BnF INDIEN 189: Grammar of Tamil by Pierre de La Lane (1669-1746)
A blogpost by Cristina Muru
The source of all the pictures of INDIEN 189 is BnF
BnF INDIEN 189 (ex- Tamoul 189) consists in 28 paper leaves bound in one volume (260 x 200 mm). An unfoliated folio comes first, bearing the title-page (Fig. 1) on the recto and a preface (“Préface”) on the verso. 26 folios follow, all paginated except for p. 52. The original pagination appears on the upper left corner of the page on the recto of folio and on the upper right corner on the recto. Finally, there is a back guard leaf.

Fig. 1 — BnF INDIEN 189, title-page — Courtesy of BnF
This manuscript is a grammar of Tamil written in French. Its title is Grammaire Pour apprendre la Langue Tamoul Ditte Vulgairement le Malabar [Grammar for learning the Tamil language vulgarly called the Malabar].1
Cabaton in his Catalogue sommaire (1912, p. 31) describes the manuscript as follows:
Grammaire tamoule, par le P. de La Lave, S. J. 1728. Papier. 92 pages, 240 x 180 mm. (Ancien fonds, n° CCVII).
Indeed, the manuscript is mentioned in the “ancient fonds” under n° CCVII (cf. Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum bibliothecae regiae. Tomus primus. Pars prima, complectens codices manuscriptos orientales, 1739, p. 444):
Codex chartaceus. Ibi coninetur liber Grammaticus inscriptus Grammaire pour apprendre la language Tamoul, dite vulgairement le Malabar, ou la langue Malabare. Lingua est peninsulæ Indicæ à promontorio Comorino usque ad gradum latitudinis septentrionalis decimum quartum. Alia tamen in regno Maissour, sed parùm diversa, usurpatur. Hujusce operis auctor unus è Missionariis Gallis Societatis Jesu. Anno 1728.
The final colophon in the manuscript gives the date (November 18, 1728) and place (Pondicherry) where the grammar was composed, but not the name of its author, a Jesuit missionary of the “Mission du Carnate” (Fig. 2):
Faite a Pontichéry et achevée le 18.° 9.bre 1728
Par un Missionnaire de la Comp.e de Jesus, de la mission du
– Carnat –

Fig. 2 — BnF INDIEN 189, p. 52 — Courtesy of BnF
Like Cabaton, Vinson wrongly writes, in the proofreadings of his unpublished catalogue, the name of Father La Lane as La Lave (1867, p. 46). Vinson was however aware of the correct name of the author, as attested in his handwritten catalogue (BnF INDIEN 1062, f66r):
“Grammaire pour apprendre la langue tamoul, ditte vulgairement le Malabar”. A la fin: “Faitte à Pondichéry et achevée le 18 novembre 1728, par un missionaire de la Compagnie de Jésus de la mission du Carnat”.
Une note d’Anquetil dit que l’auteur de cette grammaire est le Père de La Lave.
Papier. Pet. In-4° – 92 pages – (Ancien fonds, n° CCVII.).2
The grammar is divided into three sections, each one with a different number of chapters.
The first section, Premiere Partie. Des Lettres de l’Alphabet Tamoul [First part. On the letters of the Tamil Alphabet] (pp. 1–9) includes 2 chapters, which describe Tamil vowels and consonants, while a short preface, describing the extension of the geographical area where the Tamil language is spoken, precedes it on the verso of the front unfoliated folio:
-
- Chapitre 1er Des Voyelles des Tamouls [1st Chapter 1st. On the vowels of the Tamils]
- Chapitre 2e Des Consonnes des Tamouls [2nd Chapter 2nd. On the consonants of the Tamils]
The second section (pp. 9–39) is divided into five chapters:
-
- Chapitre 1er Des Noms Tamouls [1st Chapter. On Tamil nouns], pp. 1–14. Nouns are classified into five different declensions: the first one for nouns ending in –am; the second for masculine nouns ending in –an and –en; the third for nouns ending in –ṭu and –ṟu; the fourth for non-masculine nouns ending in ṉ, l, ḷ, r; and the fifth for nouns ending in vowel with the exception of those already included in the third class.
- Chapitre 2e. Des Pronoms [2nd Chapter. On pronouns], pp. 15–18. It differentiates between personal, interrogative, demonstrative, and some other types of pronouns.
- Chapitre 3e. Des Numeraux [3rd Chapter. On numerals], pp. 18–20.
- Chapitre 4e. Des adverbes Tamouls [4th Chapter. On Tamil adverbs], p. 21.
- Chapitre 5e. Des Verbes Tamouls [5th Chapter. On Tamil Verbs], pp. 21–39. In the first paragraph (pp. 22–27) the verb is conjugated into four modes (Indicative, Imperative, Optative, and Subjunctive) and four tenses (present, imperfect preterite, perfect preterite, future). It also discusses conditional, infinitive, gerund, preterite verbal participle, and passive. The second paragraph (pp. 28–37) groups verbs into seven classes, on the base of the formation of the past and future tenses. It further discusses impersonal and defective verbs, as well as the verbal infinitive.
The third and final section (pp. 40–52) consists in only one chapter which focuses on syntax: De quelques Regles de Concordance et de syntaxe absolument necessaires pour entrer dans la Genie de la langue Tamoul [On a few rules about the concordance and the syntax which are absolutely necessary for entering in the genius of the Tamil language].
Only the first and the second chapters of the second section are layed-out into two columns marked in red ink. The formatting of the text reveals that the grammar was composed for a public rather than personal use. In fact, the page layout delimits a writing surface between the right (25 mm), left (20 mm), upper (25 mm), and bottom margins (15 mm) (see Figs. 3‒4).
Any mistake is corrected by pasting a piece of paper bearing the correct version (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5 — BnF INDIEN 189, p. 49 — Courtesy of BnF
The type of paper is “laid” paper. It is thin, and the pulp touches the wires, making a latticework pattern easily seen when the leaf is held against a light. The paper has a watermark (Fig. 6). Unlike in this back guard leaf, it is found, throughout the manuscript, in the centre at the place of the binding.

Fig. 6— BnF INDIEN 189, back guard leaf — Courtesy of BnF
- The title is slightly different in wording on p. 1: Grammaire Pour apprendre La Langue Vulgairement appellée le Malabar. [↩]
- The note which Vinson refers to is found in the manuscript BnF INDIEN 192, f143v. [↩]
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Emmanuel Francis (October 31, 2019). BnF INDIEN 189: Grammar of Tamil by Pierre de La Lane (1669-1746). Texts Surrounding Texts. Retrieved April 25, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/uxyi