Tamil script

The Tamil script (தமிழ் அரிச்சுவடி Tamiḻ ariccuvaṭi [tamiɻ ˈaɾitːɕuʋaɽi], pronunciation ) is an abugida script that is used by Tamils and Tamil speakers in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and elsewhere to write the Tamil language.[5] Certain minority languages such as Saurashtra, Badaga, Irula and Paniya are also written in the Tamil script.[6]

Tamil
தமிழ்
Script type
Time period
c. 400 CE – present[1][2]
Directionleft-to-right 
LanguagesTamil
Kanikkaran
Badaga
Irula
Paniya
Saurashtra
Related scripts
Parent systems
Egyptian Hieroglyphs[a]
Sister systems
Grantha, Old Mon, Khmer, Cham, Kawi
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Taml (346), Tamil
Unicode
Unicode alias
Tamil
Unicode range
[a] The hypothesised Semitic origin of the Brahmi script is debated

Characteristics

Diverging evolution of Tamil-Brahmi script (center column) into the Vatteluttu alphabet (leftmost column) and the Tamil script (rightmost column)

The Tamil script has 12 vowels (உயிரெழுத்து, uyireḻuttu, "soul-letters"), 18 consonants (மெய்யெழுத்து, meyyeḻuttu, "body-letters") and one special character, the (ஆய்த எழுத்து, āytha eḻuttu). is called "அக்கு", akku and is classified in Tamil orthography as being neither a consonant nor a vowel.[7] However, it is listed at the end of the vowel set. The script is syllabic, not alphabetic. The complete script, therefore, consists of the 31 letters in their independent form and an additional 216 combinant letters, for a total of 247 (12+18+216+1) combinations (உயிர்மெய்யெழுத்து, uyirmeyyeḻuttu, "soul-body-letters") of a consonant and a vowel, a mute consonant or a vowel alone. The combinant letters are formed by adding a vowel marker to the consonant. Some vowels require the basic shape of the consonant to be altered in a way that is specific to that vowel. Others are written by adding a vowel-specific suffix to the consonant, yet others a prefix and still other vowels require adding both a prefix and a suffix to the consonant. In every case, the vowel marker is different from the standalone character for the vowel.

The Tamil script is written from left to right.

History

Historical evolution of Tamil writing from the earlier Tamil-Brahmi near the top to the current Tamil script at bottom
Tirukkural palm leaf manuscript

The Tamil script, like the other Brahmic scripts, is thought to have evolved from the original Brahmi script.[8] The earliest inscriptions which are accepted examples of Tamil writing date to the Ashokan period. The script used by such inscriptions is commonly known as the Tamil-Brahmi or "Tamili script" and differs in many ways from standard Ashokan Brahmi. For example, early Tamil-Brahmi, unlike Ashokan Brahmi, had a system to distinguish between pure consonants (m, in this example) and consonants with an inherent vowel (ma, in this example). In addition, according to Iravatham Mahadevan, early Tamil Brahmi used slightly different vowel markers, had extra characters to represent letters not found in Sanskrit and omitted letters for sounds not present in Tamil such as voiced consonants and aspirates.[8] Inscriptions from the 2nd century use a later form of Tamil-Brahmi, which is substantially similar to the writing system described in the Tolkāppiyam, an ancient Tamil grammar. Most notably, they used the puḷḷi to suppress the inherent vowel.[9] The Tamil letters thereafter evolved towards a more rounded form and by the 5th or 6th century, they had reached a form called the early vaṭṭeḻuttu.[10]

The modern Tamil script does not, however, descend from that script.[3] In the 4th century,[11] the Pallava dynasty created a new script for Tamil and the Grantha alphabet evolved from it, adding the Vaṭṭeḻuttu alphabet for sounds not found to write Sanskrit.[12] Parallel to Pallava script a new script (Chola-Pallava script, which evolved to modern Tamil script) again emerged in Chola territory resembling the same glyph development like Pallava script, but it did not evolve from that. By the 8th century, the new scripts supplanted Vaṭṭeḻuttu in the Chola resp. Pallava kingdoms which lay in the north portion of the Tamil-speaking region. However, Vaṭṭeḻuttu continued to be used in the southern portion of the Tamil-speaking region, in the Chera and Pandyan kingdoms until the 11th century, when the Pandyan kingdom was conquered by the Cholas.[4]

