vaNakkam. This page was hastily completed by Sendhil Kumar Cheran who will be away until Summer 1999. You can try sending me an email at scheran@email.unc.edu or senthamizhan@hotmail.com, but I may be unable to read messages on either account for quite some time.

In compiling this particular list, I'm assuming the learner has some familiarity with Thamil--at the very least, understanding of basic spoken Thamil. Learning the language from scratch is an area unknown to me. I am listing only books that I have personally seen and found to be useful or promising. For a more thorough and complete (though slightly outdated) list of books and other resources, consult the Columbia South Asia Gopher page maintained by Norman Cutler.

Title: 		Tamil Course for European Schools (4 volume set)
Authors: 	Percy C. Kerslake and C.R. Narayanaswami Aiyar
Availability:	university libraries or interlibrary loan
		(physical size of books allows for convenient photocopying)
Comments:	I haven't actually used this set of books, but the lessons seem 
		appropriate for children in elementary school and middle school.  
		According to the authors, the lessons have been tested on students 
		in European schools.  
		Exercises are included at the end of every lesson.
		Volume 1 provides a novel introduction to the alphabet.  Having seen 
		lots of books, I am of the opinion that knowledge of the alphabet 
		is a necessity for successful and efficient learning.  If you 
		find a book that relies on Roman transliteration in place of thamil 
		letters, then I'd have doubts.


Title: 		Tamil for Beginners, Part II: Grammar
Author: 	Kausalya Hart
Availability:	university libraries or interlibrary loan
					OR
		order directly from Univ. of California - Berkeley
			email: iaspub@socrates.berkeley.edu
			phone: (510) 642-4065
			fax: 	(510) 643-7062
			mail payment to: CSSEAS Publications
				  	 2223 Fulton St., Room 338
				  	 University of California-Berkeley
				  	 Berkeley, CA  94720
				  	 Make checks payable to: UC Regents
			cost: $15 for the book, $5 for shipping
Comments:	This is an EXCELLENT book for a motivated high school or college 
		student.  Memorizing the seven verb classes and characteristics of 
		each may seem tedious at first, but anyone who sticks with it will 
		be rewarded for the effort.  No exercises in this book.  It simply 
		introduces the student to the basics of thamil "grammar"--sentence 
		structure, verb conjugation, etc. (ilakkaNam, which is often 
		translated into English as "grammar," is something totally different 
		from the English concept of grammar.)  Tamil for Beginners, Part I: 
		Reading and Writing is also available from Berkeley, but I 
		personally didn't find it very useful.
		Also, there is a book called Tamil Madhu available from Berkeley.

 
Title:		A Basic Tamil Reader and Grammar
Authors:	K. Paramasivam and James Lindholm
Description:	This introductory text is designed to be fairly self-explanatory.  
		It is appropriate for a high school or college student.  Volume 1 
		consists of 55 stories, each about 1-2 pages long.  Volume 2 
		provides annotations for each story to explain new vocabulary or 
		introduce new grammar concepts.  A supplemental set of audio 
		cassette tapes can be ordered with readings of each story.  Each 
		story is read in the formal style (i.e. exactly how the story is 
		written in Volume 1) and the informal spoken style.  The speaker of 
		the informal style readings speaks in a regional accent 
		(Thiruchchi?).  Exercises for each story and the corresponding 
		grammar/vocabulary are available on the Web.  Go to the UPenn 
		website to download the exercises.  See "Computer-based 
		Thamil Learning" below for more information on the UPenn site.
Availability:	university libraries or interlibrary loan  (most likely books only 
		and no audio tapes)
				OR
		contact Prof. James Lindholm
			923 Michigan Ave., #3
			Evanston, IL  60202
			(847) 328-0805
Cost:		Full set (books and cassettes)				 $58.00
		     Full set of books only				  33.00
		          Volume I: Readings				  12.00
		          Volume I: Annotations				  20.00
		          Supplement: Translations of Readings		   2.00
		     Cassettes (4): Formal style of Readings		  16.00
		     Cassettes (3): Informal style of Readings		  12.00	
Comment:	I have not made much use of this book, but it is certainly worthy of 
		attention.  It seems to be very widely used and recommended.

 
Title:		A Tamil Prose Reader
Authors:	R.E. Asher and R. Radhakrishnan
Availability:	university libraries or interlibrary loan
Comment:	The book is just a collection of short stories and articles by 
		famous twentieth century authors.  It is appropriate for the 
		intermediate or advanced student.  According to the authors, the 
		stories are in order of increasing difficulty.
 

Note: Interlibrary loan is a service available at university libraries for little or no charge. If you would like to check out a book that is located at another library but not at your own, you can get the book through interlibrary loan. Ask a librarian for help to find books not found at your home institution and to fill out the interlibrary loan request forms. (Hint: Check the library catalog of the universities listed in the section "Learning Thamil at American Universities." Chances are that at least one of the schools will have what you want. Also, don't forget to check the libraries in your area.) I don't know if this service is available at non-university public libraries.

The following two works can only be enjoyed and appreciated by someone with a decent background in literature. I read them when I was a senior in high school. Ninth and tenth grade are perhaps a little too early to read these works.

Title:		Poems of Love and War
Author:		A.K. Ramanujan
Availability:	university libraries and interlibrary loan
Comments:	Read at least the Translator's Note: ix-iv and the 
		Afterword: 231-269.  The book introduces the akam and puRam poetry of 
		the Sangam age.

 
Title:		Cilappatikaram [Cilappatikaram of Ilankovatikal: an epic of South 
				India]
Author:		Ilankovatikal
Translator:	R. Parthasarathy
Availability:	university libraries and interlibrary loan
Comment:	This is THE thamil epic.  Only a culturally illiterate person would 
		not know of this work.  Read the whole thing.
 

