Tamil is an Oldest Living language spoken by Tamils

Tamil is an Oldest Living language spoken predominantly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in Sri Lanka. The Tamil script consists of 12 vowels (uyir ezhuthu), 18 consonants (mei ezhuthu), and a special character called the āytam. The script is syllabic, with each letter representing a syllable consisting of a consonant and a vowel or a vowel alone.

Vowels (Uyir Ezhuthu)
The vowels are divided into short (kuril) and long (nedil) vowels.

Short Vowels:
- அ (a)
- இ (i)
- உ (u)
- எ (e)
- ஒ (o)

Long Vowels:
- ஆ (ā)
- ஈ (ī)
- ஊ (ū)
- ஏ (ē)
- ஓ (ō)
- ஐ (ai)
- ஔ (au)

Consonants (Mei Ezhuthu)
The consonants are grouped based on their place of articulation.

Velar:
- க (ka)
- ங (nga)

Palatal:
- ச (ca)
- ஞ (ña)

Retroflex:
- ட (ṭa)
- ண (ṇa)

Dental:
- த (ta)
- ந (na)

Labial:
- ப (pa)
- ம (ma)

Other Consonants:
- ய (ya)
- ர (ra)
- ல (la)
- வ (va)
- ழ (zha)
- ள (ḷa)
- ற (ṟa)
- ன (ṉa)

Special Character
- ஃ (āytam)

Combining Vowels and Consonants
In Tamil, consonants can combine with vowels to form compound characters. Here are a few examples:

- க (ka) + அ (a) = க (ka)
- க (ka) + இ (i) = கி (ki)
- க (ka) + உ (u) = கு (ku)
- க (ka) + ஏ (ē) = கே (kē)
- க (ka) + ஐ (ai) = கை (kai)

Numerals
Tamil also has its own set of numerals:
- ௦ (0)
- ௧ (1)
- ௨ (2)
- ௩ (3)
- ௪ (4)
- ௫ (5)
- ௬ (6)
- ௭ (7)
- ௮ (8)
- ௯ (9)

Example Words
Here are a few example words in Tamil script:
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- கல்வி (education)
- புத்தகம் (book)
- சொல் (word)
- மழை (rain)

The Tamil script is elegant and phonetic, meaning it closely represents the spoken sounds of the language. This phonetic nature makes it relatively straightforward for learners to read and write in Tamil once they are familiar with the letters and their combinations.