With the fall of Pallava kingdom, the Chola dynasty pushed the Chola-Pallava script as the de facto script. Over the next few centuries, the Chola-Pallava script evolved into the modern Tamil script. The Grantha and its parent script influenced the Tamil script notably. The use of palm leaves as the primary medium for writing led to changes in the script. The scribe had to be careful not to pierce the leaves with the stylus while writing because a leaf with a hole was more likely to tear and decay faster. As a result, the use of the puḷḷi to distinguish pure consonants became rare, with pure consonants usually being written as if the inherent vowel were present. Similarly, the vowel marker for the kuṟṟiyal ukaram, a half-rounded u which occurs at the end of some words and in the medial position in certain compound words, also fell out of use and was replaced by the marker for the simple u. The puḷḷi did not fully reappear until the introduction of printing, but the marker kuṟṟiyal ukaram never came back into use although the sound itself still exists and plays an important role in Tamil prosody.

The forms of some of the letters were simplified in the 19th century to make the script easier to typeset. In the 20th century, the script was simplified even further in a series of reforms, which regularised the vowel markers used with consonants by eliminating special markers and most irregular forms.

Relationship with other Indic scripts

The Tamil script differs from other Brahmi-derived scripts in a number of ways. Unlike every other Brahmic script, it does not regularly represent voiced or aspirated stop consonants as these are not phonemes of the Tamil language even though voiced and fricative allophones of stops do appear in spoken Tamil. Thus the character க் k, for example, represents /k/ but can also be pronounced [g] or [x] based on the rules of Tamil grammar. A separate set of characters appears for these sounds when the Tamil script is used to write Sanskrit or other languages.

Also unlike other Brahmi scripts, the Tamil script rarely uses typographic ligatures to represent conjunct consonants, which are far less frequent in Tamil than in other Indian languages. Where they occur, conjunct consonants are written by writing the character for the first consonant, adding the puḷḷi to suppress its inherent vowel, and then writing the character for the second consonant. There are a few exceptions, namely க்ஷ kṣa and ஶ்ரீ śrī.

ISO 15919 is an international standard for the transliteration of Tamil and other Indic scripts into Latin characters. It uses diacritics to map the much larger set of Brahmic consonants and vowels to the Latin script.

Letters

Mangulam Tamili inscription in Mangulam, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu dated to Tamil Sangam period c. 400 BCE to c. 200 CE.
Explanation for Mangulam Tamil Brahmi inscription in Mangulam, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu dated to Tamil Sangam period c. 400 BCE to c. 200 CE.
Left: Tampiran Vanakkam (Doctrina Christum) was the first book in Tamil, printed on 20 October 1578. Right: A book in Tamil printed in 1781.

Basic consonants

Consonants are called the "body" (mei) letters. The consonants are classified into three categories: vallinam (hard consonants), mellinam (soft consonants, including all nasals), and itayinam (medium consonants).

There are some lexical rules for the formation of words. The Tolkāppiyam describes such rules. Some examples: a word cannot end in certain consonants, and cannot begin with some consonants including r-, l- and ḻ-; there are six nasal consonants in Tamil: a velar nasal ங், a palatal nasal ஞ், a retroflex nasal ண், a dental nasal ந், a bilabial nasal ம், and an alveolar nasal ன்.

The order of the alphabet (strictly abugida) in Tamil closely matches that of the nearby languages both in location and linguistics, reflecting the common origin of their scripts from Brahmi.

Tamil consonants[13]
ConsonantISO 15919CategoryIPA
க்kvallinam[k], [ɡ], [x], [ɣ], [ɦ]
ங்mellinam[ŋ]
ச்cvallinam[t͡ɕ], [d͡ʑ], [s], [ɕ]
ஞ்ñmellinam[ɲ]
ட்vallinam[ʈ], [ɖ], [ɽ]
ண்mellinam[ɳ]
த்tvallinam[t̪], [d̪], [ð]
ந்nmellinam[n̪]
ப்pvallinam[p], [b], [β]
ம்mmellinam[m]
ய்yidaiyinam[j]
ர்ridaiyinam[ɾ]
ல்lidaiyinam[l]
வ்vidaiyinam[ʋ]
ழ்idaiyinam[ɻ]
ள்idaiyinam[ɭ]
ற்vallinam[r], [t], [d]
ன்mellinam[n]

Grantha consonants used in Tamil

The Tamil speech has incorporated many phonemes which were not part of the Tolkāppiyam classification. The letters used to write these sounds, known as Grantha, are used as part of Tamil. These are taught from elementary school and incorporated in Tamil All Character Encoding (TACE16).

