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Tamil
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Tamil, people originally of southern India who speak Tamil, one of the principal languages of the Dravidian family. Numbering about 64 million in the early 21st century (including about 3 million speakers in northern and eastern Sri Lanka), Tamil speakers make up the majority of the population of Tamil Nadu state and also inhabit parts of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh states, all situated in the southernmost third of India. Emigrant Tamil may be found in some parts of Madagascar, the Malay Peninsula, Myanmar (Burma), Indochina, Thailand, eastern Africa, South Africa, the Fiji and Mauritius islands, and the West Indies. ...(100 of 572 words)