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(Created page with "{{Infobox ethnic group | group = Sri Lankan Tamils | native_name = {{lang|ta|ஈழத் தமிழர்}}<br>{{lang|ta|இலங்கை தமிழர்}} | native_name_lang = ta | image = Ceylon Tamil girl 1910.jpeg | caption = A postcard image of a Sri Lankan Tamil woman, 1910. | flag = [https://www.google.com.au/search?q=sri+lanka&rlz=1C5CHFA_enAU797AU798&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqmPnxvpvcAhUQUN4KHT...") Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit nowiki added |
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The Sri Lankan Tamils are mostly [[Hindus]] with a significant [[Christian]] and Muslim population. [[Sri Lankan Tamil literature]] on topics including religion and the sciences flourished during the medieval period in the court of the Jaffna Kingdom. Since the beginning of the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] in the 1980s, it is distinguished by an emphasis on themes relating to the conflict. [[Sri Lankan Tamil dialects]] are noted for their [[archaism]] and retention of words not in everyday use in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. | The Sri Lankan Tamils are mostly [[Hindus]] with a significant [[Christian]] and Muslim population. [[Sri Lankan Tamil literature]] on topics including religion and the sciences flourished during the medieval period in the court of the Jaffna Kingdom. Since the beginning of the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] in the 1980s, it is distinguished by an emphasis on themes relating to the conflict. [[Sri Lankan Tamil dialects]] are noted for their [[archaism]] and retention of words not in everyday use in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. | ||
Since Sri Lanka gained [[Sri Lankan independence movement|independence]] from [[British Ceylon|Britain]] in 1948, relations between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities have been strained. Rising ethnic and political tensions following the [[Sinhala Only Act]], along with [[Riots in Sri Lanka|ethnic pogroms]] carried out by Sinhalese mobs in [[Gal Oya riots|1956]], [[1958 riots in Ceylon|1958]], [[1977 riots in Sri Lanka|1977]], [[Burning of Jaffna library|1981]] and [[Black July|1983]], led to the formation and strengthening of [[Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups|militant groups]] advocating [[Tamil Eelam|independence for Tamils]]. The ensuing [[Sri Lankan Civil War|civil war]] resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 people and the [[Enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka|forced disappearance]] and [[Sexual violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka|rape]] of thousands of others. The civil war ended in 2009 but there are continuing [[Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War|allegations of atrocities]] being committed by the [[Sri Lanka Armed Forces|Sri Lankan military]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11393458|title=Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka|date=20 September 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24849699|title='Tamils still being raped and tortured' in Sri Lanka|date=9 November 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/26/tamils-fear-prison-and-torture-in-sri-lanka-13-years-after-civil-war-ended|title='Tamils fear prison and torture in Sri Lanka 13 years after civil war ended|date=26 March 2022|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}} </ref> A [[Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka|United Nations panel]] found that as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed in the final months of the civil war.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Darusman|first1=Marzuki|url=https://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Sri_Lanka/POE_Report_Full.pdf|title=Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka|last2=Sooka|first2=Yasmin|last3=Ratner|first3=Steven R.|date=31 March 2011|publisher=[[United Nations]]|page=41|author-link1=Marzuki Darusman}}</ref> In January 2020, President [[Gotabaya Rajapaksa]] said that the estimated 20,000+ disappeared Sri Lankan Tamils were dead.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-01-20|title=Sri Lanka president says war missing are dead|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51184085|access-date=2020-06-08}}</ref> The end of the civil war has not fully improved conditions in Sri Lanka, with press freedom not being restored and the judiciary coming under political control.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa37/011/2012/en/|title=ASA 37/011/2012 Sri Lanka: Continuing Impunity, Arbitrary Detentions, Torture and Enforced Disappearances|date=30 October 2012|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/07/sri-lankan-press-freedom-under-attack-website-office-raids-and-online-content|title=Press Freedom Under Attack in Sri Lanka: Website Office Raids and Online Content Regulation|last=Kaiser|first=Katrina|date=30 July 2012|publisher=[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Jayasinghe|first=Amal|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hn9AglmnC6DNZxlKsgNw2snBfpnA?docId=CNG.5c69d36ecf59a5a931e1ea83f43326c5.5c1|title=Amnesty accuses Sri Lanka of targeting judges|date=2 November 2012|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref> | Since Sri Lanka gained [[Sri Lankan independence movement|independence]] from [[British Ceylon|Britain]] in 1948, relations between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities have been strained. Rising ethnic and political tensions following the [[Sinhala Only Act]], along with [[Riots in Sri Lanka|ethnic pogroms]] carried out by Sinhalese mobs in [[Gal Oya riots|1956]], [[1958 riots in Ceylon|1958]], [[1977 riots in Sri Lanka|1977]], [[Burning of Jaffna library|1981]] and [[Black July|1983]], led to the formation and strengthening of [[Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups|militant groups]] advocating [[Tamil Eelam|independence for Tamils]]. The ensuing [[Sri Lankan Civil War|civil war]] resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 people and the [[Enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka|forced disappearance]] and [[Sexual violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka|rape]] of