வணக்கம்!
vanakkam!
தமிழ் Tamil is a classical language spoken by over 80 million people around the world. It is an official language in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Puducherry. It is also spoken by diaspora Tamils living in Malaysia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia and more.
Tamil uses Literary Tamil for formal written texts and speech while spoken or colloquial Tamil is used in every day conversations. Different Tamil speaking regions use different dialects.
Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world. Tamil writings can be traced back to 2nd century BC. The Tamil alphabet is made up of 247 letters, consisting of 12 vowels, 18 consonants, 216 compound letters and 1 special character.
Our Team
Sabtha
Vanakkam Lovelies! My name is Sabtha and I'm the face behind The Tamil Channel on YouTube and Instagram. I was born and raised in Europe. Growing up I learned Tamil from my grandparents who were Tamil teachers in Germany. I've been teaching Tamil at Tamil schools on the weekends since 2004. In 2018 I finished my diploma in teaching. Since 2019, I've been teaching Tamil online. Being a diaspora Tamil, my mother tongue was extremely important to me in forming my identity. I love learning languages and teaching Tamil. My dream is to make learning Tamil accessible to diaspora Tamils around the world and provide a platform for Tamils to connect.
Nivetha
Vanakkam! I'm Nivetha. I have been teaching Tamil for over 20 years and love sharing my language and culture. I hold a BA in Tamil and currently studying towards an MA in Tamil Linguistics. I love writing Tamil poetry, short stories, plays and research essays about the Tamil language.
Abinaya
Vannakam everyone! My name is Abinaya. I was born and raised in the UK. I grew up being able to understand Tamil but I couldn't speak Tamil. When my Ammamma passed away, I decided I wanted to learn Tamil so that I can pass this important gift on. I have been learning with Sabtha and the Tamil Language Centre. I am so grateful for this and the opportunity I have had to create illustrations to support other Tamil learners! I drew the illustrations for the 'Kutti the Elephant' videos on The Tamil Channel's YouTube channel. I have recently created illustrations for the picture book 'This is my Hijab' by Sara Alduais. I cannot wait to create more illustrations in the future for the Tamil Language Centre, to celebrate Tamil language and heritage.
Raj
My name is Raj. I grew up in Toronto. I taught myself to read and write Tamil as an adult. Now that I'm a father, I'm learning Tamil to connect with my culture and pass it on to my children. It hasn't been an easy journey, but I have been learning and growing a lot. One day I want to be able to speak Tamil fluently with my children, just like my parents and grandparents. At the Tamil Language Centre I'm in charge of editing content and managing social media.
Languages We Speak
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தமிழ் - Tamil
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English
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Deutsch - German