Is Tamil the most difficult language in the world ?

[Soomy]

I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil :( ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

[VENKIRAJA]

yes,it is most difficult
for (m)any
to appreciate it within their lifetime.

[great]

I wont say tamil would be toughest language in the world :roll: but if its within india yes there are ppl mainly northies find it hard to adjust with the language.

[mgb]

Soomy.. tamil isn't tough. How did you try? can you please elaborate.
Where there is a will there is a way. Don't give up.

CONSTANTINE JOSEPH BESCHI came from Italy to Tamilnadu to preach christianity but went on to become one of the celebrated exponents in Tamil language. He stamped his authority on tamil literature, tamil grammer, dictionary, translations etc and was popularly called VEERAMAAMUNIVAR.

Even if you can pick a small leaf out of his determination and love for tamil language, you should be through :)

[Ghlli]

tamil is actually v hard for me.....but its getting easier :D c happy :D so much easier if u try and talk with ur parents, grand parents and tamil friends in tamil.......but i hasven't tried reading yet...well once in a while i look at a random letter in my mums magazine and ask her wha t it is....most i 4get...1 out of 5 i can remember....but i cant write anything except aana.....even thats v hard to write...but i must accept i dont try at all in reading and writting....its just if i really have nothing to do...i ask my mum...and still i nthe past 12 years....i'v only learnt to read 3 tamil letters...infact the third one...i dont exactly remember......the other prob is i hear there are more than 200 letters in the alphabet....and they all look sooo similiar!

but i try in speakin :roll: i do try....accent :?: not bad as it used to be :D :oops:

i can understand almost everything now :D

[aravindhan]

I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil :( ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

It's not particularly difficult, but the initial learning curve is steep because of:

1. The phonology: Tamil sounds and the speed at which the language is spoken can be quite confusing if you're not used to it
2. The grammar: Tamil's word order, sentence structure and, in general, the logic of the language are *quite* different from other European languages.
3. The script: If you're not used to it, it can be hard to tell many letters apart.

It takes a while to get the hang of this. This isn't made easier by the lack of good teaching materials. Most of the "courses" are written in the Victorian Latin-teaching style, emphasising grammar and extremely useful sentences like "The king frowned in anger". Asher and Annamalai's "Colloquial Tamil" is supposed to be much better: the American wife of a cousin used it and swears by it. If you're in France, you'll be able to order it through Amazon:

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/0415187885/171-7897322-0894644?v=glance&n=283155

There's also a companion CD, which is also available through Amazon.

The good news is that once you get the logic of the language, learning it is not that difficult. And don't give up. One of the world's leading experts on classical Tamil is a Frenchman, M. Jean-Luc Chevillard. That should give you something to aspire towards!

[solona]

I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil :( ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

Are u french?

[Shekhar]

Tamil, Malayalm, Kannada and Telugu belong to Dravidian family of languages. Where as Sanskrit, English, Latin, German, Hindi .. belong to "Indo-European Family of languages" It is also called Aryan family of languages.
Dravidian family of languages is quite difficult. They learn the languages of Aryan families easily, but not vice versa.

[ramky]

Maybe tamil is difficult compared to English, but north-indian languages also have as many consonants & vowels as tamil has. I think south indians are more willing than north indians to learn new languages, hence find it easier to learn hindi & similar languages. So tamil is not difficult to learn; what's lacking is interest / motivation to learn it.

[Ghlli]

tamil is definetely harder than french....i started with tamil since i was born....but i started french in grade 3.....french is easier!

[madhu]

tamil is definetely harder than french....i started with tamil since i was born....but i started french in grade 3.....french is easier!

we know our mother since our birth.. but we know Aishwarya rai only later.. mmmm.. Aishwarya is more beautiful...

but... ammA (not JJ )is always different - though difficult ! :thumbsup:

[Ghlli]

ya ya ya!

[pavalamani pragasam]

madhu! :clap:

[Braandan]

Tamil is a very easy language if you want to just speak, read and write simply in it. It is considered tough when schooling in TamilNadu because there is too much emphasize on Sangam time and other old literatures. That is why Ghilli writes that French is easier though he took it from grade 3. What is taught is basic French enough just to speak, read and write comfortably. If Tamil is also taught like that (like Montessori style say) instead of small children trying to mug up Kurals, then it would be a very easy language. I did not have any formal (school) education in Tamil. My knowledge is simply reading DinaThanthi, Ananda Vikatan etc from my younger days.. But I am very comfortable with Tamil.
I know an old forumhubber, white, American lady who learnt Tamil to comfort levels, very easily within a span of a year!

