In 2014, Canada established Tamil Heritage Month to celebrate the Tamil community and all of their contributions. Canada has one of the largest Tamil communities outside of Asia. With over 2000 years of history, Tamil is one of the world's oldest languages and is considered a classical language in India. It is spoken in Tamil Nadu (a state of India) and throughout Asia. Tamil is an official language of both Sri Lanka and Singapore. There are also significant Tamil-speaking communities in Malaysia, Mauritius and Canada. The theme for Tamil Heritage Month 2025 is "Celebrating Tamil Arts and Honouring Tamil Artists."
Kitchener Public Library Resources
Reading List
Explore the Tamil language and culture through this reading list created for Tamil Heritage Month. Use your library card to borrow one of these titles written by Tamil authors!
Virtual Library Resources
The Virtual Library is a collection of free online resources that are available to Kitchener Public Library users. We've curated a few resources that can help you learn more about the Tamil language.
- Mango Languages is a language learning app with over 70 languages. The Tamil learning module will teach you vocabulary in four categories: people, travel, activities and places. Start learning Tamil today!
- Lote4Kids has more than 3000 children's books in more than 65 different languages. Browse the list of languages to find the Tamil stories. Tamil books are available for all reading levels and include English translations.
- Hoopla is a collection of movies, TV shows, music and audiobooks that you can access online. "Traveling in Tamil" is a Hoopla audiobook with over 300 essential Tamil words and phrases.