SYLLABUS

First Year Tamil

Tamil 101a
Harvard University-Fall Semester 2011
Dr. Richard A. Frasca
rafrasca@fas.harvard.edu
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Course meets 11:00 am to 12 Noon Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,
Room 317, 1 Bow Street, Department of South Asian Studies
This is the first semester of an introductory course to the oldest of the Dravidian
languages of South India. Tamil has a rich and well-developed literary tradition that
ranges from ancient classical poetry and medieval devotional compositions and epics to
the present-day where the modern novel, short story and drama coexist with vibrant
traditions of folk poetry and folk drama.
Students will be introduced to the Tamil script and to reading, writing, and speaking the
Tamil language and to basic elements of grammar. Modern teaching materials will be
supplemented by materials from popular culture and the folk tradition. Students of
Sanskrit and Religious Studies are encouraged to enroll.
Text (Available at Schoenhofs Foreign Books, 76a Mount Auburn Street):
Kausalya Hart, Tamil for Beginners
Other Teaching Materials will be supplied during the semester
Requirements:
1) Language learning is basically a cooperative venture so a primary requirement is a
cooperative commitment to participating in interactive in-class language exercises
that will consist of speaking, reading, writing, and translating Tamil.
2) Completion on time of all written assignments or homework.
3) Attendance of all classes.
4) While there will not be an inordinate stress on memorization, you will be required
to memorize language items vital to learning the Tamil language.
Evaluation:
Attendance, daily assignments, and participation in class
Quizzes
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Week One
1) Tamil Phonetics and Pronunciation
2) The Tamil Script

25%
25%
20%
30%

Week Two
1) Continuing The Tamil Script
2) Personal Pronouns
Week Three
1) Quiz on Tamil Script
2) Morphophonemic (Sandhi) Rules
3) Beginning to Read, Write, and Speak Tamil
Week Four
1) Verb Roots
2) Positive Imperatives
3) Infinitives and Negative Imperatives
4) The Seven Classes of Tamil Verbs
Week Five
1) Quiz on Morphophonemic (Sandhi) Rules
2) The Tamil Case System and Oblique Forms
3) Nominative Case
4) The Genitive Case
5) Dative Case
Week Six
1) Accusative Case
2) Sociative Case
3) Instrumental Case
4) Locative Case
5) Ablative Case
Week Seven
1) Mid-Term Examination
2) Adjectives
3) Adverbs
4) Tamil Numbers
Week Eight
1) Impersonal Verbs-Part 1
2) Impersonal Verbs-Part 2
Week Nine
1) TAMIL FILM WEEKThe class will view and discuss an important Tamil feature film and write a short
paper focusing on its literary, linguistic and cultural aspects.
This paper will count as a Quiz

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Week Ten
1) Quiz on Impersonal Verbs
2) The Potential
3) The Permissive
4) The Prohibitive
Week Eleven
1) Present Tense
2) Future Tense
Week Twelve
1) Past Tense
Final Exam