> try pronouncing the word “Tamil” from the language Tamil. I haven’t heard anyone who wasn’t a native speaker pronounce it correctly. (non-Tamil here) Off the

> try pronouncing the word “Tamil” from the language Tamil. I haven’t heard anyone who wasn’t a native speaker pronounce it correctly. (non-Tamil here) Off the top of my head I can think of at least two distinct ways I have heard native Tamils speakers pronounce the name, and both are convinced that they are correct. Plenty of Tamils pronounce it with a retroflex 'r', while a majority consider it archaic and pronounce it with a retroflex 'l'. The ழ was originally kind of a retroflex 'r' sound, but many Tamils consider it archaic & pronounce it as similar to a retroflex 'l' ள் - when questioned a native Tamil speaker from Tamil Nadu told me that ள் and ழ are pronounced the same. Consider the word வாழை பழம் (banana), with two retroflex 'r' sounds. I have heard people pronounce it with both (and how its retained in Malayalam), and many will change one of them to a retroflex 'l'. In my restricted sample of asking a handful of native speakers to say the word, at least one consistently changed both to a retroflex 'l'.