Everything You Need To Learn Tamil
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken by roughly 75 million people, mainly in Tamil Nadu, India, Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of South East Asia. It is one of the 22 official languages of India, and at over 5000 years old, is considered the oldest living language in the world.
The language is related to Malayalam, as both languages share a common ancestor. The two languages are not mutually intelligible, though they are written using similar scripts. What might also come as a surprise is that Tamil has a number of words in common with Korean, though no one has been able to determine the origins of this relationship.
Tamil is written using the Tamil script, which is believed to be over 2000 years old. It is thought to have evolved from Brahmi, the ancient Indian writing system.
We’ve collected together several resources to help you learn the language. Though this list isn’t long, there’s more than enough here to get you started.
Tamil Language Learning Books
A good, comprehensive Tamil course or study book is just the thing you need as an introduction to the language. These books typically teach you Tamil grammar, sentence structure, and will expose you to common, useful words in the language. Many even contain exercises designed to test you as you progress.
You’ll also need a concise, Romanized English-Tamil dictionary. During your journey, you’ll come across lots of new, confusing words and terms, so it makes sense to keep a good Tamil dictionary close at hand.
Tamil Children’s Books
If you’re a beginner, reading children’s books in Tamil is a great way to learn the language in a way that you can’t with study books. Tamil kids’ books are written in a simple, clear style – perfect for reading out loud – and contain plenty of fun illustrations designed to aid in memorization.
What’s good about the books on this list is that they’re bilingual English-Tamil stories, meaning you can use the accompanying English text to help you make out what you’re reading.
Tamil Digital Courses
We understand that not everyone likes learning languages with books. For those that don’t, a Tamil e-course could be just the thing you need. These types of courses are usually composed of audio or video lessons, and are great for building your listening and speaking skills.
Udemy offers several Tamil digital courses, the best of which we’ve included in this list. This course is includes 7 hours of video lessons and hundreds of useful downloadable worksheets. You’ll get full lifetime access to the course and future updates, plus you can use the course on any smart device.
EuroTalk Interactive’s Learn Tamil CD-ROM course teaches the most essential Tamil words and phrases, making it perfect for those planning a trip to a Tamil-speaking region some time in the near future.
TAMIL UDEMY COURSES
