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Tamilscripts
Tamilscripts
Tamilscripts
Brahmi
is an ancient script of India.
The earliest writing in Brahmi is found
in the edicts of Asoka dated to the 3rd century BC.
Brahmi is a general term and
there existed a number of regional variations,
like Southern Brahmi, Sinhala-Brahmi etc.
Brahmi
Mother script of Indian Languages
Brahmi
is the script from which
all other native Indian scripts,
except the Harappan,
are derived.
Development of
the letter N (ண)
in all Indian languages
starting from Brahmi,
It may be noted
how the characters
change drastically over
the centuries!
Development of latter k (க) in
Devanagari, Tamil and other south Indian Scripts
BC-AD
Development
of vowels
of Tamil
from
Early Tamil-Brahmi
Development
of consonants
of Tamil
from
Early Tamil-Brahmi
Brahmi
Mother script of many Asian Languages
Tamil-Brahmi
is the name of the script
in which the earliest inscriptions
in Tamil are found.
நா ழ û ககா ü ற ó த ö ப
[ளி] ö
The hermitage (is the gift) of koRRantai of nAzhaL
VaTTezhuttu
VaTTezhuttu,
a cursive style,
was derived from Tamil-Brahmi, and
was current all over the Tamil country
from the 5th century AD.
VaTTezhuttu
Tamil script that came into use from the 7th century
displaced VaTTezhuttu.
With the ascendancy of the Chozhas, and
the displacement was total by 13th century.
However the script lingered on till the 19th century
in Kerala for writing Malayalam.
VaTTezhuttu
ஐ ம் ப த் தத ழ
ன
ai m pa t tE zha na
ச ன ந் தநா ற் ற
ca na n nO R Ra
ச ந் தி ர ந ந்
தி ஆ
ca na ti ra na n ti A
சி ரி க ரு நி சீ
ஐம் பத்ததழு நாட்கள்தி உணகக் ணா §¿¡ýÒ
ci ri ka ru ni cI ti kai
தநாற் ற
சந் திரநந் தி ஆசிரிகரு தவம் கசய் த இடம்
The seat of penance of chantiramanti Acirikaru,
who observed the fast (unto death) for fifty-seven days
Tamil Script
Grantha,
was derived from the Southern Brahmi script
of Prakrit characters
by the Pallava-s (6th century AD)
to write Sanskrit in the Tamil country.
²¾¾3É¢‰¼Áò3ÕÁÁ§Ä¡
EtadanishTamadrumamalO
†Á…¤¾4õ Å¢º¢òú¢ò§¾¿
Hamasudham vicitracittEna
¿¢÷Á¡À¢¾óÕ§À½ô3˧Á
nirmApitanRpRNabrahmE
‰ÅÃÅ¢‰ÏÄì„¢¾¡Â¾¿õ
ShvaravishNulakshitAyatanam
க ணி ய் ந ந் த அ ஸி ரி
ய் இ
ka Ni y na n ta a si ri y i
Inscriptions
Early and late Tamil-Brahmi
Early vattazhuttu
Tracings and estampages
Commentary
Corpus of Early Tamil Inscriptions
Inscriptions
110 inscriptions from 52 sites
arranged chronologically,
with text containing
Literal transcript as engraved on stone,
Text organised into words,
Translation into English,
Essential data specific to individual inscriptions,
Date,
Publication and most importantly,
Notes
This is an authoritative Corpus for researchers.
Part Three
Corpus of Early Tamil Inscriptions
Commentary on Inscriptions
Commentary on Inscriptions
According to Mahadevan
there were three stages of
development of medial vowel notation
Tamil-Brahmi I - 2nd century BC to 1st century BC
Tamil-Brahmi II - 1st century BC to 5th century AD
Tamil-Brahmi III - 2nd century AD to 6th century AD
Mahadevan’s findings
Stages of Development
Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi
Consonants
Brahmi Tamil-Brahmi
Medial vowel signs
Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi
Development of additional letters
ड ழ
ल ள
ट ற
न ன
Mahadevan’s findings
Evolution and Chronology of South Indian Scripts
3rd century BC
2nd century BC
1st century BC
5th century AD
6th century AD
7th century AD
14th century AD
Mahadevan’s findings
Origin of Tamil-Brahmi
Tolkappiyam places
the four letters zh [ழ], L [ள],R [ற] and n [ன]
at the end of the series of stops, nasals and liquids.
This arrangement deviates from the order
based on articulatory phonetics.
This small, but significant detail, indicates that
the four special letters were originally regarded
as additions to the alphabet taken from Brahmi.
Possible issues for discussion in the future
Issues
Which came first – Brahmi or Tamil-Brahmi?
Mu Va (1972) says that
the Tamils used a script of their own, and
Tamil-Brahmi has developed
under the influence of VaTTezhuttu.
TN Subramanian (1957), KG Krishnan (1981)
and a few others argue
that Brahmi was a Tamil creation, and
came to be adapted all over India
with regional modifications.
Mahadevan says Tamil-Brahmi is a derivative of Brahmi.
Issues
Was there a script for Tamil before?
Mahadevan says
There was no voicing in Tamil, in early Tamil.
If voicing was present the adaptors of the script
for Tamil from Brahmi
would have borrowed the corresponding letter.
Issues
Voicing in Tamil
Mahadevan continues:
Even in the loanwords from Prakrit
voicing has been systematically replaced
by the corresponding unvoiced consonants like,
kaNi (PKT: gani), utayana (PKT: udayana),
nanta (PKT: nanda),
kiTumpikan (PKT: kuTumbika) etc.
Issues
Voicing in Tamil
Mahadevan continues:
There is negative evidence in Tolkappiyam,
which devotes a whole chapter to
articulatory phonetics
(±Øòதததிகாரõ - பிறôபியø)
would have dealt with voicing
if the feature was present in the language.
Mahadevan does not discuss
S. Swaminathan