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The Tolkāppiyam (Template:Lang-ta) is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language. Written in the form of poems called sootirams (formulae), this ancient work attributed to Tolkāppiyar, is one of the world's oldest surviving grammars for any language. The name Tolkāppiyam derived from the combination of the two words Tonmai and kāppiyam. Tonmai means ancient and Kappiam means literature. While the exact date of the work is not known, based on linguistic and other evidence, it is dated variously between 1st BCE and 10th CE . There is also no firm evidence to assign the authorship of this treatise to any one author.

The Tolkāppiyam defines the syntax and poetic grammar to be used when writing poetry in Tamil. It also includes classification of habitats, animals, plants and human beings. The discussion on human emotions and interactions is particularly significant.

Overview

The Tolkappiyam, deals with orthography, phonology, etymology, morphology, semantics, prosody and the subject matter of literature. The Tolkāppiyam classifies the Tamil language into "sentamil" and "kotuntamil". The former refers to the classical Tamil used almost exclusively in literary works and the latter refers to the dialectal Tamil, spoken by the people in the various regions of Tamil Nadu..

The Tolkappiyam classifies the alphabet into consonants and vowels by analysing the syllables. It starts by defining the alphabet for optimal writing, grammatises the use of words and syntaxes and moves into higher modes of language analysis. The Tolkāppiyam formulated thirty characters and three diacritic like symbols for Tamil. The 12 vowels combine with the 18 consonants bringing the total tally of characters to 247.

Chapters

The Tolkāppiyam consists of three books each of which is divided into 9 chapters. The books are called atikarams (Sanskrit:adhikara). The three books are

1. Ezhuththathikaaram
2. Sollathikaaram
3. PoruLathikaaram

Ezhuththathikaaram

Ezhuththathikaaram is further subdivided into the following 9 sections.

1. Nuul Marabu
2. Mozhi Marabu
3. PiRappiyal
4. PuNaRiyal
5. Thokai Marabu
6. Urubiyal
7. Uyir Mayangial
8. PuLLi Mayangial
9. KutriyalukarappunaRiyal

Nuul Marabu

This section enumerates the characters of the language, organises them into consonants, vowels and diacritic symbols. The vowels are sub classified into short and long vowels based on duration of pronunciation. Similarly, the consonants are sub classified into three categories based on the stress.

Mozhi Marabu

This section defines rules which specify where in a word can a letter not occur and which letter can not come after a particular letter.

It also describes elision, which is the reduction in the duration of sound of a phoneme when preceded by or followed by certain other sounds. The rules are well-defined and unambiguous. They are categorised into 5 classes based on the phoneme which undergoes elision.

1. Kutriyalukaram - the (lip unrounded) vowel sound u
2. Kutriyalikaram - the vowel sound i(as the vowel in 'lip')
3. Aiykaarakkurukkam - the diphthong ai
4. Oukaarakkurukkam - the diphthong au
5. Aaythakkurukkam - the special character (aaytham)

PiRappiyal

This is a section on articulatory phonetics. It talks about pronunciation methods of the phonemes at the level of diaphragm, larynx, jaws, tongue position, teeth, lips and nose.

Also, the visual representation of the letters is explained.

PuNaRiyal

This section talks about the changes to words due to the following word i.e. it specifies rules that govern the transformations on the last phonem of a word (nilaimozhi iiRu) because of the first phonem of the following word (varumozhi muthal) when used in a sentence.

Thokai Marabu

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

Urubiyal

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

This section talks about the word modifiers that are added at the end of nouns and pronouns when they are used as an object as opposed to when they are used as subjects.

Uyir Mayangial

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

PuLLi

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

Pulli concept is one of the distinguishing feature among the tamil characters. Although it is not unique and brahmi also has pulli. It is distinguished by placement . According to tolkappiam which talks about pulli and its position, that is on top of the alphabet instead of side as in Brahmi. This is also one of the characteristics of tamil brahmi according to Mr. Mahadevan. The first inscription of this type of pulli is in vallam by pallvas dated 7-8th century AD by Mahendra varman pallava.

