The script of the language is very old. It has 12 consonants, 18 vowels, and the "āytam" ஃ, which is neither a consonant nor a vowel. The "āytam "can be used with other letters to represent sounds not in the Tamil script, such as" "'f"'. "The consonants and vowels can mix to form compound letters. Altogether, there are 247 sounds/sets of sounds in the Tamil script. Tamil, like English, is written from left to right.