Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s4.7
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s4.7
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c25.s4.7
(e) It is revealing that *Tolkāppiyam* places *ṟ*, *ṉ*, *l* and *ḷ* at the end of the series of stops, nasals and liquids (*Tol. Eḻu.* 19-21). This arrangement deviates from the order based on articulatory phonetics. This small but significant detail indicates that the four special letters were originally regarded as additions to the alphabet taken over from Brāhmī. The additional letter *ṉ* is also described as the last in the Tamil alphabet (ibid. 1).