anickka vizhumiyangal- 17 (A commemorative publication of centenary celebrations)  Collected Papers - 1962  A Study of Tamil Verbs - 1972 Author Mootharinjar Chemmal V.SP. Manickanar Publisher G. Elavazhagan Manicka Vizhumiyangal - 17 Author V.Sp. Manickanar Publisher G. Elavazhagan First Edition : 2015 Pages : 8+296=304 Price : 285/- Published by Tamizhmann No. 2, Singaravelar Street, T.Nagar, Chennai - 600 017. Ph: 24339030, Cell: 9444410654 E-mail: elavazhagantm@gmail.com  Paper : 16.0 G Maplitho  Size : 1/8 Demmi  Font : 11.5  Pages : 304  Binding: Perfect  Copies : 1000  Book Design by : G. Chitra   Wrapper Design : B. Hari (Harish)   Printers : Venkateswara Offset, Thousand Lights, Chennai - 600 006. FOREWORD Amidst all sections of different Tamil societies, Nattukootai Nagarathar Community is the leading one which protect and keep the traditional style of Tamil culture even to day. Dr.V.SP.Manickam, who did lifetime researches and put forth several valuable and clear thoughts about the welfare of the nation, language, society, eduction and mainly Tamil literature, is the greatest son given as gift to the world by Nagarathar Community. As a mark of respect and with a view to honour the great Tamil scholar Dr.V.SP. Manickam at the time of his Centenary Celebrations, our Tamil Man Pathippagam took initiative in publishing all his famous writings for the benefit of the entire Tamil world. Accordingly all the renowned writings of Dr.V.SP.Manickam have been properly collected and grouped together into 18 books and published with the name titled as ‘MANICKA VIZHUMIYANGAL’. It is essential to mention here that all the writings and research works of Dr.V.SP.Manickam are purely in relation with Tamil concept. He only brought to the lime light the new concept in Tholkappiam as well as the different old concepts in the writings of Bharathiar. He, being the best commentator, did several researches on commentators of Tamil literature. He did meaningful explanations for Tholkappiam and Thirukkural. Praising the efficient literary works of Dr.V.SP Manickam, Thiru.S.Meyyappanar of Manivasagar Pathippagam says as follows:- “Out of the writings of Dr.V.SP.Manickam, ‘Tamil kathal’ speaks about his research efficiency, ‘Valluvam’ reveals about his knowledgeable thoughts and ‘Kambar’ stands for his poetic genius. These books are always taken as guide for many of the Tamil researchers”. For the existing Tamil Research Field, to grow further in the right direction, the writings of Dr.V.SP.Manickam prove to be an exclusive area of study and operation for the researchers. The strength of belief in principles followed by Maraimalai Adigal and the writing style with social cause established by Thiru.Vi.Ka, the combination of both have been very much seen in the writings of Dr.V.SP.Manickam, which the people who study the books of Dr.V.SP.Manickam will come to realise easily. Our Tamil Man Pathippagam, with an aim of promoting Tamil culture in all possible ways, is in the process of publishing Tamil books of great authors then and there for the benefit of Tamil readers and set an example in the history of publication as one of the pioneers in publishing quality books of writers. Accordingly, we, Tamil Man Pathippagam, also feel proud for getting an opportunity towards publishing all the books of Dr.V.SP.Manickam during the period of his Centenary Celebrations, grouped together under a single name “Manicka Vizhumiyangal”. Really by publishing the great works of Dr.V.SP.Manickam to the entire Tamil world, we get fresh energy and new air of spirit and on this occasion we take an undertaking that we will commit to maintain Tamil ethics in all our incoming book publications by keeping due standard for the benefit of Tamil readers. Our gratitude goes to: 1. The founder of Manivasagar Pathippagam Late. Thiru.S.Meyyappanar, who did so many services for Tamil language and who took initiative in publishing many of the writings of Dr.V.SP.Manickam initially. We convey our gratitude to him in the fond remembrance of Dr.V.SP.Manickam. 2. Pari Nilayam , Chennai and Selvi Puthaga Nilaiyam, Karaikkudi , both did the publishing works of certain writings of Dr.V.SP.Manickam and submitted to the Tamil world. The same we recollect and convey our gratitude to them at this juncture. 3. On the other hand all the family members of Dr.V.SP.Manickam supported us in all possible ways in releasing the books. To specify in particular, our thanks goes to Mrs.Thenral Alagappan and Dr. Mathari Vellayappan, daughters of Dr.V.SP.Manickam, who were the main cause for the publication of Manicka Vizhumiyangal to the Tamil world and we extend our gratitude to them for their support in fulfilling the above task. 4. Further, we also convey our regards to the Tamil Dept and the Management of M/s Ganesar Arts and Science College, Melaisivapuri, for having established the greatness of Dr.V.SP.Manickam. G. Elavazhagan Tamillmann Pathippagam Supporters for the publication of the books ‘MANICKA VIZHUMIYANGAL’ DTP by: Mrs. G. Chitra Mrs. Kayalvizhi Mrs. Hemalatha Mr. D. Rathinaraj J. Jeyaseeli Book Designed By: Mrs. G. Chitra Wrapper Designed By: B. Hari (Harish) Proof Corrected by : Mrs. Thenral Alagappan Mr. T. Arumugam Mr. Ka. Karuppaiya Dr. S. Subramanian Mr. M. Rasavelu Mr. Naga. Chockalingam Final Proof Corrected by : Dr. Mathari Vellayappan Other Supporters : R. Parameswaran, K. Maruthu, V. Mathimaran Printers : Venkateswara Offset, Thousand Lights, Chennai - 600 006. In general, we hereby convey our regards for the Tamil scholars who had given us various information then and there and for those who supported wholeheartedly towards publication of the group of books under the banner Manicka Vizumiyangal PREFACE The research papers presented and key-note addresses delivered in seminars and conferences and articles contributed to journals and souvenirs by me on different occassions are now being collected and published in the form of a book entitled collected papers. It is natural for any author to enjoy a delightful feeling when the stray flowers of his papers are strung together into a garland of book. These seventeen papers are related to the varied aspects of Tamil Language. litereature, history and culture. It is gratifying to note that Tolkappiyam, the earliest Tamil work finds a place in many papers. The author will feel rewarded if the discerning readers find that his views regarding the orderly and continued growth of Tamil are worthy of consideration and discussion. My thanks are due to Thiru. C. Kathirvelu, Research Scholar, Annamalai University for going through the proof and M/s. Sivakami Printers for the neat printing and execution. T.D.A.R. Centre V. Sp. MANICKAM Karaikudi-2 15-6-1970 CONTENTS Tamil Development 1. History of the Pure Tamil Movement 7 2. Renaissance of Tamil 19 3. Development of Tamil Research 27 4. Script Reform in Tamil 36 Linguistics 5. An Introduction to the study of Tolkappiyam 45 6. A phonelogical study in Tolkappiyam 51 7. A psycological approach to Tamil Syntax 60 8. The present tense marker 64 Literature 9. The Library Heritage of the Tamils 72 10. The worldliness of Tirukkural 82 11. A Religious approach to Tirukkural 85 12. Literature and physical exercise 91 History 13. The age of Tolkappiyam 94 14. Some thoughts on Pallava History 99 15. The Chettiar community - its contribution to religions 105 16. The ancient history of the Nakarattars 108 17. Dravidian Comparative Literature 142 1. HISTORY OF THE PURE TAMIL MOVEMENT “Tamil can readily dispense with the greater part or the whole of its Sanskrit and by dispensing with it rises to a purer and more refined style” - Dr. CALDWELL Every movement has its own protagonists and antagonists. No movement in the world has been rightly interpreted by all. In the courses of the rise and growth of a movement, unconnected and irrelevant motives are imputed to it and the true objective of the movement is buried deep. There will be always scholars who view a movement objectively or subjectively. The pure Tamil movment is not execeptional. Wrong Nation About the Movement : At the outset I wish to clear off some misconceptions about this popular movement. The pure Tamil movement is not certainly against our Sanskrit language. It is not its intention to decry the greatness of Sanskrit and its influences on Indian languages. It is not also against the study of this great language by the Tamils. It is not against the Brahmin community. It is not against the unity of India. It is not against theism. The forerunner of this movement was Professor Vi-Ko-Suriyanarayana Sastri, a Brahmin Tamil scholar who lived in the beginning of the 20th century. He was well-versed in Sanskrit and English. In his mounumental work in Tamil, “Nataka Ilakkanam” he has explictly accepted the contribution of Sanskrit to his composition. His accidental conversation with a Sanskrit Pandit who belittled the copiousness of Tamil vocabulary stirred him up to establish the purity of Tamil. His Tamil book “A History of Tamil Language” advocated strongly the independence of Tamil. In his zeal for pure Tamil, in his last days, the Professor himself changed his Sanskrit name Suriyanarayana Sastri into a Tamil name Parithimar Kalaignan. Therefore, to say that this movement is against Sanskrit and the Brahmins is incorrect. The father of the pure Tamil movement as Maraimalar Atikal. Like his predecessor, he also changed his Sanskrit name Vedachalam into Tamil as Maraimalai. It was this great scholar who gave a concrete form to the nebulous thoughts about pure Tamil and raised it to an agitational movement. He wrote all his books including drama and novel in pure Tamil. But it is to be well understood that Atikal was not against the study of Sanskrit and its contribution to Tamil development. He was an erudite Sanskrit scholar. He was a lover of dramas in Sanskrit. The Sakuntalam of Kalidasa has been translated inTamil by Atikal in prose and verse. You will be glad to know that His Holiness Kanchi Sankarachariya Swamigal has selected his book as the best translation in Tamil and instituted an award for the study of this Tamil work. Atikal, besides this translation, has written a critical work on this drama on modern lines. In his comparative study between Shakespeare and Kalidasa, Atikal remarks: “In the art of delineating the main and the subordinate characters that appear in this drama, Kalidasa is not in any way inferior to Shakespeare but to a remarkable degree is his equal”. The reason that forced him to make a comparative study of the dramatic art of these two poets is, Atikal recalls. the sweeping remark of a Brahmin English Lecturer that “Kalidasa was sadly wanting in his delineation of a character and is therefore no peer of Shakespeare, the prince of the dramatists”. Atikal has quoted a number of references from Vedas, Upanishads and other Sanskrit works. He has unambiguously stated in his articles on this movement that this agitation is neither against Sanskrit nor against the Brahmins. Mahamahopadhaya Pandithamani Kathiresan Chettiar a reputed scholar both in Tamil and Sanskrit has translated Sukraniti, Kautilyam, Mrichakatikam, Utayanacaritam and sulochanai in chaste Tamil. Tiru Vi-Ka, a great Tamil