These two books about Sangam literature are by no means the only things out there. There is something for everyone! If you're interested in politics and nationalism, look up the Dravidian movement or the modern history of Sri Lanka. If you like music and dance, learn more about Carnatic music or bharathanaattiyam. Movie-lovers can watch Thamil cinema and research its popularity. For the religiously-inclined person, there are a number of books about the devotional bhakthi literature. Or if Hinduism is the wrong religion, find out about the history of Thamil as it relates to Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, or even Judaism. If you're a pre-med or med student, discover the ancient Siddha medicine system. Learn about the three major ancient kingdoms-chEran, chOzhan, paaNdiyan. Or study the caste system in Thamil society.

Books about all of these subjects are available at college and university libraries across the US. If something is not available at your (local) college library, request it through interlibrary loan.

 
Title:		Tamil Kalvi Software
Author:		P. Kuppuswamy (kuppu@kalvi.com)
Address:	www.kalvi.com
Comment:	I used this many years ago, so I don't remember much about it. 
		The programs seemed appropriate for children.  I think the website 
		has some free demos.

 
Title:		Web Assisted Learning and Teaching of Tamil (WALTT)
Authors:	Vasu Renganathan and Harold Schiffman
Address:	ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/tamilweb
Comment:	Definitely take a look at this website.  It has a number of 
		excellent resources for students of all levels.
 
 

The following opportunities are available to undergraduate and graduate students.

 
Program:	University of Wisconsin--Madison College Year in India Program
Location:	Madurai
Description:	This is a year long program.  It begins in the summer with 10 weeks 
		of intensive Thamil at the Madison campus.  This instruction is the 
		equivalent of one year(?) of Thamil at an American university.  The 
		entire academic year is spent in Madurai.  There students spend time 
		learning Thamil, conducting a fieldwork project, and learning about 
		some other area of interest.  The program is affiliated with Madurai 
		Kamaraj University.
Cost:		approximately $15,000 to $17,000 for the entire program (summer and 
		academic year)
Contact:	Prof. Joseph Elder (elder@ssc.wisc.edu) 
		applications can be obtained from:
			International Studies & Programs
			University of Wisconsin-Madison
			261 Bascom Hall
			500 Lincoln Drive
			Madison, WI 53706
			(608) 262-2851
		applications are due in mid-January of each year

 
Program:	American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) Advanced Language Program
Location:	Madurai
Information:	ccat.sas.upenn.edu/aiis
Comment:	This is an immersion program, intended primarily for grad students.
		Contact me in a year or so and I'll give you firsthand information.

 
Program:	South India Term Abroad (SITA)
Location:	Madurai
Information:	??? -- Don't know much about this program.  To locate information, 
		try searching Metacrawler or Hotbot.

 
Program:	Fulbright Scholarship
Location:	Thamil Naadu, Ilankai, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, etc.
Information:	www.iie.org/fulbright

There are a couple of other study abroad programs in TN for undergraduates. One is run by Davidson college and based in Chennai (Madras). Consult a directory of undergraduate study abroad programs to find the names and contact information.

I believe that one need not attend the most well-known or prestigious (or expensive) universities in the country, especially for undergraduate studies. Anyway, if you're applying all over the country, consider filing applications to these schools where Thamil is taught. Check the websites and course catalogs of each school for more details on the course offerings. Of course, as long as a potential Thamil teacher is at your university, chances are that something can be worked out.

University of California--Berkeley

University of Pennsylvania

University of Chicago

University of Texas--Austin

University of Michigan--Ann Arbor

Cornell University (supposedly taught here, but not during the 1998-99 school year)

University of Virginia (summer session)

University of Wisconsin--Madison (summer session)

Now, isn't it more worthwhile for a second-generation Thamil to attend a UPenn or UChicago where Thamil is offered than a (supposedly) "better" school like Harvard, MIT, or Duke where there are no Thamil classes? Most of us will not have time to learn Thamil after completing undergrad.

Parents are, without a doubt, the best resource for learning Thamil. It is not inevitable that a child raised in this country grows up without knowledge of Thamil. For that to happen, the child's parents have to allow it. Read a post to the Usenet newsgroup soc.culture.tamil for another person's perspective.

Ideas for parents:

--speak only in Thamil to children (NO ENGLISH unless absolutely necessary). If carried out, this policy is very beneficial.

--require your children speak to you in thamil. If a child must speak in English, translate the sentence to Thamil and require that it be repeated.

--write letters to relatives along with children. This activity will connect the children to their relatives as well as offer a meaningful opportunity to practice their language skills.

--teach the difference between formal (grammatical) and informal (spoken) thamil

--encourage children to listen to Thamil songs (translate new vocabulary words if necessary) and watch Thamil movies. Thamil songs and radio stations are readily available on the Internet.

--send your children to live in a Thamil-speaking area for an extended period of time. Immersion is the best way to learn language. If that is not possible, bring a parent or other non-English-speaking friend/relative to live in your household.

This suggestion is directed mainly at those individuals who spend time volunteering in high school and college. Consider helping other people, building your resume, AND improving your Thamil skills at the same time. Volunteer in a place where you will be immersed in Thamil. So far, I don't have many resources for this, but here's one that seems promising.

Tamil Nadu Voluntary Health Assocation (TNVHA)

TNVHA maintains a database of volunteer and health organizations in TN. Next time you are planning a visit to see friends and/or relatives in TN, contact TNVHA to get the names of health organizations in and around your destination.

Page first and last updated on May 16, 1998.