Tamil-Brahmi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tamili
Type Abugida
Spoken languages Early Tamil languages
Time period perhaps 5th but certainly 3rd, century BCE, to c. 3rd century CE
Parent systems Proto-Canaanite alphabet
 → Phoenician alphabet
  → Aramaic alphabet
   → Brahmi
    → Tamili
Child systems Gupta, Pallava, and numerous others in the Brahmic family of scripts.
Sister systems Kharoshthi
ISO 15924 Brah
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Tamil-Brahmi was an early variant of the Brahmi script used to write Tamil characters. It is also known as the Tamili script. It is distinguished from standrad Asokan Brahmi, by an inherent vowel marker for pure consonants and consonants.

Contents

[edit] Origin

Iravatham Mahadevan, an authority on the Tamil-Brahmi script states that the Brahmi script reached the Tamil country due the southern spread of Jainism and Buddhism, and was adapted to suit the Tamil phonetic system.[1]

Early Tamil Brahmi, unlike Asokan Brahmi, had a system to distinguish between pure consonants and consonants with an inherent vowel. In addition, early Tamil-Brahmi used slightly different vowel markers, and had extra characters to represent letters not found in Sanskrit or Prakrits. The earliest surviving inscriptions in Tamil found at Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu. Tamil-Brahmi eventually evolved into the Vatteluttu script.

[edit] Adichanallur excavations

It has been tentatively suggested by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) archaeologists that graffiti etched into a potsherd tentatively dated to the 5th century BC is an example of a "very rudimentary" form of Tamil writing.[2]

The recent archeological findings at Adichanallur, Tamil Nadu by ASI have indicated that the Tamil-Brahmi inscription may have dated from as far back as 7th-8th century BC[3][4], earlier than the Sangam period, but a final verdict on the age of the stone age burial awaits radiocarbon dating.

[edit] Tamil Brahmi findings

  • A broken storage jar with inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi script in Egypt.[5]
  • An urn at the Iron Age burial site at Adichanallur.[1]
  • Tamil-Brahmi inscription on pottery found in Thailand.[6]
  • Potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions found in Poonagari, Jaffna.[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b T.S., Subramanian (February 17, 2005). "`Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur" (in English), The Hindu. Retrieved on 6 December 2007. 
  2. ^ 'Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur. The Hindu, Feb 17, 2005
  3. ^ [http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/26/stories/2004052602871200.htm Skeletons, script found at ancient burial site in Tamil Nadu
  4. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/26/stories/2004052602871200.htm
  5. ^ "Tamil Brahmi script in Egypt" (in English), The Hindu (November 21, 2007). Retrieved on 6 December 2007. 
  6. ^ "Tamil-Brahmi inscription on pottery found in Thailand" (in English), The Hindu (July 16, 2006). Retrieved on 6 December 2007. 
  7. ^ Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D., Harvard Oriental Series vol. 62. Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University. ISBN 0-674-01227-5.  p. 48.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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