Scholar and a notable leader of Indian labour movement has many works to his credit and all of them are in pure and elegant Tamil. The above facts will certainly impress upon the readers that the allegation that the lovers of pure Tamil movement are the enemies of Sanskrit and the Brahmins is baseless and that such unfounded propaganda should not be encouraged. Domination and Safeguard : Nobody will find fault with a man who tries to becomw pure in his heart. His endeavour to attain purity will not be misconstrued as directed against anybody’s progress. Do we not impose heavy custom duties on foreign products and ban import of foreign goods for the sake of developments of our industry and trade? This safeguard does not mean that we are at enmity with other nations. Likewise languages should be allowed to grow on their own distinct lines. Foreign linguistic elements should not be allowed to dominate in a laguage disproportionately. The endeavour of a language to adopt its natural path is in no way blameable. Therefore I always welcome the movement of purity for any language. This kind of movement will put an end to the artificial growth of a language and give protection to its natural beauty and basic linguistic materials. The more a language is pure and simple, the better will it be understood by the people of the soil. Artificiality in a developing language is the result of the impact of the urban civilisation. Its unwarrented predominance, if not checked, will strike at the nourishing roots of the languages. Historical Background : You have now understood that the pure Tamil movement is a movement with noble objectives and that it is not in any way inimical to other languages including Sanskrit I Impressed by the good intentions of the sponsors of this language movement, You may be anxious to know the background and the period of gestation. It is a long, long history, traceable from the age of Tolkappiyam, ie. before the 3rd century, B.C. I presume that Sanskrit was the only language which at first came into close contact with Tamil in the pre-historic times. Tolkappiyam has significant references to this relationship. It enunciates the phonemic principles for Tamilisation of Sanskrit works, even though their use was little in his time. I have reason to think. Sanskrit words were employed only in poetical compositions, This means that he is for the use of Sanskrit words, but at the same time he is not for adoption of them as such. Here we find the beginning of the preservation of Tamil with purity. Notwithstanding these principles in Tolkappiyam, Cankam poets have rarely used Sanskrit words. While referring to the proper names in Sanskrit, their mention was only descriptive. The Growing Influence of Sanskrit : Because of the impact of religions and sects the Middle Ages witnessed continuous inflow of Sanskrit words in all Tamil works - devotional hymns, Kavyas, Puranas and Prabandas. But one feature of this period is worth mentioning. In spite of liberal borrowings, the phonetic structure of Tamil was scrupulously preserved as in the Cankam age. Pavananti, the author of Nannul of the 13th century has elaborately given the rules for the employ of Sanskrit words in Tamil. This somewhat arrested the terrible onset of Sanskrit on Tamil language. In the later period we have to admit plainly that in the musical work like Tiruppukal Sanskrit words freely borrowed in violation of the Tamil language structure, In the so called Tamil commentaries on Divya Prabhandam of Vaishnavite Alwars, sounds peculiar to Sanskrit were written in Granta scripts. This style was called manipravalam. Yet in the great epics like Ramayanam of Kampan, Paratham of Villi and Periyapuranam of Sekkilar, in the puranas like Kantapuranam, Kanchipuranam and Tiru-vilaiyatarpuranam and in the popular devotional songs, Tevaram and Divya Prabhadam, In spiteof admixture of plenty of Sanskrit words, rules of phonetic changes were strictly followed. Tamil Scholars of Middle ages who studied Sanskrit in large number did not confine themselves to borrow Sanskrit words. They were attracted by the Sanskrit forms and norms of literature and grammar. Puttamitiranar, the author of viracolium belonging to the 11th century has openly stated that his grammar would include Sanskrit norms also. Some of the chapters in his work bear Sanskrit terminologies, like Sandhippatalam, Tattitappatalam, Taduppatalam, Kiriyapata ppaalam. Such came to be the attraction and influence of Sanskrit in a wider field. Independent Status of Tamil : The admixture of Sanskrit vocabulary and terminologies and the adoption of literary and grammatical conventions of Sanskrit were the outcome of orderly and gradual development spread over above three thousand years. It is to be remembered that in this long period, the Tamil Pandits were conscious of the fact that Tamil and Sanskrit were two independent languages and that their phonological, morphological and syntactical aspects were different and distinct. In spite of inroad and inrush of Sanskrit idioms, this fundamental aspect and the independent status of Tamil were never forgotten. In the fourfold classification of words Sanskrit or Vatacol has a separate category. Deivaccilaiyar, one of the commentators of Tolkappiyam has pointed out in several places the syntactical differences between these two ancient languages. Pandits and commentators of Middle ages have referred to Sanskrit ideas only for comparison and exposition. They never dreamt of reducing or effacing the independent linguistic status of Tamil language and literature. Even Puttamitiranar a grammarian of revolutionary type has not said anything against the independent position of Tamil. Borrowing among languages is natural and to some extent inevitable. Speaking analogically, independent nation are getting loans and financial assistance with or without interest from richer countries. We know this does not affect the sovereignity of the borrowing countries. The Governments have the power and authority to develop their nations according to their laws and the will of the people. Till the 17th century nothing was said and written to impair the separate entity of the Tamil language. Borrowing of Sanskrit words and norms was on intellectual background. Sanskrit Origin for Tamil-Two Schools : This salient and healthy background in relation to Tamil and Sanskrit was unfortunately marred by some thoughtless and haughty grammarians of the 18th century. Subramaniya Diksitar, the author of pirayokavivekam made a radical change in the pattern of Tamil grammar and thoroughly made use of Sanskrit terminologies for all grammatical aspects of Tamil to establish his new and cherished theory that Tamil is not different from Sanskrit. The purpose of his work, he claims, is to prove the sameness of grammar for these two languages. He derives “Tamil” the name of the language from “Tiramilam”. He has given Sanskrit terms Karakappatalam, Samasappatalam, Tattitappatalam and Tigngnuppatalam for all the chapters in his work. Following Subramaniya Diksitar, Swaninatha Desikar, the author of Illakanakkottu has gone to the extent of saying that Tamil is not at all a language and that the wise, like him, will be ashamed of recognising Tamil as a language since it has only five sounds of its own. Like Diksitar, he has also propagated the erroneous theory that the grammar is one and the same for Sanskrit and Tamil, thereby meaning that Tamil has no independent grammatical theories. Regarding this kind of development, M. Srinivasa Aiyangar in his “Tamil Studies” remarks: “When Sanskrit puranas and other Sanskrit religious literature were introduced, the views of Tamil Scholars began to change. Most of them were acquianted with both Tamil and Sanskrit: yet they had greater love for the latter, as their Vedas and Puranas and Agamas were written in that language and this partiality or rather a sentiment verging on odium theologicum induced them to trace Tamil from Sanskrit.” I should like to point out that the twin grammarians Diksitar and Desikar who composed their works on pet and fancied theories and started a movement to extinguish the separate entity of Tamil language were responsible for the birth of the pure Tamil movement, the subject of my paper. Of these two grammarians, Swaminatha Desikar not only undermined the traditional reputations of Tamil language in unpolished words but also questioned the purity of Tamil literature vehemently. It was he who pronounced that Tamil did not exist and cannot exist independently. This derision naturally wounded many scholars who, in their turn vigorously attempted to establish the independent nature of Tamil and its equal rank with Sanskrit. Sivagnana Munivar, a versatile genius and a peerless savant in Tamil and Sanskrit emphatically brought out the special grammatical features of Tamil as distinct from Sanskrit in his prose work “Suttira virutti”. He stressed that Tamil is no less divine than Sanskrit since both have their origin from the Supreme Being, Siva. Thus in the 18th century we come across two schools of thought, one publicly advocating the supremacy of Sanskrit at the expense of the independence of Tamil and the other openly repudiating the view of that school and raising the status of Tamil on a par with Sanskrit. It may be rightly said that this century sowed the seed for the pure Tamil movement. As a result, emotion, prejudice and bitterness crept into the relationship between Tamil and Sanskrit. Intellectual outlook which prevailed for a long time was superseded by cultural, social and sometimes political motives. The birth of pure Tamil movement: The school which sought the origin of Tamil from Sanskrit became weak in the later part of the 19th century when Dr. Caldwell and other Western philogists, on comparative study, set aside the theory of Sanskrit origin not only for Tamil but for Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam as well and pur forth a laudable theory that these Southern languages are entitled to be called as Dravidian tongues. In a pointed reference to Tamil, Dr. Caldwell supports the independent nature of Tamil in clear terms. “Tamil, the most highly cultivated ab infra of all Dravidian idioms can dispense with its Sanskrit altogether, if need be, and not only stand alone but flourish without its aid”. He does not confine himself to this pronouncement. In the midst of several views regarding the close relationship between Sanskrit and Dravidian languages he has expressed a new thought that a large number of words of Dravidian origin have found their way into Sanskrit vocabulaties. This and the like statements by the greatest of the Draividian philologists encouraged the lovers of pure Tamil to start a new movement to achieve their harmless and faultless but rightful claim. Principles of Purity: What is meant by “purity” in a language? We use this word here figuratively. Purity does not mean total ban on the entry of words of other languages. Neither is it possible nor is it desirable. Do we not add a little water to the pure milk when it is boiled? A living and progressive language should always keep its door open for the incoming of foreign words to express certain ideas and thoughts clearly and truly. I do not subscribe to the view that any kind of any amount of borrowing should not be admitted in Tamil. At the same time I wish to emphasize that borrowing should be done on strict and definite principles. Borrowed words should not exceed 5% in a language. I shall give you briefly the three principles followed by the Tamil purists in their language movement. 