The History of Tamil Language Science and the Western Connection 1543-1875

Learning Tamil in the early modern world had connected so many people of various nationalities and such connectivity was without any bias. This book treats in great detail and quite innovatively the stages of development of the study of Tamil language by several missionary individuals during the mid-16th to mid-19th century. It establishes the growth of relationships in the spread of Tamil all over the globe and more particularly in European countries with comparative linguistic interests. The volume provides a new, clear-sighted and thought-provoking account of the missionary linguists and linguistics who wrote Tamil grammars, compiled multiple dictionaries and word-indices after their arrival on the Tamil coast. It examines the forms and contexts of use of the language and how grammatical and lexicographical ideas first came to be expressed through the medium of paper manuscripts in several European languages into the public sphere. The author has made a skilful perusal of the hand-written and printed texts and traced the pioneer missionaries highlighting the more advanced and refined linguistic contribution.