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TAMIL ALONE STAND APART
The Tamil cultural tradition is independent, not derived, not imitative;
it is pre-Sanskrit, and from this point of view Tamil alone stands apart
when compared with all other major languages and literatures of India.
DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL
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CLASSICAL LANGUAGE
The earliest Indian literature to be independent of Sanskrit was that
of Tamil, which alone of the languages under discussion has an "ancienf
"or "classical" period, reaching back to perhaps the 5th century B.C.within
consequence a greater range of difference in languages of its early and
modern literature than elsewhere in India.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
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CLASSICAL TONGUE
Tamil is perhaps the only exanple of an ancient classical tongue which
has survived as a spoken language for more than 2500 years without its
basic structure almost unchanged.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
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3 CONSONANTS
Tamil includes three consonants not found in the syllabaries of the
other Indo-Tranian languages of India and was not fully developed in other
Dravidian languages; the thrilled 'r'( R) the alveolar nasare 'n' (N) and
the retroflex fricative '1' (Z )
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
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GENIUS OF TAMIL
The refinement of the poetical language as adaped to the genius of Tamil,
has been carried to greater excess than in Sanskrit.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
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CONTINUOUS WITH A CLASSICAL PAST
Tamil, one of the two classical languages of India, it is the only language
of contemporary India which is recognizably continuous with a classical
past.
A. K RAMANUJAN
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ULTRA TAMIL
In most Indian Languages, the technical gobbledegook is Sanskrit; in
Tamil, the gobbledegoOk is ultra Tamil.
A. K RAMANUJAN
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LANGUAGE OF THE WHOLE OF INDIA
Tamil or Dravida was not merely the language of South India, but before
the Aryans came it was the language of the whole India was spoken from
Kashmir to Cape Comorin.
DR. AMBEDKAR
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INSTRUMENT OF EXACT THOUGHT
Tarnil is the one best fitted to be the instrument
of exact thought.
DR.GILBERT SLATER
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CHARACTER OF THE TAMIL LANGUAGE
The very character of the Tamil language, the
perfection with which it has been developed into an organ for precise and
subtle thought combined with the fact that it, represents a much earlier
stage in the evolution of inflexional language than any lndo-Germanic tongue,
suggests though of course it does not prove, the priority of the Dravidians
in attaining settled order and regular government.
DR GILBERT SLATER
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