Re: Learning Tamil
vaNakkam ShivaFan.
First learn the Tamizh alphabets thoroughly. Although the sound is the same for the alphabets of most Indian languages, you would notice that for consonants like 'ka,Ta,ta,pa' there is only one form in Tamizh which is pronounced in all the four ways depending on the context, and this would surely be confusing, until one gets sufficiently acquainted with such quirks that are common in English.
Going by their titles, it seems the books you have ordered should give you a good idea of the language and provide some basic skills. It seems that you might supplment that knowledge with what you can gather from this Website:
http://www.panai.org/learntamil/
http://www.learntamil.com/
http://www.tamilcube.com/tamil.aspx
I would also suggest that you try the Baraha Indian languages software and learn the transliteration scheme they give (which is similar to Avinash Chopde's ITRANS), since this scheme is free of diacritic marks and is easy to read and type.
http://www.baraha.com
All the best!
रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
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