Is Tamil the most difficult language in the world ?

[Soomy]

I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

[VENKIRAJA]

yes,it is most difficult
for (m)any
to appreciate it within their lifetime.

[great]

I wont say tamil would be toughest language in the world but if its within india yes there are ppl mainly northies find it hard to adjust with the language.

[mgb]

Soomy.. tamil isn't tough. How did you try? can you please elaborate.
Where there is a will there is a way. Don't give up.

CONSTANTINE JOSEPH BESCHI came from Italy to Tamilnadu to preach christianity but went on to become one of the celebrated exponents in Tamil language. He stamped his authority on tamil literature, tamil grammer, dictionary, translations etc and was popularly called VEERAMAAMUNIVAR.

Even if you can pick a small leaf out of his determination and love for tamil language, you should be through

[Ghlli]

tamil is actually v hard for me.....but its getting easier c happy so much easier if u try and talk with ur parents, grand parents and tamil friends in tamil.......but i hasven't tried reading yet...well once in a while i look at a random letter in my mums magazine and ask her wha t it is....most i 4get...1 out of 5 i can remember....but i cant write anything except aana.....even thats v hard to write...but i must accept i dont try at all in reading and writting....its just if i really have nothing to do...i ask my mum...and still i nthe past 12 years....i'v only learnt to read 3 tamil letters...infact the third one...i dont exactly remember......the other prob is i hear there are more than 200 letters in the alphabet....and they all look sooo similiar!

but i try in speakin i do try....accent not bad as it used to be

i can understand almost everything now

[aravindhan]

I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

It's not particularly difficult, but the initial learning curve is steep because of:

1. The phonology: Tamil sounds and the speed at which the language is spoken can be quite confusing if you're not used to it
2. The grammar: Tamil's word order, sentence structure and, in general, the logic of the language are *quite* different from other European languages.
3. The script: If you're not used to it, it can be hard to tell many letters apart.

It takes a while to get the hang of this. This isn't made easier by the lack of good teaching materials. Most of the "courses" are written in the Victorian Latin-teaching style, emphasising grammar and extremely useful sentences like "The king frowned in anger". Asher and Annamalai's "Colloquial Tamil" is supposed to be much better: the American wife of a cousin used it and swears by it. If you're in France, you'll be able to order it through Amazon:

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/0415...lance&n=283155

There's also a companion CD, which is also available through Amazon.

The good news is that once you get the logic of the language, learning it is not that difficult. And don't give up. One of the world's leading experts on classical Tamil is a Frenchman, M. Jean-Luc Chevillard. That should give you something to aspire towards!

[solona]

I try but I can't. However, I have succeeded in learning English and German. But although my native language is French, I can't be able to learn and understand Tamil ! Even reading is very hard.

What is the reason for that ? Is it because Tamil is not the language like the others, or because of bad methodology ?

Are u french?

[Shekhar]

Tamil, Malayalm, Kannada and Telugu belong to Dravidian family of languages. Where as Sanskrit, English, Latin, German, Hindi .. belong to "Indo-European Family of languages" It is also called Aryan family of languages.
Dravidian family of languages is quite difficult. They learn the languages of Aryan families easily, but not vice versa.

[ramky]

Maybe tamil is difficult compared to English, but north-indian languages also have as many consonants & vowels as tamil has. I think south indians are more willing than north indians to learn new languages, hence find it easier to learn hindi & similar languages. So tamil is not difficult to learn; what's lacking is interest / motivation to learn it.

[Ghlli]

tamil is definetely harder than french....i started with tamil since i was born....but i started french in grade 3.....french is easier!