International Thirukkural Conference

July 8-10, 2005

Smith Auditorium, Howard Community College
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044 USA

To see the PowerPoint presentation about the Conference, click here

About Conference	About Tamil Language	About Thirukkural	About Thiruvalluvar
Thiruvalluvar's words of wisdom	Sponsoring Organizations	Organizing Committees	Keynote Speakers
Academic credits	Registration	Hotel Accommodation	Directions

About the Tamil Language

Tamil is the mother tongue of more than 60 million people who live in the state of Tamil Nadu, which lies in the southeastern corner of the Indian subcontinent. It is also spoken by another 30 million Tamils who have emigrated to and have settled in countries like Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius, Fuji, South Africa, Australia, UK, Canada, USA, etc.  More than 200,000 Tamil speaking people live in the United States alone. 

Tamil is one of the oldest languages of the world. It belongs to the family of the Dravidian languages and is considered to be the source for other Dravidian languages. In addition to its antiquity, it is also rich in its literature. Some of the oldest Tamil literary works much predate the Christian era by at least three centuries. According to Prof. George Hart, University of California, Berkeley, a well-known Tamil Scholar, "The quality of Tamil literature is such that it is fit to stand beside the great literatures of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Persian and Arabic. The subtlety and profundity of its works, varied scope and universality qualify Tamil to stand as one of the great classical traditions of the world."

 

E-mail :support@thirukkural2005.org

© 2005 International Thirukkural Conference by Tamil Sangam of Greater Washington, Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America, International Society for Tamil Cultural Studies (Madurai), Mylai Thiruvalluvar Tamil Sangam (Mylapore) and other Tamil organizations & institutions.