As one of the oldest classical languages, Tamil is spoken in Tamilnadu (a state in southern India), and in certain parts of Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Singapore and Malaysia.

Tamil can be classified into three phases: Old Tamil from 300 BCE to 700 CE, Middle Tamil from 700 to 1600 and Modern Tamil from 1600 till now. Tamil is believed to be a language that has been around for more than two thousand years. The earliest Tamil literature - Sangam literature is dated between 300 BCE and 300 CE.

It is estimated that over 66 million people speak Tamil as first language, and another 8 million use Tamil as second language.