Grantha consonants in Tamil[13]
ConsonantISO 15919IPA
ஜ்j[d͡ʑ]
ஶ்ś[ɕ]
ஷ்[ʂ]
ஸ்s[s]
ஹ்h[h]
க்ஷ்kṣ[kʂ]

There is also the compound ஶ்ரீ (śrī), equivalent to श्री in Devanagari.

In recent times combinations of consonants with (ஆய்த எழுத்து, āyda eḻuttu, equivalent to nuqta) are generally used to represent phonemes of foreign languages, especially to write Islamic and Christian texts. For example: asif = அசிஃப், azārutīn̠ = அஃஜாருதீன், Genghis Khan = கெங்கிஸ் ஃகான்.

Adapted-Tamil Latin Perso-Arabic Devanagari
ஃஜ za ز ज़
ஃக qa ق क़
ஃப fa ف फ़
ஃவ wa و[n 1] व़
ஃஷ zha[n 2] ژ झ़
ஃஸ xa ص स़
ஃக்ஹ qha خ ख़
ஃஹ ح ह़
ஃத ط त़

A nuqta-like diacritic is used while writing the Badaga language and double dot nuqta for the Irula language to transcribe its sounds.[14]

There has also been effort to differentiate voiced and voiceless consonants through subscripted numbers – two, three, and four which stand for the unvoiced aspirated, voiced, voiced aspirated respectively. This was used to transcribe Sanskrit words in Sanskrit–Tamil books, as shown in the table below.[15][16]

kaக₂ khaக₃ gaக₄ gha
caச₂ cha jaஜ₂ jha
ṭaட₂ ṭhaட₃ ḍaட₄ ḍha
taத₂ thaத₃ daத₄ dha
paப₂ phaப₃ baப₄ bha

The Unicode Standard uses superscripted digits for the same purpose, as in ப² pha, ப³ ba, and ப⁴ bha.[17]

Vowels

Vowels are also called the 'life' (uyir) or 'soul' letters. Together with the consonants (mei, which are called 'body' letters), they form compound, syllabic (abugida) letters that are called 'living' or 'embodied' letters (uyir mei, i.e. letters that have both 'body' and 'soul').

Tamil vowels are divided into short and long (five of each type) and two diphthongs

Tamil vowels[13]
Independent Vowel signISO 15919IPA
a[ɐ]
ā[aː]
ி i[i]
ī[iː]
u[u], [ɯ]
ū[uː]
e[e]
ē[eː]
ai[aɪ]
o[o]
ō[oː]
au[aʊ]
- aḵ
அஂ aṁ[ã]

Compound form

Using the consonant 'k' as an example:

FormationCompound formISO 15919IPA
க் + அka[ka]
க் + ஆகா[kaː]
க் + இகிki[ki]
க் + ஈகீ[kiː]
க் + உகுku[ku], [kɯ]
க் + ஊகூ[kuː]
க் + எகெke[ke]
க் + ஏகே[keː]
க் + ஐகைkai[kaɪ]
க் + ஒகொko[ko]
க் + ஓகோ[koː]
க் + ஔகௌkau[kaʊ]

The special letter , represented by three dots and called āytha eḻuttu or akh. It traditionally served a purely grammatical function, but in modern times it has come to be used as a diacritic to represent foreign sounds. For example, ஃப is used for the English sound f, not found in Tamil.

Another archaic Tamil letter , represented by a small hollow circle and called Aṉuvara, is the Anusvara. It was traditionally used as a homorganic nasal when in front of a consonant, and either as a bilabial nasal (m) or alveolar nasal (n) at the end of a word, depending on the context.

The long (nedil) vowels are about twice as long as the short (kuṟil) vowels. The diphthongs are usually pronounced about one and a half times as long as the short vowels, though some grammatical texts place them with the long (nedil) vowels.

As can be seen in the compound form, the vowel sign can be added to the right, left or both sides of the consonants. It can also form a ligature. These rules are evolving and older use has more ligatures than modern use. What you actually see on this page depends on your font selection; for example, Code2000 will show more ligatures than Latha.

There are proponents of script reform who want to eliminate all ligatures and let all vowel signs appear on the right side.

Unicode encodes the character in logical order (always the consonant first), whereas legacy 8-bit encodings (such as TSCII) prefer the written order. This makes it necessary to reorder when converting from one encoding to another; it is not sufficient simply to map one set of code points to the other.

