Abstract:

‘No man is an island’ is a wise saying. So is language, except the ones in impenetrable jungle or in an inaccessible island with its community shooting poisoned arrows at outsiders including missionaries and tradesmen. Tamil never lived in such a place! From the beginnings of its recorded history Tamil speakers interacted with speakers of Prakrit (Julie 2018) and Sanskrit ( ), for which inscriptions and literature bear evidence. But like most things about language, language ideology sifts and recasts any evidence about language.