tamili

Tamili is a term occasionally used as an alternate transliteration or historical spelling for the Tamil language and its speakers. In modern English, the standard name is Tamil, and most contemporary sources avoid Tamili. The term has limited usage today and may appear in older academic works or in some transliteration schemes.

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken by Tamil communities in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and the global Tamil diaspora. In India, it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and is the official language of the state of Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, it is an official language and a significant minority language. Tamil has also gained widespread use among immigrant and expatriate communities in several countries.

Tamil has a rich literary tradition dating back over two millennia, with classical works such as Sangam literature. The language uses the Tamil script, a syllabary derived from Brahmi. Modern Tamil comprises multiple dialects, including those spoken in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and overseas communities. It is characterized by agglutinative morphology and a subject–object–verb word order, with extensive inflection for tense, mood, and aspect.

Cultural significance of Tamil extends to cinema, music, literature, and daily life in Tamil-speaking regions. The language is recognized for its classical status by UNESCO, reflecting its long literary history and continued vitality. The Tamili spelling variant remains rare and nonstandard in current usage, with Tamil as the preferred form in academic and global contexts.