Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s44: 7.40 Syntax in Early Tamil inscriptions
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s44
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7.40 Syntax in Early Tamil inscriptions
c27.s44.1
The Tamil-Brāhmī and Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions included in the Corpus are all very brief records. The two longest inscriptions (Nos. *61* & *62*) have only 15 words each. The average length of an inscription is 3 to 4 words only. Only a few inscriptions have two sentences each (Nos. *1*, *2*, *24*, *49*, *55*, *61*, *62*, *63*, *73*, *76* & *115*). At the other extreme, there are several inscriptions with only a single word (e.g., Nos. *109-111*) or a string of nouns and attributes without structural features (e.g., No. *56*). These inscriptions are excluded from the following discussion.
c27.s44.2
It is convenient to classify the sentences in the Corpus on the basis of verbs as follows.
c27.s44.3
(1) Sentences with participial nouns as verbs.
(2) Sentences with adjectival participles as verbs.
(3) Sentences without verbs.
(4) Adverbial clauses.