[Ghlli]

he ila she :oops:

ya even english is easy to speak, write and read, but doing it at skl sucks :x long storys with a load of rubbish in the middle :cry:
but french and spanish is easier since i actually learn it at school....but tamil is a lot harder...sometimes i feel its similiar to latin :oops: dont ask me why....both those languages are hard.....! but nw tamil is easy to understand :D well most the time :?


Tamil is a very easy language if you want to just speak, read and write simply in it. It is considered tough when schooling in TamilNadu because there is too much emphasize on Sangam time and other old literatures. That is why Ghilli writes that French is easier though he took it from grade 3. What is taught is basic French enough just to speak, read and write comfortably. If Tamil is also taught like that (like Montessori style say) instead of small children trying to mug up Kurals, then it would be a very easy language. I did not have any formal (school) education in Tamil. My knowledge is simply reading DinaThanthi, Ananda Vikatan etc from my younger days.. But I am very comfortable with Tamil.
I know an old forumhubber, white, American lady who learnt Tamil to comfort levels, very easily within a span of a year!

[Braandan]

sorry Ghlli for the gender confusion

[crazy]

TAMIL .................if u r asking me I will sure tell u that its easy..........maybe coz its my mother tongue or maybe coz iam speaking the language since i was born(not really the very first day, but i mean after 9-10 months).......
i find french a bit tough............my french knowledge stinks so do spanish............i like spanish, but its so tough for me atleast...........
english hm with all those grammar i dont find it really easy..............

i wont tell that iam a Tamil scholar............but i could have been one if i really learned tamil from my childhood..........unfortunately i was brought up into a total alien language and forced to read, write and speak that language, even in my few yrs in Tamil Nadu i was busy finding the difference between the 3 "R'as" and 3 "N'as" and 2 "Ras"and busy to get 35 marks in tamil...........dont laugh!

i guess the easiness of a language depands on how much effort u put on it and ur willingness to learn the language.............

on the whole earth i will say tamil is a easy language, though my tamil writting sucks :)
and i will thank my parents who kept speaking to us in tamil at home and never encouraged spaeking an alien language at home :)

[thamizhvaanan]

was busy finding the difference between the 3 "R'as" and 3 "N'as" and 2 "Ras"and busy to get 35 marks in tamil.......... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: crazy... :poke:

i will say tamil is a easy language, though my tamil writting sucks wish ur english writing were any better :lol:

[thamizhvaanan]

I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil :( ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

IMO, it is definitely bcoz tamil belongs to a totally different family compared to english and french. infact all european languages are so similar. since ghlli lives in england and knows english better, he finds french easier to learn. even i find it tough to switch between english and tamil especially while speaking. all my sentence structures gets messed up so badly, that i phrase english sentences in the order in which tamil is spoken or vice versa. once my friend told he became veggie and i asked "when from? " :rotfl: :rotfl: .

[thamizhvaanan]

ut i must accept i dont try at all in reading and writting....
is this "writting" style common for all foreign bred tamilians :huh:

[podalangai]

That is why Ghilli writes that French is easier though he took it from grade 3. What is taught is basic French enough just to speak, read and write comfortably.
If this is a UK school system then what is taught is not enough even for that. :|

Otherwise I agree with what TV and crazy and others said. Like them, I also think how you learn Tamil depends a lot on the house environment. My childhood was spent in many different countries, and I lived in Tamil Nadu only for a negligible time when I was growing up. But my parents made sure we only spoke Tamil at home, and the first alphabet I learnt was the Tamil alphabet. Because of this, Tamil is the language I feel most comfortable in today. I can also read Tamil quite well, even older poems. I have some problem with my writing. Some things - like when to use -kal and when to use -kkal - don't come naturally. I know the rules, but I have to sometimes stop and think when I write. Same problem with sandhi. And I sometimes use colloquial words which people who write "good" Tamil don't use. But I've seen even people who studied in Tamil medium making these mistakes.

Many parents don't put enough emphasis on Tamil, so the children grow up not speaking Tamil because English is the stronger language. I think this makes a big difference when the child is growing up in a non-Tamil area. If a child knows that the parents do not put more weight on Tamil over English (or whatever the local language is), the child will automatically choose English and not develop Tamil. This has happened to some of my cousins' children. I am trying to make sure it doesn't happen to my daughter by bombarding her with Tamil. I'll post again in six years and tell you if it worked. :D

[skanthan]

was busy finding the difference between the 3 "R'as" and 3 "N'as" and 2 "Ras"and busy to get 35 marks in tamil.......... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: crazy... :poke:

i will say tamil is a easy language, though my tamil writting sucks wish ur english writing were any better :lol:

:lol2: :rotfl: : :lol:

Sorry crazy.