Compound table of Tamil letters

The following table lists vowel (uyir or life) letters across the top and consonant (mei or body) letters along the side, the combination of which gives all Tamil compound (uyirmei) letters.

Tolkāppiyam
consonants
Vowels

a

ā

i

ī

u

ū

e

ē

ai

o

ō

au
க் k கா கி கீ கு கூ கெ கே கை கொ கோ கௌ
ங் ஙா ஙி ஙீ ஙு ஙூ ஙெ ஙே ஙை ஙொ ஙோ ஙௌ
ச் c or s சா சி சீ சு சூ செ சே சை சொ சோ சௌ
ஞ் ñ ஞா ஞி ஞீ ஞு ஞூ ஞெ ஞே ஞை ஞொ ஞோ ஞௌ
ட் டா டி டீ டு டூ டெ டே டை டொ டோ டௌ
ண் ணா ணி ணீ ணு ணூ ணெ ணே ணை ணொ ணோ ணௌ
த் t தா தி தீ து தூ தெ தே தை தொ தோ தௌ
ந் n நா நி நீ நு நூ நெ நே நை நொ நோ நௌ
ப் p பா பி பீ பு பூ பெ பே பை பொ போ பௌ
ம் m மா மி மீ மு மூ மெ மே மை மொ மோ மௌ
ய் y யா யி யீ யு யூ யெ யே யை யொ யோ யௌ
ர் r ரா ரி ரீ ரு ரூ ரெ ரே ரை ரொ ரோ ரௌ
ல் l லா லி லீ லு லூ லெ லே லை லொ லோ லௌ
வ் v வா வி வீ வு வூ வெ வே வை வொ வோ வௌ
ழ் ழா ழி ழீ ழு ழூ ழெ ழே ழை ழொ ழோ ழௌ
ள் ளா ளி ளீ ளு ளூ ளெ ளே ளை ளொ ளோ ளௌ
ற் றா றி றீ று றூ றெ றே றை றொ றோ றௌ
ன் னா னி னீ னு னூ னெ னே னை னொ னோ னௌ
Grantha compound table
Grantha
consonants
Vowels

a

ā

i

ī

u

ū

e

ē

ai

o

ō

au
ஶ் ś ஶா ஶி ஶீ ஶு ஶூ ஶெ ஶே ஶை ஶொ ஶோ ஶௌ
ஜ் j ஜா ஜி ஜீ ஜு ஜூ ஜெ ஜே ஜை ஜொ ஜோ ஜௌ
ஷ் ஷா ஷி ஷீ ஷு ஷூ ஷெ ஷே ஷை ஷொ ஷோ ஷௌ
ஸ் s ஸா ஸி ஸீ ஸு ஸூ ஸெ ஸே ஸை ஸொ ஸோ ஸௌ
ஹ் h ஹா ஹி ஹீ ஹு ஹூ ஹெ ஹே ஹை ஹொ ஹோ ஹௌ
க்ஷ் kṣ க்ஷ க்ஷா க்ஷி க்ஷீ க்ஷு க்ஷூ க்ஷெ க்ஷே க்ஷை க்ஷொ க்ஷோ க்ஷௌ

Writing order

Vowels (uyireḻuttu)
Letter Animation
அ (a)
ஆ (ā)
இ (i)
ஈ (ī)
உ (u)
ஊ (ū)
எ (e)
ஏ (ē)
ஐ (ai)
ஒ (o)
ஓ (ō)
ஔ (au)
ஃ (aḵ)*
*ஃ is aytam but traditionally grouped with the vowel letters.
Consonants (meyyeḻuttu)
Letter Animation
க் (k)
ங் (ṅ)
ச் (c)
ஞ் (ñ)
ட் (ṭ)
ண் (ṇ)
த் (t)
ந் (n)
ப் (p)
ம் (m)
ய் (y)
ர் (r)
ல் (l)
வ் (v)
ழ் (ḻ)
ள் (ḷ)
ற் (ṟ)
ன் (ṉ)

Numerals and symbols

Apart from the usual numerals (from 0 to 9), Tamil also has numerals for 10, 100 and 1000. Symbols for fraction and other number-based concepts can also be found.[18]

0123456789101001000
daymonthyeardebitcreditas aboverupeenumeraltimequantity

In Unicode

Tamil script was added to the Unicode Standard in October 1991 with the release of version 1.0.0. The Unicode block for Tamil is U+0B80–U+BFF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points. Most of the non-assigned code points are designated reserved because they are in the same relative position as characters assigned in other South Asian script blocks that correspond to phonemes that don't exist in the Tamil script.

