A groundbreaking 12-volume etymological dictionary project in Tamil Nadu is intensifying debates about Indian history from a South Indian perspective. The Comparative Etymological Dictionary of Tamil and Indo-European Languages, published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation, aims to trace the comprehensive history of Tamil and link it with Indo-European languages.
Project Overview
Chief editor G Arasentiran explains that the project, launched in March 2022, analyzes 300 of 461 root words identified by 19th-century English etymologist Walter William Skeat. Four volumes have been published so far, each exceeding 1,500 pages, with the latest launched recently in Chennai. A 21-member team is compiling Tamil root words and tracing their derivatives across Indo-European languages. Of the 300 target words, 79 have been examined in the first four volumes. The remaining eight volumes are expected to be completed in three years.
Linguistic Connections
The dictionary provides examples of how Tamil could be a source for Indo-European languages. For instance, the Tamil word 'poru', meaning 'to bear' or 'to tolerate', appears in English as 'bear' or 'bore'; in Old English as 'bearn' (child); in Gothic as 'bair-an'; in Old High German as 'beran'; in Greek as 'pher-ō'; in Latin as 'fero'; and in Sanskrit as 'bhri' (bhar). According to 19th-century linguist Max Müller, the root 'bar' existed long before English in Latin, Greek, Celtic, Slavonic, Zend, and Sanskrit. However, Müller's work establishes the root's antiquity but not its link to Tamil. Nineteenth-century missionary and linguist Robert Caldwell traced 'bar' to the Tamil word 'poru'. Tamil linguist Devaneya Pavanar argued that 'poru' evolved from the word 'pul' (aggregation), changing through forms like pul, pol, por, poru, and poṟu, concluding that all Aryan words for 'bearing' originated from Tamil.
Scholarly Perspectives
Arasentiran notes that while words may trace back to 'poru', scholars are not always clear on how 'poru' itself formed in Tamil. This is why the term 'Proto-Dravidian' is used rather than 'Proto-Tamil', as speakers of Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu may not accept Tamil as the source but see it as a sister language. The project also explores a proposed link between Tamil and Australian aboriginal languages, based on research by Indologist Stephan Hillyer Levitt. The Dravidian Ascent Theory suggests Tamils moved from south to north. In its 2026 election promises, the DMK said it would form a panel to study linguistic and cultural links between Tamil and Australian aborigines.
Significance and Goals
Previous etymological works, such as 'Senthamil Sorpirappiyal' and 'A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary' by T Burrow and M B Emeneau, stayed within defined linguistic boundaries. EDTIP is the first to systematically trace links between Tamil and Indo-European languages. Arasentiran emphasizes that the project aims not to divide people but to show that all people are connected, that the world is one family. The excavations at Keeladi, revealing an urban civilization in Tamil Nadu dating back more than 2,000 years, further fuel debates about looking at Indian history from a South Indian perspective.
