Abstract
Tamil verb stems may be inclusive of a voice morpheme that encodes the degree of agency of the verb. Hence, using Paramasivam’s (1979) terminology, these kinds of verbs are paired verbs of which one is the affective and the other its effective counterpart. In the former, the action expressed by the verb is realised by an agent and affects a patient, whereas in the latter the consequences of the action fall on the subject who realises the action.This paper intends to analyse how missionaries described the verb system of Tamil which differed substantially from their own model of reference (Latin and Portuguese), and how they understood paired verbs, as defined above. As such, taking into account the Western sources that missionaries used to compose and organise their descriptions, this paper focuses on both verb conjugations and paired verbs in Tamil. It also demonstrates how the Latin grammatical framework was applied for the description of Tamil verbs and discusses the Indian grammatical sources available to missionaries.Given that the present classification of Tamil verbs is based on the one offered by a missionary, Karl Friedrich Leberecht Graul (1814–1864), this study highlights how earlier missionaries’ descriptions contributed to the current classification.
Highlights
Premise This paper analyses how the Tamil verb system was understood and described in six grammars of the Tamil language produced by missionaries between the 16th and 18th centuries with the purpose of creating useful tools to help missionaries how to communicate with natives and, thereby, spread the Gospel
The first text considered in this study is among the most studied Tamil grammars, written in the 16th century, namely the Arte da lingua Malabar by Henrique Henriques (1520–1600) ( HH, no. 1 in Table 1) of which the only extant manuscript is held in the National Library of Lisbon
A short introduction to the Tamil verb system an outline of the main features of the verb system might appear redundant for those who are familiar with Tamil, it seems useful to include it here since it is functional to the analysis provided in subsequent sections
Summary
When I refer to Indigenous Tamil Grammatical Tradition ( ITGT) in this paper, this is represented by two texts, namely the Tolkāppiyam ( Tol.) which describes Old Tamil and the Naṉṉūl ‘the good book’ (ca. 13th century, Naṉ.) which describes Middle Tamil. Connections are evidenced by indirect references, such as those inferred by comparisons of the contents of the manuscript, as when Jeyaraj (2010) demonstrates that BZ’s grammar relied a lot on the copy of BC’s work – even though the Tamil verb forms found in BZ’s text are unique when compared to the other manuscripts (cf Appendix 3). In reproducing BZ’s grammar, Jeyaraj (2010) identifies all instances of BZ copying from BC’s manuscript without even mentioning it These connections highlight how the first contribution of Westerners to Tamil studies, made by Jesuits, found a following among the networks of Protestant missionaries, who relied on the Jesuits’ work for their translations of religious books (cf Israel 2011; Muru 2019). In so doing he extended it in some areas and elaborated on some of BC’s interpretations (infra)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