Efforts to unify the Grantha script with Tamil have been made;[15][19] however the proposals triggered discontent by some.[20][21] Eventually, considering the sensitivity involved, it was determined that the two scripts should be encoded independently, except for the numerals.[22]

Tamil[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
 0123456789ABCDEF
U+0B8x
U+0B9x
U+0BAx
U+0BBx ி
U+0BCx
U+0BDx
U+0BEx
U+0BFx
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Proposals to encode characters used for fractional values in traditional accounting practices were submitted.[23] Although discouraged by the ICTA of Sri Lanka,[24] the proposal was recognized by the Government of Tamil Nadu[25] and were added to the Unicode Standard in March 2019 with the release of version 12.0. The Unicode block for Tamil Supplement is U+11FC0U+11FFF:

Tamil Supplement[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
 0123456789ABCDEF
U+11FCx 𑿀 𑿁 𑿂 𑿃 𑿄 𑿅 𑿆 𑿇 𑿈 𑿉 𑿊 𑿋 𑿌 𑿍 𑿎 𑿏
U+11FDx 𑿐 𑿑 𑿒 𑿓 𑿔 𑿕 𑿖 𑿗 𑿘 𑿙 𑿚 𑿛 𑿜 𑿝 𑿞 𑿟
U+11FEx 𑿠 𑿡 𑿢 𑿣 𑿤 𑿥 𑿦 𑿧 𑿨 𑿩 𑿪 𑿫 𑿬 𑿭 𑿮 𑿯
U+11FFx 𑿰 𑿱 𑿿
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Syllabary

Like other South Asian scripts in Unicode, the Tamil encoding was originally derived from the ISCII standard. Both ISCII and Unicode encode Tamil as an abugida. In an abugida, each basic character represents a consonant and default vowel. Consonants with a different vowel or bare consonants are represented by adding a modifier character to a base character. Each code point representing a similar phoneme is encoded in the same relative position in each South Asian script block in Unicode, including Tamil. Because Unicode represents Tamil as an abugida all the pure consonants (consonants with no associated vowel) and syllables in Tamil can be represented by combining multiple Unicode code points, as can be seen in the Unicode Tamil Syllabary below. In Unicode 5.1, named sequences were added for all Tamil consonants and syllables.

Unicode 5.1 also has a named sequence for the Tamil ligature SRI (śrī), ஶ்ரீ, written using ஶ (śa). The name of this sequence is TAMIL SYLLABLE SHRII and is composed of the Unicode sequence U+0BB6 U+0BCD U+0BB0 U+0BC0. The ligature can also be written using ஸ (sa) to create an identical ligature ஸ்ரீ composed of the Unicode sequence U+0BB8 U+0BCD U+0BB0 U+0BC0; but this is discouraged by the Unicode standard.[26]

Unicode Tamil Syllabary
Consonants Vowels

0B85

0B86

0B87

0B88

0B89

0B8A

0B8E

0B8F

0B90

0B92

0B93

0B94
க்
0B95
0BCD

0B95
 
கா
0B95
0BBE
கி
0B95
0BBF
கீ
0B95
0BC0
கு
0B95
0BC1
கூ
0B95
0BC2
கெ
0B95
0BC6
கே
0B95
0BC7
கை
0B95
0BC8
கொ
0B95
0BCA
கோ
0B95
0BCB
கௌ
0B95
0BCC
ங்
0B99
0BCD

0B99
 
ஙா
0B99
0BBE
ஙி
0B99
0BBF
ஙீ
0B99
0BC0
ஙு
0B99
0BC1
ஙூ
0B99
0BC2
ஙெ
0B99
0BC6
ஙே
0B99
0BC7
ஙை
0B99
0BC8
ஙொ
0B99
0BCA
ஙோ
0B99
0BCB
ஙௌ
0B99
0BCC
ச்
0B9A
0BCD

0B9A
 
சா
0B9A
0BBE
சி
0B9A
0BBF
சீ
0B9A
0BC0
சு
0B9A
0BC1
சூ
0B9A
0BC2
செ
0B9A
0BC6
சே
0B9A
0BC7
சை
0B9A
0BC8
சொ
0B9A
0BCA
சோ
0B9A
0BCB
சௌ
0B9A
0BCC
ஞ்
0B9E
0BCD

