A progressive grammar of common Tamil

204 Pages·1910·13.913 MB·English

by  Albert Henry Arden

KeganPaul,Trench,Tr^ *
ANDCO..LTD.
Oriental&AfricanBooksetter
39NEWOXFORDST.,
LONDON.W.C.I.

PEOGRESSIVE GKAMMAE
OP COMMON TAMIL
BY
THE EEV. A. H. ARDEN, M.A.
PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY THE SOCIETY FOE PROMOTING CHRISTIAN
KNOWLEDGE, 17 CHURCH STREET, VEPERY, MADRAS
1910
(Allrightsreserved)

PREFACE
SEVERALyears' experiencein teaching Tamil to the members
of the Indian Civil Service at Cambridge has made the
author increasingly to feel the needthat exists for a Tamil
Grammar, written on the same general system as the
Telugu Grammar, which he published, when in Madras,
in the year 1873, and which has for long been adopted
as the textbook for the I.-C.S., as well as by the various
Missionary Societies, working in the Telugu Country.
The author is far from undervaluing the works which
have already been published on the same subject. The
student of Tamil must ever feel grateful to Dr. Pope, who
has done so much to promote the study of this interesting
language. But excellent as Dr. Pope's Tamil Handbook
is, for its own particular purpose, being written on the
Ollendorf system, it necessarily presents the grammar of
the language in a somewhat broken and piecemeal form.
There appears, therefore, to be a real need for an addi-
tional book in the English language, giving a compact
outline of Tamil Grammar; and this need the author has
now endeavoured to supply.
TheTamil Grammar of the Kev. C. T. E. Ehenius supplies
the want to some extent; but not only is it almost out
of print, but it needs revision and rearrangement; and
as many years have passed since it was published, ad-
ditional light has been thrown upon the language, and
great improvements have been made in Tamil type.
2047445
The object of this book is to present the reader with
grammar of common Tamil only, as it is correctly spoken
and written. In ordinary conversation and writing several
vulgarisms and colloquialisms are used. These can easily
be mastered by observation, and by intercourse with the
people of the country; and therefore they are only briefly
noticed in these pages. When once the correct forms and
expressions are known, vulgarisms and colloquialisms can
easily be recognized and understood.
After mastering this Grammar, the student will then be
in a position to proceed to the study of the higher dialect,
and to the perusal of Native Grammars. It is in the
higher dialect that Tamil poetry, and some also of the
Native prose works, are written. So different is it from
the common dialect, that a person who only knows the
latter, cannot understand the former. It requires, there-
fore, separate treatment, and practically forms a distinct
branch of study.
It is hardly necessary to add that the Native Grammars
were composed for those whowere already well acquainted
with common Tamil as their own vernacular and hence
;
they are writtenin Tamil, and deal with the higher dialect.
However useful therefore to advanced students, they are
not adapted for teaching common Tamil to Europeans.
In this, as in the Telugu Grammar, the special effort
of the author has been to adopt a strictly progressive
system; in other words not to introduce matter which
practically implies a knowledge of Tamil which has not
been as yet imparted; and on the other hand, only to
give such information as is absolutely required at the
stage at which the student has arrived. Strict attention
to this principle, while it makes the book much easier
to study, must be pleaded as an excuse for any features
in the arrangement of the subject-matter, which may at
first sight strike the reader as somewhat peculiar. As
instances of this, may be mentioned the explanation in
para. 68 ofthepronunciationof the firstconsonant, after the
explanationofseveralletters which precede itin the alphabet
the insertion of syntax in Chapter VI ^bhe reservation
of information to the supplementary Chapter XI, etc.
Though, in some instances, it might have been advisable
somewhat to alter the terms used, e.g. the word stem
in many places for the word root, etc., yet to prevent
any confusion, the author has thought it best to retain
those terms which have been already adopted in his own
Telugu Grammar, and in the Tamil works of Dr. Pope.
The examples given have been chiefly selected from the
textbooks prescribed for the I.C.S. examinations.
The first chapter, on the alphabet and orthography, may
perhaps seem to be somewhat long, and to be written in
a style, which strictly speaking, may not be quite suited
to the pages of a Grammar. But after some years of
experience in teaching Tamil, the author has found that,
owing to the peculiarities of the Tamil language, the sys-
tem here adopted is at once the easiest and the shortest.
He therefore does not hesitate to insert it. It enables
the student; with the indispensable assistance of a quali-
fied teacher, to acquire the power toreadandto pronounce
Tamil correctly, which is the first great and essential step
in mastering the language.
Much time and labour have been spent upon the verbs
and the rules for the formation of their tenses. All the
verbs in Winslow's Dictionary have been collected and
arranged under rules; and thus a regular classification
has been made, which, when once mastered, will give the
student a clear^and comprehensive view of the subject.
A copious index, both in Tamil and English, is given
at the end of the book, and will be found most useful
for reference.
A few introductory remarks are added in reference to
the Tamil language, and the manner in which it should
be acquired.
The languages of Southern India, of which Tamil is the
most important, are termed Dravidian. Theprincipalmem-
bers of this group of languages are
(1) Tamil. This is the vernacular of about thirteen
millions of people, who principally inhabit the country
on the Eastern side of the Ghauts from Madras to Cape
Comorin, South Travancore on the Western side of the
Ghauts, and also the Northern parts of Ceylon.
(2) Malayalam. This is closely akin to Tamil. It is
thevernacularofaboutfivemillions ofpeople,whoprincipally
inhabit the country on the Western side of the Ghats,
from Mangalore to Trivandrum.
(3) TelugU. This is next to Tamil in importance, from
which it differs very considerably. It uses an entirely
distinct written character; and introduces the Sanskrit
aspirates, which Tamil does not. It is the vernacular of
about seventeen millions of people, who principally inhabit
the country stretching North from Madras to the confines
of Bengal, and far inland into the heart of the Dekhan.
(4) Canarese. This language is closely akin to Telugu.
It is the vernacular of about eight millions of people,
who principally inhabit Mysore and Canara.
While, on the one hand, it may truly be said that
no oriental living language can be properly mastered with-
out a residence in the country where it is spoken, yet, on
the other hand, the author believes, that if a suitable
teacher can beprocured, itisofthe highest value, especially