KutriyalukarappunaRiyal

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

Sollathikaaram

Sollathikaaram deals with words and parts of speech. It classifies Tamil words into four categories -

1. iyar chol - Words in common usage
2. thiri chol - Words used in Tamil literature
3. vata chol - Words borrowed from Sanskrit
4. thisai chol - Words borrowed from Other Languages

There are certain rules to be adhered to in borrowing words from Sanskrit. The borrowed words need to strictly conform to the Tamil phonetic system and be written in the Tamil script. The chapter Sollathikaaram is sub divided into the following 9 sections.

1. KiLaviyaakkam 2. VEtRumaiyiyal 3. VEtrumaimayangial 4. ViLimaRabu 5. Peyariyal 6. Vinaiyiyal 7. Idaiyiyal 8. Uriyiyal 9. Echchaviyal

KiLaviyaakkam

KiLaviyaakkam literally translates to word formation. This section deals with gender, number, person etc.

VEtRumaiyiyal

VEtrumaimayangial

ViLimaRabu

Peyariyal

This section deals with nouns.

Vinaiyiyal

This section deals with verbs.

Idaiyiyal

Uriyiyal

This literally translates to the nature or science of qualifiers and deals with adjectives and adverbs.

Echchaviyal

PoruLathikaaram

The Tolkāppiyam is possibly the only book on grammar that describes a grammar for life. PoruLathikaaram gives the classification of land types, and seasons and defines modes of life for each of the combinations of land types and seasons for different kinds of people. This chapter is subdivided into the following 9 sections. 1. AkaththiNaiyiyal 2. PuRaththiNaiyiyal 3. KaLaviyal 4. KaRpiyal 5. PoruLiyal 6. Meyppaattiyal 7. Uvamayiyal 8. SeyyuLiyal 9. Marabiyal

AkaththiNaiyiyal

This section defines the modes of personal life i.e. life of couples.

PuRaththiNaiyiyal

This section defines the modes of one's public life.

KaLaviyal

KaRpiyal

PoruLiyal

Meyppaattiyal

Uvamayiyal

The name Uvamayiyal literally translates to the nature or science of metaphors.

SeyyuLiyal

This interesting section deals with a grammar for classical Tamil Poetry based on principles of prosody.

Marabiyal

Dating of the Tolkappiyam

The dating of the earliest Tamil grammatical treatise Tolkappiyam has been debated much and it is still imprecise and uncertain and has seen wide disagreements amongst scholars in the field. It has been dated variously between 8000 BCE and 10th CE.

While most of the antediluvian datings which stem mostly from a descriptive commentary in an 10th-12th century work called Iraiyanar AgapporuL, about the existence of three Tamil Academies, which have been rejected as being devoid of any evidence, the genuine disagreements now center around widely divergent dates lying between the third century BCE and sixth century CE. As the Tolkappiyam is often claimed as the earliest extant work of Tamil literature, the dating of Tolkappiyam is inherently tied to the dates ascribed to the birth and development of Tamil literature as a whole.

Influence of Sanskrit

Tolkāppiyam is claimed to have been modelled on the Sanskrit grammar of the Aindra school. The preface of Ilampuranar's twelfth century commentary of the Tolkappiyam, describes it as aindiram nirainda ('comprising aindra').. This annotation was interpreted by Arthur Coke Burnell as alluding to the pre-Paninian Aindra school of Sanskrit grammar mentioned in the Ashtadhyayi. To investigate his hunch, Burnell compared the Tolkappiyam with the non Paninian Katyantra grammar and concluded that the Tolkappiyam indeed exhibited a strong influence of the non Paninian school of grammar. However, this claim has also been met with skepticism from recent researchers.

The issue of the Aindra school notwithstanding, the grammar expounded by the Tolkappiyam owes a great deal to Sanskrit. The influence of various Sanskrit works like Manavadharmashastra, Arthashastra, Natyashastra and grammarians like Panini and Patanjali is evident in the Tolkappiyam. Parts of the Collathikaram are, for instance, are almost a translation of the Sanskrit texts. The eight feelings mentioned in the Porulathikaram seem to be heavily inspired by the eight rasas or the rasa theory of the Natyashastra.