0B9E
 
ஞா
0B9E
0BBE
ஞி
0B9E
0BBF
ஞீ
0B9E
0BC0
ஞு
0B9E
0BC1
ஞூ
0B9E
0BC2
ஞெ
0B9E
0BC6
ஞே
0B9E
0BC7
ஞை
0B9E
0BC8
ஞொ
0B9E
0BCA
ஞோ
0B9E
0BCB
ஞௌ
0B9E
0BCC
ட்
0B9F
0BCD

0B9F
 
டா
0B9F
0BBE
டி
0B9F
0BBF
டீ
0B9F
0BC0
டு
0B9F
0BC1
டூ
0B9F
0BC2
டெ
0B9F
0BC6
டே
0B9F
0BC7
டை
0B9F
0BC8
டொ
0B9F
0BCA
டோ
0B9F
0BCB
டௌ
0B9F
0BCC
ண்
0BA3
0BCD

0BA3
 
ணா
0BA3
0BBE
ணி
0BA3
0BBF
ணீ
0BA3
0BC0
ணு
0BA3
0BC1
ணூ
0BA3
0BC2
ணெ
0BA3
0BC6
ணே
0BA3
0BC7
ணை
0BA3
0BC8
ணொ
0BA3
0BCA
ணோ
0BA3
0BCB
ணௌ
0BA3
0BCC
த்
0BA4
0BCD

0BA4
 
தா
0BA4
0BBE
தி
0BA4
0BBF
தீ
0BA4
0BC0
து
0BA4
0BC1
தூ
0BA4
0BC2
தெ
0BA4
0BC6
தே
0BA4
0BC7
தை
0BA4
0BC8
தொ
0BA4
0BCA
தோ
0BA4
0BCB
தௌ
0BA4
0BCC
ந்
0BA8
0BCD

0BA8
 
நா
0BA8
0BBE
நி
0BA8
0BBF
நீ
0BA8
0BC0
நு
0BA8
0BC1
நூ
0BA8
0BC2
நெ
0BA8
0BC6
நே
0BA8
0BC7
நை
0BA8
0BC8
நொ
0BA8
0BCA
நோ
0BA8
0BCB
நௌ
0BA8
0BCC
ப்
0BAA
0BCD

0BAA
 
பா
0BAA
0BBE
பி
0BAA
0BBF
பீ
0BAA
0BC0
பு
0BAA
0BC1
பூ
0BAA
0BC2
பெ
0BAA
0BC6
பே
0BAA
0BC7
பை
0BAA
0BC8
பொ
0BAA
0BCA
போ
0BAA
0BCB
பௌ
0BAA
0BCC
ம்
0BAE
0BCD

0BAE
 
மா
0BAE
0BBE
மி
0BAE
0BBF
மீ
0BAE
0BC0
மு
0BAE
0BC1
மூ
0BAE
0BC2
மெ
0BAE
0BC6
மே
0BAE
0BC7
மை
0BAE
0BC8
மொ
0BAE
0BCA
மோ
0BAE
0BCB
மௌ
0BAE
0BCC
ய்
0BAF
0BCD

0BAF
 
யா
0BAF
0BBE
யி
0BAF
0BBF
யீ
0BAF
0BC0
யு
0BAF
0BC1
யூ
0BAF
0BC2
யெ
0BAF
0BC6
யே
0BAF
0BC7
யை
0BAF
0BC8
யொ
0BAF
0BCA
யோ
0BAF
0BCB
யௌ
0BAF
0BCC
ர்
0BB0
0BCD

0BB0
 
ரா
0BB0
0BBE
ரி
0BB0
0BBF
ரீ
0BB0
0BC0
ரு
0BB0
0BC1
ரூ
0BB0
0BC2
ரெ
0BB0
0BC6
ரே
0BB0
0BC7
ரை
0BB0
0BC8
ரொ
0BB0
0BCA
ரோ
0BB0
0BCB
ரௌ
0BB0
0BCC
ல்
0BB2
0BCD

0BB2
 
லா
0BB2
0BBE
லி
0BB2
0BBF
லீ
0BB2
0BC0
லு
0BB2
0BC1
லூ
0BB2
0BC2
லெ
0BB2
0BC6
லே
0BB2
0BC7
லை
0BB2
0BC8
லொ
0BB2
0BCA
லோ
0BB2
0BCB
லௌ
0BB2
0BCC
வ்
0BB5
0BCD

