தமிழ் இலக்கண மரபும் இலக்கண மரபு மாற்றப் பின்புலமும் / Tamil Grammatical Tradition and the Background of Grammatical Tradition Change

Abstract

Tamil grammar tradition is unique. The Tamil language is understood to have a very old grammatical tradition. Grammar texts reflect the linguistic and cultural context of the society in which they are written. Therefore, in each period, society, politics, religion influence languages. The influence of the vernacular tradition, the tradition of the narrator, and the grammatical norms of the Westerners are the background for the change in the Tamil grammar tradition. The Tolkappiya tradition is considered to be the oldest grammar tradition based on the fact that it is the first grammar book available for Tamil. “Tolkappiyam” divides grammar into three parts (Letter, Word, and Meaning); the world case and the internal case. In later written grammar, the triliteral system changed to the pentaliteral system (Letter, Word, Meaning, Yappu (Prosody), Ani (Figures of Speech). Tolkappiya's ontology later became the basis for the writing of an ontological grammar called “Nambiagaporul”. Tolkappiyar's metaphysics formed the basis for writing the metaphysical grammar “Puraporul Venpamalai”. Also, the principles of Seyulliyyal, Uvamavial, and Meypatiyyal formed the basis of Seyulikanam, Yappilakanam and Muayilakanam. In the Tamil grammar tradition, the six-type grammar written by Vannacharapam Thandapani Desikar is considered the new grammar tradition. After a gap of a thousand years in the eleventh century A.D., “Veerachozhiyam” was written in the Tamil grammar tradition (Vadamozhi) introducing the tradition of Sanskrit grammar books. The second book to appear on the Sanskrit side after the “Veerachozhiyam” is “Pryoga Viveka”. The Tamil grammar tradition, Agathiya tradition, Tholkappiya tradition, Veerachozhiya tradition, and Prayoga Viveka tradition were formed by the internal development of grammar books. After Tolkapiyam, “Nanool”, which appeared in the thirteenth century, is considered the best grammar book. “Nanool” is a book that explains the structure of medieval Tamil. The influx of Malays in the Tamil environment brought about various changes in language education. This article examines the fact that the two-thousand-year-old tradition of Tamil grammar has been transformed with new concepts that have created new thinking platforms in the tradition of grammar research through modern linguistic theories, comparative approach, written spoken Tamil grammar books.

Keywords

• tradition
• grammatical tradition
• social tradition change
• foreign language influence
• thematic structure.