Commentaries

Starting the 11th-12th CE, several commentaries came to light. Of these, the one by Ilampuranar dated to the 11th or 12th CE is considered one of the best and most comprehensive. This was followed by a commentary dateable to 1275 AD by Cenavaraiyar which however, dealt only with the Collatikaram. A commentary by Peraciriyar which is heavily indebted to the Nannul followed. This commentary which can be dated to the 12th or 13th CE, if not later, frequently quotes from the Dandiyalankaram and Yapparunkalam, the former being a standard medieval rhetorica and the latter being a detailed treatise on Tamil prosody. Naccinarkiniyar's commentary, which can be dated to the 14th if not 15-16th century follows. Naccinarkiniyar, himself being a scholar of both Tamil and Sanskrit quotes from Parimelalakar's works. Teyvaccilaiyar's commentary follows in the 16th or 17th century. Finally, the latest available commentary, that of Kallatar comes to light. Of these commentaries, those of "Ilampooranar", "Deivachilaiyaaar" and "Natchinaarkiniyar" is regarded highly and the triumvarate are also called "Urai-asiriyargal".

See also

• Date of the Tolkappiyam
• Aindra school of Sanskrit grammar

Footnote

1. According to latter commentators, there were twelve regions (panniru nilam) which were the sources of the dialectisms. Zvelebil, Smile of Murugan, p 132.
2. 247 = 12 +18 + (12 × 18) + 1
3. ^ Zvelebil, Kamil (1973)
4. "The date of tolkappiyam has been variously proposed as lying between 5320 BC and 8th century AD", Takahashi, Takanobu (1995), p18
5. ^ The Date of the Tolkappiyam: A Retrospect." Annals of Oriental Research (Madras), Silver Jubilee Volume: 292-317
6. ^ Takahashi, Takanobu. 1995. Tamil love poetry and poetics. Brill's Indological library, v. 9. Leiden: E.J. Brill., p18
7. ^ Caldwell, Robert (1974)
8. Burnell, A. C. (1875)
9. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, p. 130.
10. Trautmann, Thomas R. 2006. Languages and nations: the Dravidian proof in colonial Madras. Berkeley: University of California Press.
11. "...it has been identified that Tolkappiyam and other Sanskrit grammar works share some charactersitics, but also show significant dissimilarities..." - Rajam, V. S. (1981), A comparative study of two ancient Indian grammatical traditions: The Tamil Tolkappiyam compared with the Sanskrit Rk-pratisakhya, Taittiriya-pratisakhya, Apisali siksa, and the Astadhyayi (Ph.D. thesis, University of Pennsylvania: 1981)
12. Hart, George Poems of Ancient Tamil, There can be little question that the grammatical system expounded by the Tolkappiyam owes much to Sanskrit grammar, pp78-79
13. Zvelebil, Kamil The smile of Murugan, "...Much more important is the fact that some of the nurpas seem to have been directly influenced by Sanskrit texts such as Manavadharmashastra and Arthashastra, p143
14. Zvelebil, Kamil The smile of Murugan, The relationship between Patanjali, an early Skt., grammarian and the Tolk., is well established.
15. Zvelebil, Kamil The smile of Murugan, "...Infact, Tolk., Col 419 seems to be almost a translation of Patanjali's Sanskrit text.", p143
16. Zvelebil, Kamil The smile of Murugan, In Tolk., Porulatikaram, the eight feelings agree with the eight rasas or moods of Bharata's Natyashastra. I am very much convinced that in this point, Tolk., Porulatikaram is indebted to the Sanskrit source. p143
17. Zvelebil, Kamil , The Smile of Murugan, p134

References

• Zvelebil, Kamil. 1973. The smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India. Leiden: Brill.
• Takahashi, Takanobu. 1995. Tamil love poetry and poetics. Brill's Indological library, v. 9. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

External links

• Tolkāppiyam Complete
• Tolkāppiyam PoruLatikaaram
• Tolkāppiyam partial list
• Tolkāppiyar's Literary Theory - Research paper (1996)

• Tamil-language literature
• Articles needing cleanup from April 2007
• Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from April 2007
• Misplaced Pages pages needing cleanup from April 2007
• Tamil language
• Tamil literature