0BB5
 
வா
0BB5
0BBE
வி
0BB5
0BBF
வீ
0BB5
0BC0
வு
0BB5
0BC1
வூ
0BB5
0BC2
வெ
0BB5
0BC6
வே
0BB5
0BC7
வை
0BB5
0BC8
வொ
0BB5
0BCA
வோ
0BB5
0BCB
வௌ
0BB5
0BCC
ழ்
0BB4
0BCD

0BB4
 
ழா
0BB4
0BBE
ழி
0BB4
0BBF
ழீ
0BB4
0BC0
ழு
0BB4
0BC1
ழூ
0BB4
0BC2
ழெ
0BB4
0BC6
ழே
0BB4
0BC7
ழை
0BB4
0BC8
ழொ
0BB4
0BCA
ழோ
0BB4
0BCB
ழௌ
0BB4
0BCC
ள்
0BB3
0BCD

0BB3
 
ளா
0BB3
0BBE
ளி
0BB3
0BBF
ளீ
0BB3
0BC0
ளு
0BB3
0BC1
ளூ
0BB3
0BC2
ளெ
0BB3
0BC6
ளே
0BB3
0BC7
ளை
0BB3
0BC8
ளொ
0BB3
0BCA
ளோ
0BB3
0BCB
ளௌ
0BB3
0BCC
ற்
0BB1
0BCD

0BB1
 
றா
0BB1
0BBE
றி
0BB1
0BBF
றீ
0BB1
0BC0
று
0BB1
0BC1
றூ
0BB1
0BC2
றெ
0BB1
0BC6
றே
0BB1
0BC7
றை
0BB1
0BC8
றொ
0BB1
0BCA
றோ
0BB1
0BCB
றௌ
0BB1
0BCC
ன்
0BA9
0BCD

0BA9
 
னா
0BA9
0BBE
னி
0BA9
0BBF
னீ
0BA9
0BC0
னு
0BA9
0BC1
னூ
0BA9
0BC2
னெ
0BA9
0BC6
னே
0BA9
0BC7
னை
0BA9
0BC8
னொ
0BA9
0BCA
னோ
0BA9
0BCB
னௌ
0BA9
0BCC
ஶ்
0BB6
0BCD

0BB6
 
ஶா
0BB6
0BBE
ஶி
0BB6
0BBF
ஶீ
0BB6
0BC0
ஶு
0BB6
0BC1
ஶூ
0BB6
0BC2
ஶெ
0BB6
0BC6
ஶே
0BB6
0BC7
ஶை
0BB6
0BC8
ஶொ
0BB6
0BCA
ஶோ
0BB6
0BCB
ஶௌ
0BB6
0BCC
ஜ்
0B9C
0BCD

0B9C
 
ஜா
0B9C
0BBE
ஜி
0B9C
0BBF
ஜீ
0B9C
0BC0
ஜு
0B9C
0BC1
ஜூ
0B9C
0BC2
ஜெ
0B9C
0BC6
ஜே
0B9C
0BC7
ஜை
0B9C
0BC8
ஜொ
0B9C
0BCA
ஜோ
0B9C
0BCB
ஜௌ
0B9C
0BCC
ஷ்
0BB7
0BCD

0BB7
 
ஷா
0BB7
0BBE
ஷி
0BB7
0BBF
ஷீ
0BB7
0BC0
ஷு
0BB7
0BC1
ஷூ
0BB7
0BC2
ஷெ
0BB7
0BC6
ஷே
0BB7
0BC7
ஷை
0BB7
0BC8
ஷொ
0BB7
0BCA
ஷோ
0BB7
0BCB
ஷௌ
0BB7
0BCC
ஸ்
0BB8
0BCD

0BB8
 
ஸா
0BB8
0BBE
ஸி
0BB8
0BBF
ஸீ
0BB8
0BC0
ஸு
0BB8
0BC1
ஸூ
0BB8
0BC2
ஸெ
0BB8
0BC6
ஸே
0BB8
0BC7
ஸை
0BB8
0BC8
ஸொ
0BB8
0BCA
ஸோ
0BB8
0BCB
ஸௌ
0BB8
0BCC
ஹ்
0BB9
0BCD

0BB9
 
ஹா
0BB9
0BBE
ஹி
0BB9
0BBF
ஹீ
0BB9
0BC0
ஹு
0BB9
0BC1
ஹூ
0BB9
0BC2
ஹெ
0BB9
0BC6
ஹே
0BB9
0BC7
ஹை
0BB9
0BC8
ஹொ
0BB9
0BCA
ஹோ
0BB9
0BCB
ஹௌ
0BB9
0BCC
க்ஷ்
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BCD
க்ஷ
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
 
க்ஷா
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BBE
க்ஷி
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BBF
க்ஷீ
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BC0
க்ஷு
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BC1
க்ஷூ
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BC2
க்ஷெ
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BC6
க்ஷே
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BC7
க்ஷை
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BC8
க்ஷொ
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BCA
க்ஷோ
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BCB
க்ஷெள
0B95
0BCD
0BB7
0BCC

Programmatic access

  • Tamil script can be manipulated using the Python library called open-Tamil.[27]
  • There is a Windows open source application available called AnyTaFont2UTF8 using C#.