[crazy]

was busy finding the difference between the 3 "R'as" and 3 "N'as" and 2 "Ras"and busy to get 35 marks in tamil.......... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: crazy... :poke:

i will say tamil is a easy language, though my tamil writting sucks wish ur english writing were any better :lol:

:lol2: :rotfl: : :lol:

Sorry crazy.

TV :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

[skanthan]

TV :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

:omg:

Yo, thaamizh vaNNan!

nee oru periya kashatthai irukiREn! :lol2: :poke:

[crazy]

TV :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

:omg:

Yo, thaamizh vaNNan!

nee oru periya kashatthai irukiREn! :lol2: :poke:

:idontgetit:

TVya sollreenga, neenga kuda thaan siricheenga! :roll: :evil:

[thamizhvaanan]

TV :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

:omg:

Yo, thaamizh vaNNan!

nee oru periya kashatthai irukiREn! :lol2: :poke:

:lol: :rotfl: thanx skanthan for the warning! and tell me wat u were about to say, i will post the correct form in "learning tamil" thread :noteeth: .

[thamizhvaanan]

TV :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
crazy: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :noteeth: :noteeth: :noteeth: :noteeth:

[crazy]

TV :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
crazy: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :noteeth: :noteeth: :noteeth: :noteeth: :devil: :devil: :angry2: :angry2: :hammer: :hammer: :evil: :evil:

[skanthan]

thamizh vaNNan,

I meant, nee oru periya kashtatthai irukkiRaay! (You are in big trouble!) Ha! ha! Crazy is going to keel you! :poke:

[crazy]

thamizh vaNNan,

I meant, nee oru periya kashtatthai irukkiRaay! (You are in big trouble!) Ha! ha! Crazy is going to keel you! :poke:

:) :) :lol: :lol: :lol:

[thamizhvaanan]

thamizh vaNNan,

I meant, nee oru periya kashtatthai irukkiRaay! (You are in big trouble!) Ha! ha! Crazy is going to keel you! :poke:

/digr
I think the word "kashtathil" would be more appropriate.

kashtatthil - in trouble.
kashtatthai - cant express the right english word, but an eg:

"romba kashtatthai kodukkiraay" - " you are giving much trouble"

the difference is in the suffix that u add to the word "Kashtam", that are called by the name "vinai mutru vigudhigal" . if u wish, there can be some discussions in learning tamil thread.

--------
crazy, dont laugh. all ur angry gestures have been properly documented, and if u are going to kill me as skanthan says ( :shock: ), there wont be dearth of evidence :P :tongueout: :tongueout: :fishgrin: :lol:

[skanthan]

thamizh vaNNan
Yeah sure, let's discuss about the suffixes and other grammitical rules in my thread. Also, I was just kidding about Crazy killing you. Relax!

Crazy,

vaNakkam! eppadi irukkiReenga?

[crazy]

--------
crazy, dont laugh. all ur angry gestures have been properly documented, and if u are going to kill me as skanthan says ( :shock: ), there wont be dearth of evidence :P :tongueout: :tongueout: :fishgrin: :lol:

TV :evil: :evil: :evil:


I was just kidding about Crazy killing you. Relax!

Crazy,

vaNakkam! eppadi irukkiReenga?

naan nalam, neenga?
i am seriuos ............i really wish .......i could kill him :lol: :lol: :lol:

anyway Mr/Mrs/Ms Soomy gonna kill me first for using this tread for chatting :cry:

Forgive me :ashamed: :cry:

[Tia]

:hammer: for the he....u cud be ryt with the rest...




I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil :( ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

IMO, it is definitely bcoz tamil belongs to a totally different family compared to english and french. infact all european languages are so similar. since ghlli lives in england and knows english better, he finds french easier to learn. even i find it tough to switch between english and tamil especially while speaking. all my sentence structures gets messed up so badly, that i phrase english sentences in the order in which tamil is spoken or vice versa. once my friend told he became veggie and i asked "when from? " :rotfl: :rotfl: .

[Tia]

why whats wrong with that? :huh:


ut i must accept i dont try at all in reading and writting....
is this "writting" style common for all foreign bred tamilians :huh:

[Eelavar]

Soomy,

I too speak French..

Alors le tamoul est dur a apprendre ?

Moi je dirai oui et non.. Sans reelle motivation c'est dur effectivement, mais avec la volonte on peut reussir..
Le tamoul etant ma langue maternelle, je la parle naturellement, mais c'est vrai que les premiers pas pour apprendre cette langue sont dures...

