Qadim (likely the classical-era port town Myos Hormos) revealed Egyptian pottery dating back to first century BCE with ancient Tamil Brahmi inscriptions.

To: In November 2007, excavations at Quseir-al-Qadim (likely the classical-era port town Myos Hormos) and Berenike revealed Egyptian pottery potsherds dating back to the first century BCE with ancient Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions. These archaeological findings establish Tamil as an ancient maritime lingua franca linking the Roman Empire and South India.

3. In the Old Tamil section, please change the following sentence:

From: The earliest long text in Old Tamil is the Tolkāppiyam, an early work on Tamil grammar and poetics, whose oldest layers could be as old as the late 2nd century BCE.

To: The earliest long text in Old Tamil is the Tolkāppiyam, an early work on Tamil grammar and poetics that transcends a mere grammar book. It provides the civilizational blueprint for classical Tamil society by strictly outlining an underlying sociological framework based on Agam (the inner world/emotions) and Puram (the outer world/society), whose oldest layers could be as old as the late 2nd century BCE. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aramudan (talk • contribs) 11:58, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

"One of the longest-surviving classical languages"

To what extent can one say modern-day Tamil is the same language as what was spoken two millennia ago? Is there an objective and consensual way to determine this? It sounds to me more like national mythmaking than rigorous linguistics, but I'm open to being corrected on this, as I don't have access to the books cited. AengusB (talk) 21:50, 14 September 2026 (UTC)