See also

  • Simplified Tamil script
  • Tamil phonology
  • Tamil Keyboard
  • Tamil Braille
  • Tamil letters (on Tamil Wikibooks)
  • Tamil numerals
  • Tamil units of measurement
  • Grantha script
  • Vatteluttu script
  • Tamil-Brahmi
  • Pallava script
  • Kolezhuthu
  • Arwi
  • Tamil bell
  • Malayalam Script
  • ISO 15919

Explanatory notes

    1. Pronounced as /v/ or /w/ based on context of letter
    2. Not to be confused with Tamil ( [ɻ] / )

    Notes

    1. Rajan, K. (December 2001). "Territorial Division as Gleaned from Memorial Stones". East and West. Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO). 51 (3/4): 363. JSTOR 29757518. (table showing Tamil in row for the 601–800 period)
    2. Diringer, David (1948). Alphabet a key to the history of mankind. p. 385.
    3. Mahadevan 2003, p. 209.
    4. Mahadevan 2003, p. 212.
    5. Allen, Julie (2006), The Unicode 5.0 Standard (5 ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-321-48091-0 at p. 324
    6. Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009), Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.), Dallas, Tex.: SIL International, retrieved 28 August 2009
    7. University of Madras Tamil Lexicon, page 148: "அலியெழுத்து [ aliyeḻuttu n ali-y-eḻuttu . < அலி¹ +. 1. The letter , as being regarded as neither a vowel nor a consonant; ஆய்தம். (வெண்பாப். முதன்மொ. 6, உரை.) 2. Consonants; மெய்யெ ழுத்து. (பிங்.)."]
    8. Mahadevan 2003, p. 173.
    9. Mahadevan 2003, p. 230.
    10. Mahadevan 2003, p. 211.
    11. Griffiths, Arlo (2014). "Early Indic Inscriptions of Southeast Asia".
    12. Mahadevan 2003, p. 213.
    13. Steever 1996, p. 426-430.
    14. The Unicode Standard Version 13.0 – Core Specification, South and Central Asia-I,Official Scripts of India pg. 498
    15. Sharma, Shriramana. (2010a). Proposal to encode characters for Extended Tamil.
    16. Sharma, Shriramana. (2010c). Follow-up #2 to Extended Tamil proposal.
    17. Unicode Consortium (2019). Tamil. In The Unicode Standard Version 12.0 (pp. 489-498).
    18. Selvakumar, V. (2016). History of Numbers and Fractions and Arithmetic Calculations in the Tamil Region: Some Observations. HuSS: International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(1), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.15613/HIJRH/2016/V3I1/111730
    19. Sharma, Shriramana. (2010b). Follow-up to Extended Tamil proposal L2/10-256R.
    20. Eraiyarasan, B. Dr. B. Eraiyarasan's comments on Tamil Unicode And Grantham proposals.
    21. Nalankilli, Thanjai. (2018). Attempts to "Pollute" Tamil Unicode with Grantha Characters. Tamil Tribune. Retrieved 12 March 2019 from http://www.tamiltribune.com/18/1201.html
    22. Government of India. (2010). Unicode Standard for Grantha Script.
    23. Sharma, Shriramana. (2012). Proposal to encode Tamil fractions and symbols.
    24. ICTA of Sri Lanka. (2014). Comments on the Proposals to Encode Tamil Symbols and Fractions.
    25. Government of Tamil Nadu. (2017). Finalized proposal to encode Tamil fractions and symbols.
    26. Pournader, Roozbeh (24 January 2018). "The two ways to represent Tamil Shri". Unicode.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    27. "Open-Tamil 0.65 : Python Package Index".

    References

    • Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003), Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D., Harvard Oriental Series, Volume 62, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-01227-5
    • Steever, Sanford B. (1996), "Tamil Writing", in Bright, William; Daniels, Peter T. (eds.), The World's Writing Systems, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 426–430, ISBN 0-19-507993-0

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