1. Words of other languages, if borrowed, should be so changed as to get the appearance of the native forms in Tamil. Their forms should not disclose that they are alien. 2. The existing stock of Tamil vocabulary, literary and colloquial, should be fully used. Most of the unused words are not obsolete or dead. For many centuries, they are not given any opportunity for currency. 3. New words in Tamil should be coined to express modern ideas and things. Tamil is a language of agglutinative type. It has copious and varied morphemes. It is possible to form any number of new words if the scholars are earnest and faithful to the language. These principles are not exclusively for Tamil. They are general. They may be adopted by all languages for purpose of purity. Love of language means love of preserving and safeguarding the fundamental structure and basic materials of the language. A Powerful Movement: What is the present progress of this movement? What is its influence on writers and speakers? Has it attracted the youths and the common people? What will be its future? Answering these pertinent question I shall conclude my speech. At the beginning this movement fought against the use of Sanskrit words. Now there is no great need for it. At present the target is against the use of English words. Though this purity movement is half a century old, it is gaining ground in governmental, administrative, educational and religious spheres. Text books for schools are written in simple and chaste Tamil. The Tamilnadu Text books Committee has translated more than 600 books on Science and Arts. Thousands of words have been coined for this purpose. Thanks to the introduction of Tamil as official language and court language, the movement is becoming powerful. On platforms only the speakers who command chaste and literary Tamil are attracting the mob. Theatres and cinemas are greatly influenced by this movement. Short and sweet Tamil words are chosen for the names of the plays. Youths display their love of purity in the essay writing and oratorical competitions. That Tamil is capable of expressing any idea of modernity has now become an acceptable fact. Yet some notable novelists and short story writers are wantonly introducing long sentences in English under the garb that speeches should reflect the characters. This may be said to be a modern style of manipravalam. This artificial style will not long last. The literary works written on this mixed style will not be understood by posterity. You will be surprised to know that under the auspices of the Madras University, the manipravala commentaries of Nalayira Divya Prabandam were translated into chaste Tamil test they might go into oblivion. Therefore I advise, with all sincerity, the Tamil writers not to fall in love with a new manipravala style using English words and sentences in Tamil letters. The pure Tamil movement is not against the study of any language. Most of the purists are polyglots. The sole aim of this movement is to develop Tamil, one of the world classical languages on its own lines. Why should we sacrifice the purity and independence of a language, when that language possesses enormous resources and rich materials for its growth and development? 2. RENAISSANCE OF TAMIL I take this rare and pleasant opportunity to congratulate Dr. Agesthialingom, Director of the Centre of Advanced Study in Linguistics and his learned colleagues for their new venture of holding a seminar of inter disciplinary studies in Dravidology. I welcome a seminar of this kind for the study of ancient Cankam classics also where we find many a reference to history, sociology, sexology, musicology, fine arts, fauna and flora, astrology, astronomy, economics, agriculture, religion, ethics and so on. What Tolkappiyar enumerates as seed topics (karupporul) as part of poetry contain several things belonging to different Arts and Sciences. We feel shy of our poor resource of knowledge when we begin to study the epic Cilappathikaram which is a repository of valuable information on many subjects. Period of Cankan age It is not my intention to present a paper surveying the growth and development of Tamil Literature from the beginning, as it will appear to be a brief history of Tamil literature with books listed as in a catalogue. I therefore wish to restrict myself to the study of one period of Tamil History i.e. the Cankam age, introduce the readers to the researches done in the recent past and the research activities which are going on and point out many problems which stand in the way of doing research in the Cankarm classics scientifically and ariving at any conclusion precisely. My purpose of taking up the period of the ancient Cankam Literature for today’s speech is to enlighten the promising young scholars who are labouring under the impression that all fields relating to the Cankam works have already been covered by research scholars and that there is nothing left for further study. I am one of those who wholeheartedly welcome doing research on modern works like novels, short stories, dramas etc., as I hold the view that any pursuit of knowledge in any kind of Tamil literature will result in the enrichment of Tamil. At the same time I strongly feel that but for the devoted and continuous study of Cankam classics the research fields in ‘the kingdom of Tamil Literature’ will not be fertile and resourceful but will become barren and fruitless in the long run. First renaissance In the checkered History of Tamil Literature, we come across revival of the Cankam classics thrice. In the third century A.D. there was a nationwide movement to search for the poems of Akam and Puram found scattered throughout the length and breadth of Tamil Nadu, with a view to collecting and preserving them for the posterity. Under the patronage of kings. great scholars undertook this tremendous and laborious work and collected them in eight anthologies, like Akananuru, Purananuru, Narrinai Nanuru etc. each having its own principles of collection. The name of the poet, the situation in which the poem was composed and other particulars were briegly added to the text of every poem. Short commentaries were also written on them. This may be called the first renaissance of the Cankam classics. These collections were arranged and grouped on the basis of the number of feet each verse possessed the number of poems available, the subject treated and the like, with the purpose of the people remembering them easier. But I may be permitted to point out that the poems in these anthologies excepting those in Patirruppattu require redaction for purpose of research study. Second Renaissance The second renaissance of the Cankam works commenced from the eleventh century in the middle ages with new zeal and hard work. They study, elucidation and spread of Tolkappiyam were considered as indispensable for the upkeep of tradition in the educational sphere of Tamil. A band of devoted and sincere commentators such as Ilampuranar, Nacchinarkkiniyar, Senavaraiyar, Perasiriyar, Kallatar and Teyvaccilaiyar brought home to the students of the day the inestimable value of Tolkappiyam by their excellent commentaries and expositions adapted to the society of the middle periods. Grammatical works like Venpamalai by Aiyanarithanar, Akapporul by Nampi and Nannul by Pavananthi were written to make Tolkappiyam easier for the young. As Tolkappiyam and the Cankam classics are related to each other almost in all respects, commentaries were also brought forth on Cankam Literature. The contribution of Naccinarkkiniyar in the mission of the propagation of Tolkappiyam and the Cankam Poetry will be ever gratefully remembered by the posterity. Minor poetical works in the forms of Kovai, Parani, Tootu/Toothu etc., composed by the poets of the middle ages helped to popularise the ancient classics which are broadly based on the twofold divisions of Akam and Puram. This revival did not last long and the study of the ancient literature once again went into oblivion on account of the onset of the minor poetical and highly religious works and of the obsession of the scholars theirin. Third renaissance It was at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth due to the indefatigable and tenacious efforts of the great scholars and lovers of Tamil, Tolkappiyam and the Cankam classics and the commentaries thereon were ‘reborn’. Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer the uncrowned monarch in the world of editors is rightly called as the father of Tamil for his life-long service to this language. The language-study of the Cankam classics was undertaken by the Department of Linguistics of the Annamalai University and the Tamil Department of the Kerala University. The immensely valuable editions of Dr. Swaminatha Iyer, the handy edition arranged in the alphapetical order of the poets published under the supervision of Professor Vaiyapuri Pillai, the index of the Ancient Tamil Literature in three volumes published by the French Institute of Pondicherry have been acknowledged as basic works for furthering higher studies in Tamil. Naccinarkkiniyar’s commentaries on Cankam classics have not fully revealed the meaning of the texts in several places, since he used to twist the texts so as to suit his view. The style of some other commentaries written in the earlier centuries was also considered too difficult to be comprehended by the Tamils of the present century. Hence Maraimalai Atikal, Mahavidwan Raghava Iyengar, Dr. Swaminatha Iyer, Venkatasamy Nattar, Pinnattur Narayanasamy Iyer, Avvai Duraisamy Pillai and Perumalaippulavar Somasundaram wrote commentaries on the Cankam Anthologies with elaborate explanation and illustrations. The Saiva Siddhanta Kazhagam arranged a series of popular lectures in all words of Tamil Literature and published them also for the benefit of the public. Research scholars who were awarded the M.Litt. and Ph.D. degrees have elaborately dealt with the literary, historical, social, religious and cultural aspects and the aspects of the fauna and flora, the art and architecture, love and warfare, the religion and the people as revealed in the Cankam classics. If the theses many of which were written in English have the good fortune of being published, the world will get the golden opportunity to know of the philosophy of life enunciated in these Tamil classics. In this connection, I should like to say that while we attempt to do more research and produce more books on the ancient classics, we should not allow the valuable books ably written by the earliest scholars to go our of print. The History of Tamils by P.T. Srinivasa Iyengar, the Tamil India by M.S. Puranalingam Pillai and similar works need reprint. The study of the Cankam classics means the inclusion of the study of Tolkappiyam also. It is not taken for granted that a deep and analytical study