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Lesson 5
P20135 Solaakkam and Lexicons
This lesson traces the origin of lexicons in Tamil.
It discusses how the efforts at ‘solaakkam’ led to the
creation of dictionaries of technical terms and
dictionaries of official terms in Tamil. It speaks of the
contradictions and inconsistencies in the compilation of
these lexicons and analyses the means of overcoming
them.The earliest references to research on words and
compilation of words occur in ‘Tholkaappiam’. Since the
8th century A.D., several thesauruses i.e., (nigandugal)
have been compiled in Tamil. The most ancient of
these is ‘Divagaram’, which was the basis for several
other thesauruses that followed. These thesauruses did
not give importance to the meaning of the words. They
merely listed the synonyms of a given word. Moreover,
they contained a large number of archaic words. There
was an urgent need for a compendium of contemporary
words and their meanings. The ‘Agarathi Nigandu’
brought out by Chidambara Ravanesithar in 1594 filled
this lacunae. This was the first lexicon in Tamil to list
words in their alphabetical order. The method of listing
words according to the alphabetical order was
introduced in Tamil by the Europeans.Many of the early lexicons in Tamil were compiled
by Europeans. Today there are hundreds of lexicons in
Tamil. The growth of science and technology has given
rise to the need for dictionaries of technical terms.
Similarly, there is also an urgent need for a compilation
of official terms in Tamil. The first dictionary of
technical terms in Tamil was published by an American
called Fish Green in 1875. The dictionary of technical
terms brought out by the Chennai Tamil Sangam in 1936
was a commendable effort. In 1931, T.V. Sambasivam
published dictionaries of technical terms pertaining to
Medicine, Chemistry and Botany. In 1957 a committee of
experts constituted by the Government of Tamilnadu
brought out a dictionary of official terms in Tamil.
Following this, efforts were taken to create
‘Thunaiagaraathigal ’ or dictionaries of official terms
pertaining to the various departments of the
Government.So far 44 such ‘Thunaiagaraathigal’ have
been compiled.
The history of dictionaries in Tamil has been
shaped at various stages by the political outlook of
Nationalists, Tamil enthusiasts, experts in ‘solaakkam’and
linguists. Dictionaries of Technical terms unlike other
common dictionaries are purely need-based and have to
be revised and updated from time to time. There are
several problems confronting lexicographers who attempt
to compile dictionaries of technical terms.
