Alternate Names: Damulian, Tamal, Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili
Dialects: Adi Dravida, Aiyangar, Aiyar, Arava, Burgandi, Burma Tamil, Harijan, Hebbar, Kongar, Madrasi, Madurai, Malaya Tamil, Mandyam Brahmin, Pattapu Bhasha, Sanketi, Secunderabad Brahmin, South Africa Tamil, Sri Lanka Tamil, Tamil, Tigalu. Burgandi are nomadic. Aiyar and Aiyangar are Brahmin dialects. Southern dialect around Madurai is literary standard. Eastern dialect is colloquial standard (Zvelebil 1998). Sanketi dialect in Karnataka used by immigrants from Madurai and Shenkotta in Tamil Nadu. Lexicon greatly influenced by Kannada.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 60,700,000 in India (2001 census). Population total all countries: 68,763,360. L2 users: 8,000,000 in India.
Language Use: Most also use Kannada [kan]. All are bilingual. (Gowda 1976). Used as L2 by Alu Kurumba [xua], Attapady Kurumba [pkr], Eravallan [era], Irula [iru], Jennu Kurumba [xuj], Kadar [kej], Kanikkaran [kev], Kannada Kurumba [kfi], Kota [kfe], Malankuravan [mjo], Malasar [ymr], Muthuvan [muv], Paliyan [pcf], Paniya [pcg], Saurashtra [saz], Toda [tcx], Vaagri Booli [vaa].
Language Development: Taught in primary and secondary schools. Fully developed. Bible: 1727–2002.
Typology: SOV.
Spoken In: Malaysia, Sri Lanka
Writing System: Braille, Tamil
Nation of Origin: India
Other Comments: Officially recognized language. Hindu, Muslim.