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Tamil in the British Isles by Viv Edwards
Tamil belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken by well over 70 million people worldwide. Tamils have a long association with the British and words incorporated into English include pariah and catamaran. Tamil has an unbroken literary tradition dating back to the third century BC. The current writing system is believed to be about 1500 years old; 30 different letters run from left to right. There are, however, substantial differences between the spoken and the written languages.Tamil originated in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, but has subsequently spread to many parts of the world. Many Tamils migrated as indentured labourers in the nineteenth century to destinations which included Mauritius, South Africa, Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.Many of the Tamils currently in the UK have come from Sri Lanka as refugees. Conflict between the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese majority led to the outbreak of civil war in 1983, and the death of tens of thousands of people on both sides. The highest proportion of Tamil speakers in the UK are found in London, particularly in the western boroughs of Brent, Harrow, Ealing and Merton. In a survey of languages spoken by school children in the capital in 2000, Tamil was ranked seventeenth. Tamil is used in the UK within the family and in religious celebrations. Two Tamil television channels based in London broadcast to the significant migrant communities of Tamils across Europe. Tamils can also read newspapers and an ezine in their language.
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