When the word தமிழ் is sounded out phonetically according to its equivalent English pronunciations, it does not result in the word it is most common translated as: “Tamil.”
Thamil is a language whose earliest recorded writings are believed to date from the fourth century BCE, but its spoken roots suggest it may have had its origins millennia prior. It is believed to be the oldest living language of the world, as it is the only language of such age that is still currently actively used.
When recorded in English, the language is usually written using the term “Tamil,” so why is the Ilankai Thamil Manram Florida entitled with the word spelled “Thamil?” The short answer is that many sounds in the Thamil alphabet do not directly translate into English, therefore English-speakers have simplified the sounds based on what they believe they have heard, and the word தமிழ் has become “Tamil.”
த is phonetically translated to the sound “thă,” with the ă being pronounced with the same vowel sound as the English word “cup.” However, there is no direct pronunciation in English for the “th” sound, resulting in த being vocalized with the hard “t” sound and longer “a” sound akin to the word “back,” becoming “ta” instead.
மி is a combination letter which is actually the combination of a consonant sound and a vowel sound. ம is phonetically translated as “mă,” although if one wished to express just the consonant sound itself, it would be written as ம் (“m”). As such, the addition of the vowel sound in மி results in it being pronounced “mi,” with the same “i” sound as in the word “sit.”
ழ் is a consonant sound alone, which is phonetically translated as the sound “zh,” a sound which has no real equivalent in the English language. According to the Tamil Dictionary and Phrasebook, the “zh” sound should be pronounced as “‘r’ is pronounced in the American way, without rolling the ‘r.'” It is unclear whether it was converted to the “l” sound in English simply because there was no direct equivalent, or because to the English-speaking ear, it sounded more akin to an “l” sound.
Therefore, if தமிழ் were to be directly sounded out, it would roughly result in it being pronounced “thamizh.” Nevertheless, one language will often create a name for another language which is not identical with the way the second language might name itself. For example, in Spanish, English is known as “inglés,” so it is natural that the English term for “Tamil” will vary from the Thamil word for itself. However, because the Manram was founded by those who speak “Tamil,” the version spelled “Thamil” has been chosen to reflect that heritage.