Translation of ancient Tamil grammar.

10/13/201010/13/2010

This dictionary contains more than 50,000 entries, related phrases, idioms and more than 200 illustrations. Like our other Bilingual Dictionaries, this has been specially compiled for learners of English, teachers, translators and general readers. * Words like citizen journalism, e-learning, hate crime, learning disability, newsworthy, road rage, and many more have been taken from current usage of English.* The English base of the dictionary, taken from the Oxford Students Dictionary (2nd Edition) has been adapted for Indian readers.* To make the dictionary more user-friendly detailed definitions and one-word equivalents in Tamil have been included for words that needed to be explained further for example, brain drain, electromagnetic, metamorphosis and microwave.* Many words such as computer, microchip, multiplex and software have been written out in Tamil to show that such words have now been included in the language. * Words from the current usage, including Indian English have been added. * A pronunciation guide using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is given for help in pronunciation.* Helpful notes on grammar, vocabulary and writing have been provided in Tamil.* A separate section on Quick Grammar Reference along with a list of suffixes and prefixes translated in Tamil, have been added to the appendix for advanced learners of English.

The Tamils have an unbroken history of more than two thousand years. Tamil, the language they speak, is one of the oldest living languages in the world. The only people comparable to the Tamils in terms of their hoary past and vibrant present would be the Jews with one marked difference. The Tamils have always had their homeland 'Tamilaham' (alternately pronounced and spelt 'Tamizhaham') known today as Tamil Nadu which to them represents their mother and is revered by them as 'Tamizh Tai' literally ‘Tamil Mother’. This is in striking contrast to the Jews who have been through a long and arduous struggle to gain their homeland, a deeply contested site to this day with Hebrewisation of Israel being a key marker of Jewish identity in the region. Tamils, by contrast have a clear numerical majority in the region that now comprises Tamil Nadu and the language unites rather than divides adherents of different faiths. The second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Tamils contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Tamils.

This indispensable work for Tamil love poetry of South India deals with the relationship between the oldest grammar and poetics, Tolkāppiyam, and the ancient literature (Sangam literature) of the 1-3 C. A.D., providing the original meanings and historical changes of many technical terms of love poetry.

The peerless young Kovalan leaves his loyal wife Kannaki for the courtesan Madhavi, and though he returns to her, he still meets his death because of her ill-omened ankle bracelet. The Shilappadikaram has been called an epic and even a novel, but it is also a book of general education. Adigal packed his story with information: history merging into myth, religious rites, caste customs, military lore, descriptions of city and country life. And four Cantos are little anthologies of the poetry of the period (seashore and mountain songs, hunters and milkmaid s song). Thus the story gives us a vivid picture of early Indian life in all its aspects.

This dictionary contains more than 24,000 entries, related phrases, idioms, derivatives and words with irregular forms, and more than 200 illustrations. Like our other Bilingual Dictionaries, this has been specially compiled for learners of English, teachers, translators and general readers.

Two prominent translators present the first complete English-language edition of one of India's greatest works of classical literature: the Purananuru. This anthology of four hundred poems by more than 150 poets between the first and third centuries CE in old Tamil—the literary language of ancient Tamilnadu—was composed before Aryan influence had penetrated the south. It is thus a unique testament to pre-Aryan India. Beyond its importance for understanding the development of South Asia's history, culture, religion, and linguistics, the Purananuru is a great work of literature, reflecting accurately and profoundly the life of southern India 2,000 years ago. One of the few works of classical India that confronts life without the insulation of a philosophical facade and that makes no basic assumptions about karma and the afterlife, the Purananuru has universal appeal. It faces the world as a great and unsolved mystery, delving into living and dying, despair, love, poverty, and the changing nature of existence. To this hidden gem of world literature George L. Hart and Hank Heifetz add a helpful appendix, an annotated bibliography, and an excellent introduction describing the work and placing it in its social and historical context.