Professor Pathima Pasmila Raviraj

"Tamil is very important to us," said Syed Ekhteyar Ali, director of the South Asian Language Program at U-M and professor of both Hindi and Urdu. 

"All of our South Asian languages that we teach here (Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu) are spoken in at least two countries and Tamil is no different. However, Tamil is the only language spoken in South India and belongs to the Dravidian language family. We knew we needed it back in the curriculum to enrich and broaden our offerings by adding the precious South Indian and Sri Lankan language and cultural contents. Now we have Professor Raviraj on our team, and we are very happy to welcome her." 

Current U-M students reflect on their reasons for taking U-M's newly relaunched Tamil classes with Professor Pathima Pasmila Raviraj:

"Tamil is an important language to learn, not only to learn about the culture but because Tamil is spoken in different states across India, as well as Sri Lanka. Tamil is important to me because it is part of my culture, and my mom's side speaks it."

 - Ami/Avik Patel, a beginner-level Tamil student at U-M. 

"I would very much recommend the class to others. It has a close-knit classroom environment, an excellent teacher, and, especially if they are Tamil or Indian, they can learn about their culture and/or language, too!"

"I have always been interested in learning Tamil because it is my family's language, but being born in America to Indian-born immigrants, I never had the chance to formally learn the language more than the conversation I picked up at home."

- Sanjana Ramanathan, intermediate-level Tamil student at U-M.   

"This summer, I took an intensive beginner course and was lucky enough to continue Tamil at U-M when it returned to our course offerings this year! Learning Tamil is an important connection to my heritage and as a literature student, I'm also interested in learning to read the script and find more contemporary work in Tamil."

"I am really enjoying the Tamil classes here! It's very accessible, and Professor Raviraj is an excellent teacher. My favorite part is discussing the differences in regional dialects and scripts, especially the changes between Indian and Sri Lankan contexts. It shows the diversity of the language."

"I believe it is important to learn Tamil as it is one of the oldest languages that has multiple intricate yet interesting patterns,"

- Thankith Solomon Janakiraman, an advanced-level Tamil student at U-M. 

"It's important for me to learn Tamil because I want to be able to communicate with that side of my family better and be able to speak another language,"

- Nikhil Rangarajan, a beginner-level student Tamil student at U-M. 

"I would highly recommend this class. Not only is it informative, but it is a fun environment with an awesome teacher! I've already greatly improved my listening skills and learned better grammar. I'm strengthening my vocabulary and want to continue that process."