Tamil has been declared a Classical Language whereas Kannada is still in the queue for it to be declared one. The only Indian language which has been recognized as a Classical language by International bodies is Sanskrit.
Both Tamil and Kannada are ancient and have a very rich heritage. Both are beautiful languages, though my knowledge of the IlakkaNa Tamil is very limited. Advocates of the Kannada language feel that the language has been slighted by the Government according the Classical status on Tamil and not yet on Kannada.
It was with a sense of pride and happiness that I read the report that Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have been found on pottery found in Egypt and it belongs to Circa 1 Century B.C. This shows that India was very well connected with many parts of the world through trade and commerce.
Instead of taking this to be all about a regional language, we should be proud that there is proof of an Indian language having withstood the tests of time and onslaughts of different natures.
Now that Tamil is a Classical language, it is just a matter of time before Kannada too is accorded this status.
Tamil is the official language in a few countries like Srilanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Hoping they too accord this status on Tamil so that Tamil gets closer to the coveted status of being a Classical Language recognized by the International Bodies.
Pic- Courtesy The Hindu
2 comments:
In Santa Clara, California, the public library has a huge wall in the front with lines written in many languages of the world. I don't know if they have this in all the public libraries across US.
I have stood in front of this wall to search through all the known languages. I found Bonglo, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Urdu, but not Kannada. I was a bit dissappointed about this though knowing Kannada is one of the oldest languages.
It is not about trying to be listed on this public library, but I wonder what makes the other languages so powerful that they have their way into various parts of the world. Even Malayalam and Oriya (relatively southern Indian) does not figure much around.
To me it is the people who drive it all around. This is possible only when we are proud of our language and USE IT IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE even when we are forced to use other languages for comfort of expressing.
That Tamil is the classical language is accepted at the international level as well.
http://tamil.berkeley.edu/Old%20Files%20from%20previous/Tamil%20Chair/TamilClassicalLanguage/TamilClassicalLgeLtr.html
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