of this earliest grammatical work and its commentaries is a must for a student of Tamil whatever his area of research may be. Tolkappiyam in prose by K. Vellaivaranam, Tolkappiyam with elaborate introduction by Dr. Ilakkuvanar, the new commentary on Akattinai Iyal by M. Arunachalam Pillai and several articles on Tolkappiyam read in various seminars have contributed to the spread of Tolkappiyam among the students. Need of a Chronological edition The myriad of publications and research activities, though praiseworthy, is not upto my expectation because of the imperfect nature of the result of these works. As I said earlier, the method adopted in the compilation of Cankam anthologies was meant for the preservation of the ancient poems. There ends its service. To base one’s research on one individual anthology like Kuruntokai, Narrinai etc. is not correct since the finding will be inconclusive. We know that the poems of many Cankam poets are scattered in almost all the anthologies and that some kings were patrons as well as poets. To arrive at any satisfactory conclusion on any problem, literary, linguistic, cultural and social, the need for a chronological approach is keenly felt. For this purpose a new edition of all the 2381 poems in 8 anthologies arranged in a chronological order is wanted. In this new edition the poems of the individual poets like Kapilar, Paranar, Avvaiyar and the like also should be arranged chronologically. I therefore hold the opinion that many statements made so far in various research fields will require reconsideration and reexamination after the outcome of a chronological edition of Cankam classics. I am an optimist and I hope a monumental work of this nature will see its birth in a decade or two. A speical study of Porulatikaram Tolkappiyam has three parts and the third part Porulatikaram which contains a wealth of information needs years of study and labour by a band of scholars. The commentators of the middle ages consciously or unconsciously passed the new ideas of their age as the ideas of Tolkappiyam. The real meanings of the essential technical terms Akam, Kaikkilai, Aintinai, Peruntinai etc. are not still understood. It will be interesting to know that one commentator has stated that Tolkappiyar wrote his book to point out the futility of the sexual pleasure and to advocate the idea of renunciation. A student of Tamil literature will know the strong influence and impact of the Akam forms in one way or other on the literary works of subsequent periods. To write an authentic commentary on Porulatikaram, a detailed and comparative study of Cankam classics, Tirukkural and Cilappatikaram will be required. To pay exclusive attention to the development of research in various aspects of Tolkappiyam and Cankam classics, it is hoped that a chair will be instituted by the Government in one of the universities of Tamilnadu as has been done for Tirukkural. Modern interpretation of Cankam Classics India believes in democracy, secularism, socialism, casteless society and sex equality. We know that Tolkappiyam and Cankam poems were composed in an age when all these noble ideals were prevalent in the Tamil community. The rich people considered themselves as trustees of welath and protected the poor with food and clothing and shelter. It seems that there was also family planning. Pari had only two daughters and Kopperun Cholan only two sons. The Akam Literature refers to only one son when it describes the love quarrel between the lovers. Therefore I think that Cankam classics represent the society we like to establish today in India. I also think that there is no harm in studying Tolkappiyam and the Cankam classics from the modern point of view, as they are works of permanent value composed by noble scholars. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF TAMIL RESEARCH The All India University Tamil Teachers’ Association has had the unique objective of stimulating, developing and spreading research activities in Tamil among the Tamil scholars all over India for the last eighty years. It does not pass any resolution expressing the grievances of Tamil teachers and making demands for their monetary benefit. The members meet annually in the different parts of the country, present their research papers and discuss them with open-mindedness. Because of its intellect-conscious and research-oriented objective, the Association does not give any opportunity for strife and conflict and has planted the seed of cooperation and progress. This is crystal clear from the fact that it is able to hold the conference continuously from its inception. The growing strength of the delegates and the increasing number of papers presented will testify to the popularity and usefulnes of the conference. The publication of the research papers at the commencement of the conference has added to the interest of the researchers and made the discussion in the conference hall easier. Nearly 750 papers relating to all fields of Tamil have been presented in these seminars. This is no mean achievement in the field of research. The Association may hold legitimate pride in its contribution to the real and substantial growth of Tamil. It has justified its existence and necessity by its achievement. We should be very thankful to the Universities in Tamil nadu for relaxing regulations for registration for the Ph.D. degree thus giving equal opportunity to all the College teachers to engage themselves in higher research. The acceptance of the theses written in Tamil, against the age long custom of writing them in English, has removed the handicap felt by the research scholars. A special allowance of Rs.100/- announced by the Governemnt for teachers with the Ph.D. degree has become an incentive to those who are moving slowly towards the path of research. Thus we see a pleasant climate of research coming into existence for Tamil teachers and also a large number of teachers attempting to avail themselves of this opportunity-an opportunity denied to the previous generations of scholars. Thanks to its hoary antiquity among the languages of the world and to its possession of a rich, varied and perennial and beautiful and realistic art and architecture, Tamil offers immeasurable scope for research activities and intellectual adventure. Its literature is of an inter-disciplinary nature. As pointed out by Tolkappiam/ Karupporul or seed-things form a major structure of a poem. Karupporul includes history/ economics, culture, nature, art, labour, religion and anything that goes into the making of a fuller and happier life. Looking at Tamil Literature merely as a literature containing the so called literary aspects like imagination, emotion, form etc., will not reveal its entire picture and useful purpose. We should realise, of course, we have realised to a certain extent, that our works like Tolkappiam, Cankam classics, Tirukkural, Cilappatikaram, Manimekalai, Perunkatai, Cintamani, Ramayanam, Periyapuranam, Devotional songs, Puranas, Minor literature, Paarati’s work etc. can each produce many a Ph.D. since they are the repository of incalculable information. It is wrong to hold the opinion, as some do, that Tamil had no proper and new developments in the middle and post-middle ages for lack of patronage and imagination. This view is not correct. Its line and field of growth have been different in every century. Each century has created a new kind of literature and fulfilled the need of the day. The literature reflects the trend of the society and the poets compose songs on topics which are current. In the middle and post-middle ages people were extremely religious-minded;; hence the production of the literature of this period was of a highly religious nature. Inscriptional Tamil, prose development in the commentaries, philosophical literature and the like belong to these ages. The eight volumes of the History of Tamil Literature systematically arranged and ably presented by Thiru M. Arunachalam will show the uninterrupted growth of Tamil in new vistas in every century. The works of Arunakirinathar, Thayumanavar, Sivagnanamunivar, Sivaprakasar, Kumarakuruparar, Remalingar reveal that every century has given birth to one or two great Tamil scholars to its credit. The growth of Tamil in the 20th century is entirely on a different line. Prose form has become prominent. New kinds of literature like novels, short stories, dramas, children’s literature, travelogues etc. are written by modern writers to satisfy the expectations of the society. Students of literature should understand that the literature of any age never dies or loses its literary values. The topics may not be current;; the style and diction may be different;; the form also may be outmoded. Yet literature in its nature has a permanent universal value and appel. Do we hold the opinion that Paarati’s emotional songs on the freedom movement of India became lifeless after the attainment of Independence? Some scholars do propagate the view that Puranas, minor works like Thoothu, Pilaittamil, Parani, Ula, etc. have become obsolete and that they need not be taught to the students. I differ from them. Literary men should not have the outlook of the businessmen who always attach importance to the current value of the commodities. Our approach should be out and out literary. By ‘literary outlook’ I mean, we should develop broad and noble and impersonal outlook in the critical study of literature without bias to any particular society, religion, region, age, form etc. If you develop this literary outlook, you will certainly come round to my view that Tamil has had constant and continual literary growth in all periods, every period confining to the development of a new genre of literature. I therefore advise the research scholars not to neglect the literature of any period for doing research. An analytical study of the topics taken by the candidates will be interesting and fruitful. Earlier research students were fond of doing research on Cankam classics on subjects like nature, culture, civilisation, historical references, love and war etc. Cankam poems were collected as eight anthologies on the basis of the number of metrical feet, form and matter. The Anthologies as such do not provide sufficient ground for scientific research. The age, the literary merit and the grammatical features of each Anthology cannot be determined without reference to other Anthologies. Therefore the conclusions arrived at on the basis of individual Anthology will naturally become incomplete, Research works on particular region like Kurincittinal, Palaithinai, Patantinai etc. on the basis of the collection of all poems relating to a tinai in all Anthologies have been rbought out satisfactorily. Tirukkural, Cilappatikaram and Ramayanam, because of their high literary value and unparallel popularity, have attracted a number of scholarly writers with the result that now we are in a position to do supra research on the research so far done on these three monumental classics. It is pleasing to note that modern creative works like novels, short stories, dramas and folklore have formed a major part of the research theses and it shows that out universities give due recognition to the authors who