Hi Friends, Nowadays we often see people using the word ' Tamilian' as noun. For example - She is a Tamilian. I am a Tamilian. Etc. Even though it is grammatically wrong...many educated people do use this word. When I correct them, they say it is slang & nothing wrong in using it. Well, like Hindi, Telugu, German, French...Tamil is a language & how can one add suffix 'ian' to it? :idea Is it right to use the word 'Tamilian'? pls. share your opinion on this.
hi anushiv, indeed a good thought. as you have said, it is just a slang and i feel nothing wrong in saying it. moreover "ian" beautifully gels with the word "Tamil" and gives an identity to the Tamil people. may be the word "Thamizhan" is pronounced with a little variation in English (as Tami-l-ian), as English do not have the letter "Zha" of Tamil. it is just like other slangs.
Mylady I guess we need to see the bigger picture here. You have given mixed examples here.... nationally and internationally.. Let's take international first: France, Germany, Netherlands and what not.. have a clear specifications on identifying their people and their language. Now do we have that from early on? The answer is NO. Atleast not the Tamil language even though it is one of the oldest languages out there. Even country has a very precise explanations on their community and how their language evolved. Even the most controversial country out there- Israel has it. Unfortunately, we tamil's were so busy pulling each other's leg in the development of our own, we did not care any about our identity internationally. Now, lets come to national: You have specified Hindi, Telugu... Let's analyze this further. Hindi is a national language, unlike the other countries where if they mean "national language" then thats the dialect for people across the country for the most part. Now is this the same in our country? Learning/knowing Hindi is a privilege and once's choice. Every one has their own language to learn/love about. Now that being the case, identifying our country like the others globally is a great mess up correct? Other languages - Telugu, malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and what not... Each have their own version of identifying yeah? Telugu - Goltis (Sorry my fellow ILs, I have no clue why such a name exists) Malayalam - Malayalees Kannada - Kannadigas Marathi - Marvadis(?), Marathis Punjabi - Punjabis Tamil - Tamils (Courtesy Sri Lankan Tamils), Tamilians (Courtesy of unknown) Have you thought why people of India are called Indians? why not Indianese or Indianis or Indus? Where is the scale that justifies calling people of India as Indians is the right terminology Thus, do you think the names identified so far for each community is as per the standards out there... NOPE. So, there is no right or wrong in calling people of Tamil community. As long as they are being IDENTIFIED From the times of yesteryears, lots have changed. Do you know the place now called Tamil nadu was once called Tamizhakkam?
shakehead Hi Nandu, i am here to just tell you that Telugu people are called Telugu's or Andhrites (Andhra) but not goltis.. Goltis is used just for kidding Telugu people in Tamil Nadu as here in Andhra Pradesh Tamilians are called as Aram Aagitham (for kidding purpose).. (Actually Telugu reverse is Golti for slang..:tongue ) As Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are neighboring states and both have much influence on each other, people admire each other also friendly and being teased by such nick names from past very long back.. My clarification is not to hurt anyone tsk Chalo cheers now.... :cheers
Tamilian may be not correct in grammar because we dont say French-ian. But we have to call tamil speaking people as a group by some word, no ? "Tamils" nowadays means only tamil speaking people who live in countrys outside india like singapore, malaysia, srilanka etc. Inside india, we need names like Maratha, Punjabi, Kannadiga, Malayalee. We can tell " Tamilan" like Thamizhan, but it sounds like masculine only, then what about Thamizhacchi we will ask ! So TAMILIAN is useful word. Like India is called Hindustan even though there are other religions people as citizens. Words are for communication and convenience only no ?
Senorita.... thanks for the explanation. I saw in a kamal movie and many here mentioning it.. but never know the actual meaning or source of it
Dear I'Lites, I am surprised to see the response after 3 months. I thank you all for stepping in & giving out your opinion. I agree to srinivasan vanaja - yes! It is slang. Nandshyam has given us in detail post...but I am not talking about Tamil community or Tamil people. I wanted to know... grammatical usage o the word 'tamilian' is right or wrong. We can never find this word in the dictionary or in reputed newspapers or magazines. I feel the word would have emerged as a result of translation. 'thamizhan' would have become tamilian. Therefore, as swarnalatha mentioned we are using it for the matter of convenience without knowing the correct usage!
Dear anushiv, Even in wikipedia, they have used the word tamilian. I also feel there is nothing wrong in calling tamilian.
i don't think nothing wrong about it.... many people use it....... no body tells it is wrong... Computer Typing
