LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:6 June 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Development of New Verbal Bases in Sangam Literature

Dr. Rajendran Sankaravelayuthan

1.0. Introduction

The present paper is a byproduct of a project report on “Historical linguistic study of Tamil Verbal bases” submitted to Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), Chennai 2008 (Rajendran 2008) (to be published as a book soon). The development of new verbal base in the Sangam literature is the focus of this paper. The issue is explored by classing the Sangam classics into four: Old Tamil which is divided into Early Old Tamil (EOL) and Late Old Tamil (LOT) and Middle Tamil which is divided into Early Middle Tamil (EMT) and Late Middle Tamil (LMT).

Lexicon is the total inventory of lexemes of a language. No language can remain the same for a long period of time. This is particularly true in the case of the lexicon because the change in the lexicon can be particularly noted in the course of time. This change in the lexicon is referred to as lexical change. This change is referred to by Tolkappiyar, the author of tokaappiyam in Tol. 935. It says, ‘kaTicol illai-k kaalattp paTine:’. It means that one cannot avoid words which become current. According to Manickam (1972: 49) two things are clear as far as the collatikaaram suutram (Tol. 935) is concerned. They are:

1. ‘No word can be suppressed when time gives birth to.’ They refer to the addition of vocabulary.
2. ‘No word can be safeguarded, if it drops out of usage.’ This refers to the loss of the vocabulary.

Scholars also pointed out certain causes for the addition of lexicon. They are: analogy, semantic change, borrowing, poetic creations of new collocations etc. They result in the addition to the vocabulary either as new word or loanword. Among these, analogy is one of the fertile resources of creating new words. Baugh (1935: 367) says that there is often analogy with some other word or words in the language in the deliberate coinage.

The vocabulary of a language accommodates new words to fulfill the need of the time. So, by default a language expands its vocabulary by coining or creating new words. Mostly new words are developed from the existing resource that is from the already available materials. This development is called evolution. Of course, a language increases the size of its vocabulary system by borrowing too. Here we are bothered about the development of new verbs from the already available materials in classical Tamil.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Rajendran Sankaravelayuthan
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapetham, Coimbatore
rajushush@gmail.com
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