intend developing Tamil to the international standard. In this connection a note of warning is necessary;; careful attention should be devoted to the choice of the subject for research. The works of the living authors should not be taken for research as a rule. When the authors in question are still writing books how can a researcher say anything final on his earlier works? His thesis will be ineffective and inconclusive. Someties it is found that the living authors are chosen for research to please them and to get some benefit from them. It is also found that the living author’s reputation or unpopularity will affect the candidate’s approach to the topics. Therefore I feel that a healthy tradition in the domain of Tamil research should be built up by excluding the works of the living authors from being brought into the scene of research. The standard of research hitherto made in Tamil, though commendable, does not come upto our expectation. The research theses reflect the hard work of the candidates by way of collecting materials and preparing charts and appendices; but most of the theses do not deal with problems and views of different schools. The onerous task of collecting materials for some years by the candidates which is a mechanical one blunts the intellectual sharpness of the young scholars. It is the chief duty of the guide to develop the research faculty of the candidates who have registered enthusiastically for the Ph.D. and to ask them to understand the unsolved problems in their subjects and to find out solutions for them. Ph.D. research theses form only a small percentage of research activities in a language like Tamil. They are unconnected and piecemeal. They are submitted with a view to getting degrees. The Universities in Tamilnadu have awarded so far about 100 Ph.Ds, That does not mean that Tamil has been much enriched by these works. What timeans is that the Universities, have produced a band of scholars well equipped for the task of valuable research projects when such projects are undertaken. The Tamil savants for the last four decades spent much of their energy and time and money to popularise our literature, particularly Cankam classics which were unearthed after many centuries. Manuscripts and palm leaves were searched out and printed Cheap editions were reprinted with spliting of the stanzas. The contents of the ancient and mediaeval literature were reproduced in prose. A movement was enthusiastically started to make the Tamil public aware of their literary heritage and to love their mother tongue. There are hundreds of prose books in Tamil. But they do not exceed more than 150 pages each. They were written only to be prescribed as text books in colleges and high schools. As they are marketable, private publishers gladly come forward to publish and sell them. These works no doubt served their useful purpose viz, the popularisation of Tamil literature among the common people; but they do not increase the wealth of the Tamil Muse. Now what we need is research programmes, research projects and reference books. The Tamil Encyclopaedia by Tamil Development Academy, the Cankam classics aranged in the alphabetical order of poets by Samajam, the collection of various commentaries of Tirukkural by Mahavidwan Dandapani Desikar, the collection of commentaries on Tolkappiyam Collatikaram by Dr. V.I. Subramaniam, the Index of Cilappatikaram by Dr. S.V. Subramaniam, the 16 volumes of Kampa Ramayanam with variant readings by the Annamalai University are some noteworthy publications for reference. The research institutions of Tamilnadu should be ashamed of not having many reference works of Tolkappiyam, the extant first work in Tamil. An Index of Ainkurunuru, An Index of Akananuru, An Index of Purananuru etc. based on individual anthology need rearrangement for proper reference. An Index of Tholkappiyam, An Index of Perunkatai, An Index of Manimekalai, An Index of Cintamani which have been prepared with great labour by the research students should be published with texts. All works big and small should be published with elaborate introduction and complete index and concordance. A series of editions like anthology of Ulas, anthology of Thoothu, anthology of Parani, anthology of Kalampakam, anthology of Pallu and so on in the chronological order should be brought out for easy reference to scholars. It is too much to expect that every researcher should collect the materials from all books concerned. It is a waste of time. Unless voluminous editions and reference works are made easily available to the scholars, real progress in the field of Tamil research will only be a dream. The State Government, the Central Government and the U.G.C. should deem it their duty to invest huge amounts in the research projects as they do in the projects of economic developments. At the end of my keynote address. I may be permitted to express my view on the prose of modern writers, however unpalatable it may be to a few. Most of the novelists, playwrights, and writers of short stories pay more attention to the themes and treatment of themes. We would welcome it. But I am sorry to state they they do not care for the language. Whether they really write in Tamil of non-Tamil, is a matter of doubt. It is said, and of course we should admit, that Tamil should be developmed to express scientific ideas and thoughts. But nobody will dare to say that novels, short stories etc. Great scholars like Parithimarkalaignan and Maraimalai Atikal vehemently fought against the use of foreign words in Tamil. Now what we find is that some great novelists and short story writers purposely mix paras of foreign words and sentences in their popular writings. I hold the doubt whether Tamil is incapable of expressing their thoughts or they are incapable of expressing their thoughts in Tamil. Occasionally use of foriegn words is always admissible in all languages. To use foreign words in the place of local words and to mix long sentences and long paras of foreign words will reveal that the writer does not have the capacity to write in a particular language according to the genius of that language. A book will nto be permanent, because of its theme and treatment and form alone; permanency rests mostly upon the language also. The history of Tamil has shown that the books written in mixed language have very few readers in course of time and that they need pure Tamil translations as the Vyakkiyanam of Nalayira Diviya prabandams. Hence I appeal to the writers of novels, short stories etc. to pay more attention to the language side also. If possible, I request them to revise the language of their works in reprint. Otherwise most of the modern literature, solely for want of language purity, will not last long. After a great deal of thought, I make this appeal to the writers who are really enriching ancient Tamil with new forms and thoughts. 4. SCRIPT REFORM IN TAMIL I am extremely happy to present before this enlightened audience my constructive and pragmatic views on a problem which is agitating the minds of the young scholars who are eager to reform the Tamil scripts scientifically and rationally. They think that the present forms of Tamil letters are not suited to typing and printing; they are difficult for the children and the foreigners to learn and write and that the modernisation of Tamil scripts will give a fillip to the general spread of Tamil far and wide. The movement of script reform is not confined to Tamil alone. After the introduction of printing and linotyping all Indian Languages have been subjected to their impact. While in India the script reform is towards the modification of old forms to the requirement of type board, the reform in western countries, particularly in America is to have a close relation between the graphemes and the phonemes. Thus the reform in script has become a world feature. Three views Different scholars advocate different kinds of script reforms. They may be classified under three heads: a) One section of scholars is in favour of complete Romanisation of Tamil language. They contend that by this change-over, Tamil language will develop internationally and be easily read by the foreigners. Another advantage of it is that most of our children who are learning English in Roman scripts may easily pick up Tamil also without undergoing the trouble of learning another script. These scholars recommend adoption of Roman scripts for other Indian languages also. b) Another section of scholars is in favour of completely adopting the Devanagiri script for the Indian languages including Tamil whose script is different. They hold that this universal adoption will strengthen the solidarity and integration of our nation and pave the way for the understanding of different Indian languages and culture by all Indians. c) The third section of scholars intends reforming the Tamil scripts themselves. They want regularity in the forms of vowels, consonants and syllabic letters. My paper is concerned only with this reform. What defects do we find in Tamil alphabets? What kind of reform do we need to set right the irregular diacritics? What are the methods to be adopted? The movement for this cause began in the early part of this century. Individual scholars, private organisations and committees sponsored by the Government have time and again suggested ways and means for this purpose. Before the analysis of the problem, I shall give you in a nutshell the defects that are pointed out and the reforms that are contemplated by various scholars. 1. Short and Long vowels The short vowels are m, ï, c, v, x. The corresponding long vowels are M, <, C, V, X Thus altogether we are having 10 signs for 10 vowels. There are two ways of reducing them either to 6 or 5. If a common sign like ‘h’ for the long vowel is adopted the number will be only six mh, ïh, ch, vh, Xh. If the sign of the same vowel is juxtaposed to indicate the elongation like mm, ïï, cc, vv, xx 5 letters will be sufficient for 10 vowels. This is not a new suggestion. Do we not adopt the letters of short vowels to represent the further lengthening of the long vowels, what is called alapetai (Mm, <ï, Cc, Vv, Xx)? 2. al and au The enumeration of I and xs along with the vowels has been a subject of controversy even in the middle period. Linguists who give much importance to the spoken tongue support the removal of them from the Tamil alphabet. These two diphthongs may be easily replaced by mŒ and m› respectively. Be bidding good-bye to the so called diphthongs and doubling the signs of short vowels even for long ones, Tamil may eliminate the existing seven signs from its vowel alphabet table. 3. Velar nasal and dental nasal Velar nasal (‡) has not much phonemic value. It is used only morpo phonemically. There is no contrast between dental nasal (e) and the alveolar nasal (d). Therefore it is suggested that these two consonants (‡ and e) are not worth preserving in the Tamil alphabet. 