Knowra Tamil script Tamil script Tamil script is an abugida used to write Tamil. Its letters represent vowels, consonants, and consonant–vowel combinations, with a distinctive system for marking vowels and suppressing inherent vowels.
Abugida : A writing system in which consonant signs carry an inherent vowel that other marks can change or suppress. Tamil script follows this structural pattern, using vowel signs attached to consonant letters.
Tamil-Brahmi : An early Brahmic script used to write Tamil in inscriptions from the ancient Tamil region. Its inscriptions provide the earliest substantial evidence for writing Tamil.
Devanagari : An abugida used to write languages including Hindi, Sanskrit, and Marathi. Its extensive consonant conjuncts contrast with Tamil’s comparatively limited use of stacked consonant forms.
Tamil inscriptions : Texts carved or written in Tamil on stone, metal, pottery, and other durable materials. Inscriptions preserve historical uses of Tamil script across changing letter forms.
Tamil vowels : The vowel phonemes of Tamil, represented in writing by independent letters or signs attached to consonants. Their independent and dependent forms explain how vowel sounds appear in Tamil syllables.
Brahmi script : An ancient writing system from which most modern scripts of South and Southeast Asia descend. Tamil writing belongs to the broader Brahmic family, though its history includes distinctive regional forms.
Malayalam script : The Brahmic script used to write Malayalam, with a larger inventory of consonant letters than Tamil script. Malayalam preserves distinctions and letter forms that Tamil script handles differently or lacks.
Tamil printing : The production of printed Tamil texts using movable type or later printing technologies. Printing standardized letter forms and expanded access to Tamil writing.
Tamil consonants : The consonant phonemes of Tamil, represented by consonant letters that combine with vowel signs. These letters form the base of the script’s consonant–vowel combinations.
Vatteluttu : A rounded historical script used in parts of South India to write Tamil and Malayalam. It was one of the major scripts through which medieval Tamil was written.
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