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Tamil and Cantonese


Cantonese and Tamil


Countries

Countries
Malaysia, Mauritius, Puducherry, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu   
Hong Kong, Macau   

Total No. Of Countries
6   
9
2   
13

National Language
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu   
China, Guangdong   

Second Language
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, kerala, Puducherry   
Not spoken in any of the countries   

Speaking Continents
Asia   
Asia   

Minority Language
Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles   
Hawaii   

Regulated By
Official language Commission of Government of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur Tamil University   
Civil Service Bureau, Government of Hong Kong, Official Language Division   

Interesting Facts
  • Tamil is the oldest language in the world. Tamil was spoken in South India more than 5000 years ago.
  • The first legally recognized Classical Language of India is Tamil.
    •   
  • Cantonese have lot of slangs, many of them include words that do not make sense at all and some also have English in them.
  • Even though Cantonese and Mandarin are dialects of Chinese, Cantonese has 8 tones instead of Mandarin's 4.
  

Similar To
Malayalam   
Chinese Language   

Derived From
Not Available   
Not Available   

Alphabets

Alphabets in
Tamil-Alphabets.jpg#200   
Cantonese-Alphabets.jpg#200   

Alphabets
247   
99+
28   
10

Phonology
  
  

How Many Vowels
12   
9
8   
5

How Many Consonants
18   
8
20   
10

Scripts
Tamil   
Chinese Characters and derivatives   

Writing Direction
Left-To-Right, Horizontal   
Left-To-Right, Horizontal, Top-To-Bottom   

Hard to Learn
  
  

Language Levels
3   
2
10   
8

Time Taken to Learn
44 weeks   
11
88 weeks   
13

Greetings

Hello
வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)   
您好   

Thank You
நன்றி (Naṉṟi)   
谢谢   

How Are You?
நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்? (Nīṅkaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ?)   
你好吗?   

Good Night
நல்ல இரவு (Good night) / irravu vanakkam (Good night)   
晚安   

Good Evening
நல்ல மாலை (Nalla mālai)/ மாலை (irravu vanakkam)   
晚上好   

Good Afternoon
பிற்பகல் வணக்கம் (perpagal vanakkam)   
下午好   

Good Morning
காலை வணக்கம் (Kaalai Vanakkam)   
早上好   

Please
தயவு (Tayavu)   
请   

Sorry
மன்னிக்கவும் (Maṉṉikkavum)   
遗憾   

Bye
சென்று வருகிறேன் (Sendru Varukiren)   
再见   

I Love You
நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (Naan Unnai Kadalikiren)   
我爱你   

Excuse Me
என்னை மன்னியுங்கள் (Eṉṉai maṉṉiyuṅkaḷ)   
原谅我   

Dialects

Dialect 1
Kongu   
Guangzhou   

Where They Speak
Kongu   
outside mainland China   

Dialect 2
Madurai Tamil   
Xiguan   

Where They Speak
Madurai, South Tamil Nadu   
Hong Kong   

Dialect 3
Tirunelveli Tamil   
Hong Kong   

Where They Speak
South Tamil Nadu, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli   
Hong Kong   

Total No. Of Dialects
10   
10
3   
3

How Many People Speak

How Many People Speak?
78.00 million   
21
60.00 million   
27

Speaking Population
1.06 %   
19
16.00 %   
2

Native Speakers
70.00 million   
15
52.00 million   
21

Second Language Speakers
8.00 million   
24
Not Available   

Native Name
தமிழ்   
Kwang Tung Wa   

Alternative Names
Damulian, Tamal, Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili   
Guangfu, Metropolitan Cantonese   

French Name
tamoul   
Not Available   

German Name
Tamil   
Not Available   

Pronunciation
[t̪ɐmɨɻ]   
Not Available   

Ethnicity
Tamil people or Tamilans   
Not Available   

History

Origin
300 BC   
17th century   

Language Family
Dravidian Family   
Sino-Tibetan Family   

Subgroup
Not Available   
Not Available   

Branch
Not Available   
Not Available   

Language Forms
  
  

Early Forms
Old Tamil and Middle Tamil   
No early forms   

Standard Forms
Modern Tamil   
Standard Cantonese   

Language Position
18   
16
Not Available   

Signed Forms
Signed Tamil   
Not Available   

Scope
Individual   
Not Available   

Code

ISO 639 1
ta   
No data available   

ISO 639 2
  
  

ISO 639 2/T
tam   
Not Available   

ISO 639 2/B
tam   
Not Available   

ISO 639 3
tam   
No data available   

ISO 639 6
tam   
Not Available   

Glottocode
tami1289, oldt1248   
cant1236   

Linguasphere
tami1289   
No data available   

Types of Language
  
  

Language Type
Living   
Not Available   

Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Object-Verb   
Not Available   

Language Morphological Typology
Not Available   
Not Available   

Summary >>
<< Code

All Tamil and Cantonese Dialects

Most languages have dialects where each dialect differ from other dialect with respect to grammar and vocabulary. Here you will get to know all Tamil and Cantonese dialects. Various dialects of Tamil and Cantonese language differ in their pronunciations and words. Dialects of Tamil are spoken in different Tamil Speaking Countries whereas Cantonese Dialects are spoken in different Cantonese speaking countries. Also the number of people speaking Tamil vs Cantonese Dialects varies from few thousands to many millions. Some of the Tamil dialects include: Kongu, Madurai Tamil. Cantonese dialects include: Guangzhou , Xiguan. Also learn about dialects in South American Languages and North American Languages.

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Tamil and Cantonese Speaking population

Tamil and Cantonese speaking population is one of the factors based on which Tamil and Cantonese languages can be compared. The total count of Tamil and Cantonese Speaking population in percentage is also given. The percentage of people speaking Tamil language is 1.06 % whereas the percentage of people speaking Cantonese language is 16.00 %. When we compare the speaking population of any two languages we get to know which of two languages is more popular. Find more details about how many people speak Tamil and Cantonese on Tamil vs Cantonese where you will get native speakers, speaking population in percentage and native names.

Tamil and Cantonese Language Codes

Tamil and Cantonese language codes are used in those applications where using language names are tedious. Tamil and Cantonese Language Codes include all the international language codes, glottocodes and linguasphere.

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