4. Vowel sings in ‘uyirmey’ a) There are three irregular syllabi letters in ‘M’ combination. They may be easily written as like zh, wh, dh other consonants, by adding ‘kal’ form. Yet it may be noticed that there is some regularity among these three forms, ‚,ƒ,„ since it becomes easy to draw the curve from z, w, d. b) There are four (irregular syllabic letters, ˜z, ˜y, ˜s, ˜d in I combination. By adopting i sign we may write them as iz, iy, is, id in consonance with other consonants. Yet it may be noticed that there is some regularity among these four forms since they have loops at the beginning of the sign. In printing and typing it is possible to adopt these forms iz, iy, is, id without confusion. But in handwriting nobody could be expected to count the loops before or after writing. There will be five loops for iz and four loops for id. To avoid this inconvenience the ‘ai’ sign is raised over the consonantal sign. Because of this easiness no reform attempted in these letters was successful. This should be noted by the enthusiasts of the reform. c) Diverse irregularities are found in the syllabic combinations of c and C. In c there are three varieties F, ò, E in C five varietie T, õ, N, ú, L If there is any reform immediately needed in the field of Tamil scripts it is to be adopted in these two vowels. Recently, the Kerala Governement boldly introduced one new sign for short c and one new sign for long C, thus eliminating a number of cumbersome signs in these series. For Tamil some scholars have suggested to adopt the Grantha form & for short c& for long C. 5. The vowel signs in the syllabic letters are suffixed or prefixed in some cases and are done in both ways in some other cases. a) fh, », F, T - suffixed b) bf, nf, if - prefixed c) bfh, nfh, bfs - prefixed and suffixed In the combination of vowel-consonant (uyirmei) the sound of the consonant is uttered first and that of the vowel comes next. Accordingly vowel sign or allograph in the syllabic writing should follow the consonantal sign. This principle is followed only in the case of fh, », F, T. It is curious to note that x, X, xs having two vowel allographs each and that they also stand split in the order of syllabic letters. Reform loving persons want to rectify this anamoly by adopting only one allograph for each phoneme and placing it after it. 6. The present trend of some modern writers is to use aytam a kind of fricative phonema to represent foreign phonemes like ‘t’. Therefore you find new forms of words such as: ~igš, ~òS, ~ng‹, ~ã‹y©£, ~ãš, ~ignyáah in newspapers, advertisements etc. 7. A revolutionary view of the script reform needs mentioning as the last item. According to this, Tamil will have only 28 phonemes and 23 graphemes. short vowels long vowels consonants m mm f‡rPlz ï ïï jegkau c cc ytHswd v vv x xx m©©mm«mšmŒ¥ ¥mš¡mšmŒ¡ ¡mœm¡m« «xœïŒïŒmš ¤cwmŒ¥ ¥m© ï¡mŸ ›mŸm®¡m (m©zhkiy¥ gšfi¡fHf« bkhÊÆaš Jiw¥gÂfŸ ts®f) It is held that there is no need to have separate scripts for long vowels since the doubling of the signs of the short vowels themselves will serve the purpose. Then 23 scripts may be used to write the 28 phonemes. This number will be very handy in composing and typing. The complete elimination of separate allographs in the combination of Uyirmei and the juxtaposition of vowel symbols after the consonantal signs are two important principles involved in this view. Though this view seems to be very radical and revolutionary it is not new to us who are familar with English. In the foregoing pages I have given the several views put forth by different schools in the matter of script reform from time to time. I request you not to identify me with them. To say plainly, I am not subscribing to many of them since they do not take into consideration the genius of the Tamil language, its historical development and its sound pattern. For any change, in so far as Tamil script is concerned, the following points need deep consideration. Points for Consideration: 1. The scripts of Tamil have been historically and basically divided into three classes, as vowel, consonant and vowel consonant. This is evident from the earliest extant Tamil grammar, Tolkappiyam and the grammatical works of later period. This is part of the nature of Tamil scripts. Beschi points out this nature thus. “The Tamilians do not, after the excellant plan of europeans, place the vowel after the consonants to form syllables, but of the consonant and vowel united they form a third figure”. b. Linguists have praised Tamil for its having graphemes for each and every phoneme. This fundamental relation should be maintained. c. In English and other Western languages spelling and pronunciation are two different aspects. Tamil has no such distinction. What we spell we pronounce. What we pronounce we spell. This charactor should not be altered. The use of aytam to represent English ‘f’ phoneme strikes at the root of this basic principle. d. There should be no difference in the scripts between typing and printng on the one hand and writing on the other. Tamil scripts should be common to both as at present. e. When compared with other cultivated Dravidian languages and Indo-Aryan languages, Tamil has not many phonemes in the consonantal series. There are no voiced sounds, aspirates and sibilants in Tamil. f. Similarity as well as dissimilarity are a part of nature and beauty. There is no harm in the attempt to bring unanimity wherever possible. To think that there should be no dissimilarity and that all dissimilarities should be removed may be logical but unnatural and unpracticable. Not only in phonology but in morphology and syntax also every language disclose dissimilar features. g. It was possible for Beschi in the 17th century to introduce few changes in the vowel scripts when the printing was just on the field. For the past two hundred years we have published many of the Tamil works that were once in the palmyra leaves. Now change of scripts makes them sealed books even to the educated. The following is the warning of Professor T.P. Meenakshisundaram. “Any remedy will be only worse than the disease, because there is the great danger of making the handful of our literates in Tamil, illiterate by introducing revolutionary changes. It is this overpowering consideration that stands on the threshold of our enquiry preventing the acceptance of the Roman alphabet”. We know that Vidutalai, a Tamil Daily, is presistently and consistently using i sign for all consonants and that Swadesamitran, another well known daily sincerely brought out some editions with new scripts but of no use. Any reform movement in Tamil scripts has not so far attracted ths cholars and the public for many reasons well known to all. It should not be misunderstood when I say that no script change in Tamil is necessary that I am not for it. What I feel is that after the numberless productions and publications for the last one hundred years, any artificial change in script will do more harm than good to the normal growth of Tamil and will result in the extinction of a large number of printed books, for want of reprint in the new scripts they come into use. This fear looms large in many a mind. If any script reform unconsciously creeps in, I hope we may welcome it. Reference: 1. Beschi C.J. - Grammar of the common dialect of the Tamil. 2. Meenakshisundaram T.P. - Collected papers - The Tamil Script Reform. 3. Manickam V. SP. - Chintanaikkalankal - Putiya Aytam. 4. Shanmugapprakatham Kotumuti - Ayyukkovai VII- Vol.2 - Eluttenpa. 5. Sundar E.J. Ayvukkotai VII-Vol. 2-Tiruttuvom Tamil Eluttukkalai. 6. Tamilakappulavar Academy - Proceedings. 7. Tamil Development Council - Proceedings. 8. Andronov M-A Standard Grammar of Modern and Classical Tamil. 9. Konku - A monthly journal. 10. Ramachandran K - Tamilarum Tamilum. 5. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF TOLKAPPIYAM Tolkappiyam, the earliest work now extant in Tamil, is generally assigned to about the third century B.C. It deserves a comparative and comprehensive study at the international level of research by eminent scholars here and aborad, in view of its treatment of universal themes like love and war, government and society, married life and renunciation, language and literature, and culture, and civilisation of a people living in the southern part of India whose hoary past has been accepted by historians. A Tamil work Purapporul Venpamalai embalms the oral tradition that the heroic Tamil race was born on the peaks of mountains when the rest of the land was still immersed in the ocean waters. It is to be observed that Tamil alone is reputed as the international Indian language spoken in different Asian countries with the status of one of the State languages. The time is also now ripe for starting international pursuit of research study of Tolkappiyam since we have already held three World Tamil Conferences and the Government of Tamil Nadu with the aid of the UNESCO has founded the International Institute of Tamil Studies. Tolkappiyam from its birth has greatly influenced Tamil literature and grammar throughout the ages. It has to its credit many commentaries writen in different periods by erudite scholars well-versed also in Sanskrit. But for these commentaries, survival of this old work against the odd vicissitudes which caused the loss of hundreds of works in the middle ages would be doubtful. Therefore any study of Tolkappiyam cannot but include the glosses thereon. It is gratifying to note that Tolkappiyam which was unfortunately a sealed book for Western Orientalists for centuries is now rapidly gaining ground at least in the field of linguistics. Researchers on Tolkappiyam must, at the outset, give up the wrong notion hitherto held that it is a grammatical treatise and that its main concern only the Tamil language and its various phenomena such as phenemes and phonology, morphemes and morphology and syntax. No doubt it is a work on grammar. But grammar of what sort? Nowadays the word ‘grammar’ has often a very restrictive sense and sometimes a degrading sense too. One who enters into the portals of Tolkappiyam must realise the varied and vast subjects treated in it directly and indirectly. Only this realisation will throw new light and open new vistas for the furtherance of research about this work. Tolkappiyam in its first two parts systematically brings out the phonetic, phonemic, morphemic and syntactical nature of the Tamil language. But more than that, even these two parts abound in interesting and pointed references to the customs and manners of the Tamil people and the Tamil Nadu. Proper names, names of measures, names of fauna and flora etc. are profuse in the aphorisms. Social impact has pervaded the first two parts also. No language can be divorced from society as its very existence depends upon the social intercourse of the community. Linguists are expected to understand this mode of treatment adopted by Tolkappiyar even in the field of language. So far, no attempt has been made to discover the unique methods employed by this author in writing his magnum opus. We are content with simply applying modern methods to the study of this ancient work while analysing the production of articulate sounds. It is customary for writers on linguistics to arrange phonemes from the labials to the velars. Tolkappiyam in the third chapter Pirappiyal enumerates consonants beginning from the ‘k’ stop which is produced by the complete closure of the soft palate. This natural order of sounds is worth noting. The third