Le tamoul est different du francais grammaticalement.. Genre le verbe tu le met a la fin par exemple..comme la subordonnee en allemand..
:roll:

Selon moi la meilleure facon de l'apprendre c'est de parler avec un tamoul parlant le francais et donc qui pourrait te traduire les mots...
La lecture aide aussi..

Il faut pour cela connaitre l'alphabet tamoul qui est un peu particulier compares aux langues europeennes...

En tamoul il existe par exemple trois prononciations differentes pour un meme son.. Ce qui accentue la difficulte de prononciation..

[skanthan]

--------
crazy, dont laugh. all ur angry gestures have been properly documented, and if u are going to kill me as skanthan says ( :shock: ), there wont be dearth of evidence :P :tongueout: :tongueout: :fishgrin: :lol:

:lol:




TV :evil: :evil: :evil:


I was just kidding about Crazy killing you. Relax!

Crazy,

vaNakkam! eppadi irukkiReenga?

naan nalam, neenga?

naan seri!



i am seriuos ............i really wish .......i could kill him :lol: :lol: :lol:

:omg: :lol2:

[crazy]

--------
crazy, dont laugh. all ur angry gestures have been properly documented, and if u are going to kill me as skanthan says ( :shock: ), there wont be dearth of evidence :P :tongueout: :tongueout: :fishgrin: :lol:

:lol:




TV :evil: :evil: :evil:


I was just kidding about Crazy killing you. Relax!

Crazy,

vaNakkam! eppadi irukkiReenga?

naan nalam, neenga?

naan seri!



i am seriuos ............i really wish .......i could kill him :lol: :lol: :lol:

:omg: :lol2:

skanthan r u tamil? :roll:

[skanthan]

r u tamil

No, I am not Tamil, but, I am learning the language and have adopted the Hindu religion and various aspects of South Indian culture. I feel that I was lived in South India/Sri Lanka in past births due to my deep love and interest in that area, its culture. its languages etc...

[thamizhvaanan]

r u tamil

No, I am not Tamil, but, I am learning the language and have adopted the Hindu religion and various aspects of South Indian culture. I feel that I was lived in South India/Sri Lanka in past births due to my deep love and interest in that area, its culture. its languages etc...
which is ur native place?

[skanthan]

which is ur native place?

It is the city of Edmonton, in the Canadian province of Alberta.

[bingleguy]

hi guys ... am new to this thread !

[crazy]

r u tamil

No, I am not Tamil, but, I am learning the language and have adopted the Hindu religion and various aspects of South Indian culture. I feel that I was lived in South India/Sri Lanka in past births due to my deep love and interest in that area, its culture. its languages etc...

but ur name is so tamil :roll:
and may i ask u what was the reason to adopt a new alien language and culture? any tamil ppl in ur family?
canadian..............canadian english or french?

[skanthan]

crazy,

Yes, it is a Tamil name. This name was given to me by a lady from Sri Lanka in 2000. No Tamils in my family. I, in this birth, am of British, Irish and Ukrainian descent. (For personal reasons, I do not recognize the Ukrainian part of my ancestry.) It was through TV, books, Internet and talking to people that I became interested in Hindu religion and South Indian and Sri Lankan languages and culture.

[crazy]

crazy,

Yes, it is a Tamil name. This name was given to me by a lady from Sri Lanka in 2000. No Tamils in my family. I, in this birth, am of British, Irish and Ukrainian descent. (For personal reasons, I do not recognize the Ukrainian part of my ancestry.) It was through TV, books, Internet and talking to people that I became interested in Hindu religion and South Indian and Sri Lankan languages and culture.

wow good to know.
hope tamil people, culture and ur religion doesnt disappoint u :)
r u taking any course or sth in tamil in canada.........do u have many tamil friends there? how long have u been learning tamil?

too many question..........SORRY :)

[skanthan]

Crazy,

:ty: Thank you for your questions. :)

I do have several Tamil friends here in Edmonton. A lady, by the name of Shanthi Sounderajan, is giving my one on one Tamil lessons. It is great! :2thumbsup: :D

[manmadan]

Tamil aint hard compared to sum other languages trust. e.g chinese

[Tia]

chinese..apparently theres two ways in writtin chineese...the complicated way n easy way...my friend knows both :shock:...well she's learning both...

[manmadan]

:shock:

[crazy]

Crazy,

:ty: Thank you for your questions. :)

I do have several Tamil friends here in Edmonton. A lady, by the name of Shanthi Sounderajan, is giving my one on one Tamil lessons. It is great! :2thumbsup: :D

good..............good luck! :)

[Deva]

Yes, Tamil is hard.