part of Tolkappiyam is entitled Porulathi karam. The work ‘porul’ has several meanings. The appropriate meaning in this connection will be subject matter of theme of compositions. In Akam chapters, principles evolved from love literature technically called Akam are minutely described. What scholars have missed is to bring out into prominence the universal and independent approach of Tolkappiyar to sexual Iive with no historical colour. The anonymity of the characters in the drama of Akam is an unassailable evidence to prove its universal outlook. The unqualified declaration that, notwithstanding their social and economic status, all should receive equal treatment in Akam literature in the matter of purity of love is noteworthy. The Puram chapter has not been taken up so far for serious consideration. I accept that the art of war portrayed in Tolkappiyam is a thing of the remote past. But this portrayal is only secondary. The purport of puram is not to describe the actual activities going on in the war front but to unearth and reveal the energetic human tendencies leading one always to entertain mistrust, provocation and hostility. According to Tolkappiyar’s analysis, power struggle for the establishment of one’s supremacy over others by all means and at all costs is the eternal motive for waging war. This mentality is termed as ‘tumpai’. It should be remembered that importance is not given in Tolkappiyam to wars undertaken to annex the land of belligerent states and thus enlarge one’s own domain. In vetchi theme of Puram chapter, protection to civilian people and innocent livestock is emphasised as the first duty of the aggressor before resorting to actual fighting. In Kanchi theme, seeds for religion and spiritualism are sown by pointing out the horrors of war, mass annihilation of human lives and devastation of individual and national properties and by exhorting some people to do service to the community at large. In Vakai theme, the competitive spirit in all walks of life, like education, administration, business, profession, sports and pastimes is activated by rousing one’s eagerness to win fame, reward and recognition before the public. It will be clearly seen from the ‘cuttirams’ of Vakaittipai that Puram subjects are varied and related to all strata of society. The last theme ‘patan’ asserts that Puram division does not confine its treatment to political conflicts and war compaigns but holds under its purview treatment of social and national services an individual could render according to one’s capacity. The readers will be convinced now that a work treating of such subjects, as referred to above, should not be called a mere grammar book in the ordinary sense of the word. In the third part there is a chapter Ceyyuliyal wherein lies an ocean of information about Tamil culture and civilisation and Tamil literature. This is the largest and greatest among the 27 chapters in Tolkappiyam but it is also the least studied one. Scholars have turned a blind eye to this section as its study requires sufficient equipment in several disciplines. In order to draw the attention of the pandits to this valuable but untraversed section, a lover of Tolkappiyam announced an award of one thousand rupees for those who were able to identify the correct readings of two cuttirams relating to alliterations and rhymes. What is meant by Ceyyul? Tolkappiyam, as the Prologue puts it, has treated all themes on two fundamental grounds - Usage (valakku) and composition (ceyyul). By usage we mean the practice which was in vogue at the time of the author. Composition means any form composed with literary merit with a view to preserving something. It need not necessarily be in writing; it may be in speech also, as is evident from the inclusion of proverb as one of the compositions in Tolkappiyam. Be it in writing or in oral form, anything concise and poetical and couched in the choicest words is a composition. Cey means to cultivate. Land reclaimed for ploughing is called cey in Tamil. In chapter Verrumai Iyal under Part II, a composition is beautifully defined as ‘terintu molic ceyil’. This chapter has given expression to the existence in olden times of seven kinds of composition in poetry or in prose or in ordinary speech. It mentions 34 constituents making up compositions. To study each of these will involve a laborious but fruitful research. As it needs a detailed study of the three commentaries now available on this section and a comparative study of the later works on prosody like Yapparunkalam together with a flood of literature, this chapter along will claim life-long devotion from an ardent student. I should like to conclude that vastness of subjects, orderly and analytical treatment, social background universal outlook, principles of composition, relation between forms and contents, are some of the guidelines to be borne in mind while framing schemes for the study of Tolkappiyam. 6. A PHONOLOGICAL STUDY OF TOLKAPPIYAM 1. Tolkappiyam is the earliest Tamil grammar. Its age is generally placed in the third Century B.C. All the available literature now are only of the post Tolkappiyam period. No work contemporaneous with Tolkappiyam has reached us. It is calculated that there must be an interval of two centuries between the age of Tolkappiyam and that of Sangam classics. Tolkappiyam, though very ancient, has come down to us more or less intact. It has been studied by scholars at all times. To understand the principles of Aham and Puram, the well known classification of literature in Tamil, we have still to rely on this treatise. In the thirteenth century which may be styled as the “Renaissance of Grammar”, there appeared a flood of commentaries on this monumental work, to make it easy to understand. New grammatical works also emerged, based on Tolkappiyam. 2. From the beginning of the twentieth century, Tolkappiyam is being studied by scholars in different branches both in India and aborad. There is immense scope in this ancient work for research in the fields of Sociology, Anthropology, History, Economics, Psychology, Philosophy, Military Science, Politics and Linguistics. That Tolkappiyam has become popular is evident from the publication of critical dissertations and explanatory books on it by many writers. It is heartening to note, that even students of Tamil studying in high schools, apart from under-graduates and graduates and research students, know something about the greatness and contents of this book of their ancestors. Translations of Tolkappiyam as a whole or in parts are also forthcoming, Like Tirukkural, I Hope Tolkappiyam too will be translated in many world languages so that scholars will find it a repository of valuable material for the study of the successive and continuous thought-current of the human race. The more ancient a book is, more is the value of its material for research. 3. Linguistics is the latest addition to the domain of science. Language is subjected now to scientific treatment Philologists of nineteenth century did research in language on hypothetical basis in unknown regions. They concentrated their attention mainly on the origin of language and the relation between the word and its meaning. But, linguists of modern thought try to unravel the exact nature of a language synchronically at first. Synchornic linguistics or Descriptive linguistics has become the order of the day. For Linguistic scholars, Tolkappiyam is an infallible guide. Though old, fortunatel, it deals with a language which is still alive and growing. It has really described the features of the utterance of the speech-community of its times and also brought out the grammatical core of the language. For the study of phylogeny or historical linguistics also, we may derive a good deal of help from Tolkappiyam. 4. Tolkappiyam has three parts. The first part called Eluttatikaram deals with all features of phonetics such as phonemes, allophones, phonemic structure, phonetic symbols, phonemic symbols, morpho-phonemics, alternations, juncture, phonetic changes and canonical forms. The second part called Collatikaram explains all features of morphology and syntax, free morphemes, bound morphemes, substitutes, derivatives, compounds, morphological processes, inflection, syntactical constructions, congruence etc., The third and last part called Porulatikaram, bigger than the other two parts combined, treats elaborately of the culture of the Tamils in regard to love, heroism, philosophy, customs and manners, various kinds of literature, prosody etc., Though the third part does not deal directly with any lingusitics aspect, it offers a good deal of material for linguistic analysis, being a repository of a lot of morphemes and morphological and syntactical constructions. The growth of any language in modern times is artificial and it is by leaps and bounds. It is nurtured by rapid means of communication. Its quick development may be compared to the yield in land supplied with artificial manure. The impact of modern culture on any pattern of language in these days cannot be easily conceived by us. Only future linguists can ascertain the mode of changes correctly. But in the days of Tolkappiyam the language grew naturally, steadily and peacefully. Nothing was done specially and rapidly for this sake of language. Therefore the description of Tamil as found in Tolkappiyam may be accepted as true for all times. 5. In this paper I shall confine myself to the phonemic analysis of Tamil as represented in this ancient work Panamparanar in his Preface to Tolkappiyam eulogises the author as one who has elicited the phonemic features with no disorder (“mayanka marapin eluthu muraikatti”). This gives us encouragement to hold Tolkappiyam as an authoritative and authentic treatise in the field of phonetic study. True to this praise, Tolkappiyam commences with the enumeration of thirty phonemes in Tamil. That they are along phonemes and no more is emphatically said in the beginning of the sentence “eluttenap patuva”. The next Suttiram enumerates three more, Kurriyalikaram, Kurriyalukaram and Aytam and they are called phoneme-like, ‘eluttoranna’. This means that these three have not the value of a phoneme; but only the semblance of it. What is meant by this is that they have no phonemic value and they are only non-distinctive sounds. They have no independent articulation. For their expression they are dependent on the sequence of phonemes either in a morpheme or in a word or in syntax “carntu varal marapu”. Linguists call these three as allophones in modern terminology. Really these three are problematic. There are thiry phonemes in Tamil. Are we going to say that only three have allophnes and all the other twentyseven phonemes have none? Of the three, two namely Kurriyalikaram and Kurriyalukaram belong to the category of the vowels. Aytam is said to be the allophone representing the three phonemes 1, j and v. It may be noted that the so called three allophones are diminutive in quantity as clearly revealed in the descriptive nomenclature given to them. 6. According to quantity or mattirai Tamil phonemes may be classified as threefold, vowel phonemes (7) having two mattirai; vowel phonemes (5) having one mattirai and consonantal phonemes (18) having half mattirai each. This classification if based on the Suttirams 3, 4, 11 in Tolkappiyam. All these thirty phonemes are distinctive and are called base or primary sounds. Thre is no phoneme or distinctive element of sound in Tamil having three mattirais. It does not mean that we should not employ three mattirais in Tamil. What the author wishes to point out is that it has no phonemic value and it has also no single symbol. These aspects of a sound having three mattriais and more are brought out in the following two continuous Suttirams. “Muvala picaittal orelut tinre” (Tol: 5) “Nittam ventin avvaja putaiya kutti eluutal enmanar pulavar” (Tol: 6) This kind of lengthening of quantity in vowels is called Alapetai. To indicate the lengthening usually signs of short vowels will be placed along with the signs of long vowels. In like manner, dots are employed by Tolkapppiyar as diacritical marks to denote only diminution of mattirai. The placing of a dot on the world miya or natiyatu will show that there is only a phonetic change but of no phonemic value. In this connection a note of explanation is necessary in regard to the symbol of aytam. It is traditionally held by Tamil Scholars that aytam will have three dots like the three heads of a hearth or like the mathematical symbol ... for the word ‘therefore’. The phrase “mupparpulli” in the second suttiram has misled scholars to hold the above view. “mupparappulli” does not denote Aytam alone. It denotes all the three ‘phoneme-like’ in that suttiram. The new discovery by me that Aytam too will have only one dot is clear from the following suttiram which describes its occurrences in the sequence of phonemes. “Kuriyatan munnar aytap pulli uyirotu punarnta vallaran micaitte” (Tol. 38) Aytappulli, the dot representing in writing for Aytam will come after a short vowel and before a stop. While pointing out this occurrence the author has used the finite singular verb “micaitta”. If more that one dot should represent Aytam, the finite verb ought to be in plural as ‘micaya’ 7. The first International Conferrence of Tamil Studies now at Kula Lumpur must evolve a scientific transcription of Tamil Phonemes to be adopted by all Dravidologist in future as the International Phonetic Association did in 1912. I have so far explained that Tolkappiyar has employed phonemic transcriptions and phonetic transciptions. Now we are using more or less phonetic signs used in Tamil Lexicon of the University of Madras. Certain changes in symbols are being made by individual writers sporadically to suit typing and composing. Any use of linguistic symbols should reflect to a great extent the true phonemic nature of a language. To indicate long Vowel phonemic geminates or diagraphs like paari, Aaytam have come in vogue. The phonemic system will not allow the juxta-position of two vowel without any prevention of hiatus as in Fox. The sequence of vowels within a morph or word is phonemically impossible. The insertion of a semi-vowel when two vowels occur as in Avan, Aval, Ayan is necessary. The method of doubling the ordinary symbol of short vowel phoneme to indicate the long one will be misconstrued that Tamil has no long vowel phonemes. Moreover we use the regular symbol of short vowels in Alapetai with no prevention of hiatus. This absence will show that the geminates have no phonemic value. The use of Aytam by some modern writers needs careful study. Aytam has no independent production. In writing the name of the country “France”, Aytam commences the word. It is elevated as a phoneme and as an initial contrast. I hope this conference will pay some attention to the enunciation of a uniform policy in regard to symbols and use of Tamil phonemes. 8. Modern Linguists have defined vowel as a sound for whose production the oral passage is unobstructed. Conversely, consonant is a sound for the production of which the air current is occulted in the oral passage at various levels and degrees. This physiological definition is understood by Tolkappiyar. The terms Uyir (vowels) and Mei (Consonant) have been philosophically interpreted by mant commentators and scholars. They expound that Uyir like the soul has an independent movement and Mei a metaphorical and not linguistic interpretation. Tamil grammarians have always taken both Uyir and Mei as primary sounds, ‘mutal eluttu’. No inferiority in phonemic value is assigned to the consonants. When Tolkappiyar says that the twelve vowels will be produced by the air expelled from the throat (“mitarrup piranta valiyin icaikkum”) he has definitely known the unobstructed production of vowels. The terms Mei and 0rru reveal on the face of them that consonants will be produced by the touch of various organs in the mouth cavity. This is evidenced by the use of verbal participle ‘0rra’. According to Tolkappiyam suttiram 86 there is some tinge of touch even in the birth of certain vowels like i, i, e, e, ai (“Mutal na vilimpural utaiya”) Therefore in the first general suttiram of Chapter Pirappiyal (production of phonemes), he has mentioned the touch of organs “uruppurru amaiya” as a feature common to vowels and consonant. This is a point to be considered by phoneticians. 9. Tolkappiyar sets apart two thirds of the first part for the study of morpho-phoenmics. Rules in relation to phonemically conditioned alternations and morphemically condtitioned alternations are framed. That the phonetic change will be such, if such and such phoneme is followed by such and such phoneme, is brought out systematically in the order of phonemes. The rules relating to phoenemically conditioned alternations have uniform application. In regard to the morphemes ‘se’ ‘puji’ ‘ekin’ etc. special rules are framed to bring out their semantic aspects. If ‘puji’ means a kind of tree, the syntactical construction will be pujiyankotu, puliyampalam. If ‘puji’ means acidity the construction will be pujinkari, puliccaru. It is said by Bloch and Trager that juncture phenomena have as yer been little studied. In two suttirams this Tamil grammarian speaks of not only the feature of juncture in sequence of phonemes but also their breaking up to know the meaning of the speaker. 10. The study of the principles of modern linguistics enables us to understand the scientific treatment of Tolkappiyam. It also makes us realize that the ancient Tamil grammarian has left nothing unsaid in the description of the features of Tamil, phonetically, phonemically, morpho logically, syntactically, and last but not the least semantically. The study of Tolkappiyam by scholars of linguistics will, in my humble opinion, lead to the discovery of new features of language yet to be studied. Tolkappiyam will certainly help and not deter the development of linguistic science. 7. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO TAMIL SYNTAX 1. In modern lingusitics, the study of the various features relating to syntax, like sentence-types and relation between syntax and semantics has not yet been seriously taken up. Linguistics are now deeply interested in the analysis of phonetics and morphology. The sentence alone is the organic and living form of a language. For the sake of research-study we dissect it into morphemes, and again into phonemes. The importance of the formation of sentences had been well realised by Tamil grammarians. In almost all grammatical rules in Eluttatikaram and Collatikaram, this aspect is revealed. From this point of view Tamil grammar should be examined. 2. Language is a human instrument. Anything related to human beings cannot be divorced from the study of psychology. Language is the medium of communication in the society, and emotion is the background and impulse of all utterances. Changes, developments and commissions and omissions in a language are the result of the ever-changing process of the human mind. Grammatical works at first try to lay down a uniform rule for every linguistic feature, but exceptions are growing in abundance. And these exceptions become part of the general rule in course of time and new exceptions spring up. Linguistic developments cannot be arrested as the source for these develomentss, i.e., the mind is always changing and changeable. 3. How the mind has influenced many exceptional rules which are called ‘Valuvamaiti’ (tGtikâ) by Tamil grammarians, will be illustrated in this article. In the structure of a Tamil sentence seven kinds of congruence are expected: 1. class, 2. gender, 3. person, 4. tense, 5. question, 6. answer and 7. convention. Tinaiya palitam polutu vinavirai marapam elum maya im valuve (Nan. 375) The violation of concord is condoned, when it is actuated by love, passion, happiness, eulogy, emotions etc. When one comes across a snake, he cries ‘snake, snake’. This is called a sentence of repetition (mL¡F¤bjhl®). There is no predicate in the sentence. Language does not require a full sentence when the emotion is high. But there is also a limit to this repetition in haste or in fear. ‘viraicol atukke munru varapakum’ (Tol. 907) Sometimes in a mood of joy or pleasure, recurrence of a word four times is also allowed. What is the reason for allowing repetition thrice in the cast of fear, and extending it to four times in the case of joy? A frightened man cries because he needs some one’s help to kill the snake. He cannot speak continuously and his utterance will be abrupt. If he goes on repeating the word ‘snake’ many times, the word will become devoid of emotion, and will lose reaction in the hearer, as in the story of a boy who frequently cried “Tiger, Tiger”. In case of joy, no feeling will interrupt his speech. Joy is of a personal nature. Without a hearer one may express one’s feeling or ecstasy. 4. In Bhapters kilaviyakkam and Ecchaviyal of Tolkappiyam and Potuviyal of Nannul, condonation of grammatical errors in sentences is elaborately dealt with. Nouns of high class (ca®âiz) and nouns of non-hight class (m~¿iz) should be governed by the finite verbs of the same class, This is the general rule. vinayir tonrum palari kilaviyum peyarin tonrum palari kilaviyum mayankal kuta tammera pinava (Tol. 494) Cut even poets of high repute like Thiruvalluvar, Ilanko, and Kampar purposely transgress ordinary grammatical rules, in order to identify themselves with the feelings of the characters. In the example “Away ran John”, the adverbial expression commences the sentence. Upsetting of the normal structure is one of the devices adopted for the purpose of emphatic expression. “j«Kila j©zËí« jhK«j« kh‹njU« v«ik ÃidahJ É£lhnuh É£lfšf” (áy¥ : fhdštÇ) “jÅikí« jhDk¤ ijaY« MÆdh‹ ” (ïuhk. ghy. Äâiy) The finite verbs ‘vittaro; and ayinan’ have become the predicates of different classes, genders and numbers. To bring home the oneness of lovers, the poets have employed one predicate at the expense of grammar. evavum ceykalan tanteran avvuyir poom alavumor noy (Kural 848) Tiruvalluvar says that he who has neither the capacity of doing things on command, nor the power of understanding by himself is an anathema till his death. He despises the existence of such a person, and his contempt is revealed by the expression ‘m›îÆ®’ Avvaiyar also uses similar contemptuous expression about the rich people who leave this world having never done charity. ‘