thousands of others. The civil war ended in 2009 but there are continuing [[Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War|allegations of atrocities]] being committed by the [[Sri Lanka Armed Forces|Sri Lankan military]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11393458|title=Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka|date=20 September 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24849699|title='Tamils still being raped and tortured' in Sri Lanka|date=9 November 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/26/tamils-fear-prison-and-torture-in-sri-lanka-13-years-after-civil-war-ended|title='Tamils fear prison and torture in Sri Lanka 13 years after civil war ended|date=26 March 2022|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> A [[Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka|United Nations panel]] found that as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed in the final months of the civil war.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Darusman|first1=Marzuki|url=https://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Sri_Lanka/POE_Report_Full.pdf|title=Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka|last2=Sooka|first2=Yasmin|last3=Ratner|first3=Steven R.|date=31 March 2011|publisher=[[United Nations]]|page=41|author-link1=Marzuki Darusman}}</ref> In January 2020, President [[Gotabaya Rajapaksa]] said that the estimated 20,000+ disappeared Sri Lankan Tamils were dead.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-01-20|title=Sri Lanka president says war missing are dead|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51184085|access-date=2020-06-08}}</ref> The end of the civil war has not fully improved conditions in Sri Lanka, with press freedom not being restored and the judiciary coming under political control.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa37/011/2012/en/|title=ASA 37/011/2012 Sri Lanka: Continuing Impunity, Arbitrary Detentions, Torture and Enforced Disappearances|date=30 October 2012|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/07/sri-lankan-press-freedom-under-attack-website-office-raids-and-online-content|title=Press Freedom Under Attack in Sri Lanka: Website Office Raids and Online Content Regulation|last=Kaiser|first=Katrina|date=30 July 2012|publisher=[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Jayasinghe|first=Amal|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hn9AglmnC6DNZxlKsgNw2snBfpnA?docId=CNG.5c69d36ecf59a5a931e1ea83f43326c5.5c1|title=Amnesty accuses Sri Lanka of targeting judges|date=2 November 2012|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref> | ||
One-third of Sri Lankan Tamils now live outside Sri Lanka. While there was significant migration during the [[British Empire|British colonial]] era to Singapore and Malaysia, the civil war led to more than 800,000 Tamils leaving Sri Lanka, and many have [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora|left the country]] for destinations such as Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and India as refugees or emigrants. According to the pro-rebel [[TamilNet]], the [[Sexual violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka|persecution]] and [[Policy of standardisation|discrimination]] that Sri Lankan Tamils faced has resulted in some Tamils today not identifying themselves as Sri Lankans but instead identifying themselves as either [[Eelam]] Tamils, Ceylon Tamils, or simply Tamils.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tamilculture.com/why-im-not-sri-lankan|title = Why I'm Not 'Sri Lankan'}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=38093|title=TamilNet}}</ref> Many still support the idea of [[Tamil Eelam]], a proposed [[independent state]] that Sri Lankan Tamils [[Vaddukoddai Resolution|aspired to create]] in the [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North-East]] of Sri Lanka.<ref>Colombo Telegraph - Vaddukoddai Resolution: More Relevant Now Than Ever Before, https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/vaddukoddai-resolution-more-relevant-now-than-ever-before/</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF | title=Parliamentary Election - 1977 | publisher=Department of Elections Sri Lanka | access-date=March 14, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717002624/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF | archive-date=17 July 2011 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>Adrian Wijemanne, War and Peace in Post-colonial Ceylon, 1948-1991, 1996, p32 https://books.google.com/books?id=9EiToLETF5UC&pg=PA32</ref><ref>International Crisis Group - The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora after the LTTE, p13-14 https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/113104/186_the_sri_lankan_tamil_diaspora.pdf</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tamil National Alliance -A Sinking Ship|date=3 September 2018|url=https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/tamil-national-alliance-a-sinking-ship/}}</ref> Inspired by the [[Flag of tamil eelam|Tamil Eelam flag]], the [[tiger]] also used by the [[LTTE]], has become a symbol of [[Tamil nationalism#Sri Lanka|Tamil nationalism]] for some Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/eelam-tamil-flag-hoisted-valvettithurai|title = Eelam Tamil flag hoisted in Valvettithurai | Tamil Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamils-across-london-hoist-tamil-eelam-flags-build-maaveerar-naal|title = Tamils across London hoist Tamil Eelam flags in build-up to Maaveerar Naal | Tamil Guardian}}</ref> | One-third of Sri Lankan Tamils now live outside Sri Lanka. While there was significant migration during the [[British Empire|British colonial]] era to Singapore and Malaysia, the civil war led to more than 800,000 Tamils leaving Sri Lanka, and many have [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora|left the country]] for destinations such as Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and India as refugees or emigrants. According to the pro-rebel [[TamilNet]], the [[Sexual violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka|persecution]] and [[Policy of standardisation|discrimination]] that Sri Lankan Tamils faced has resulted in some Tamils today not identifying themselves as Sri Lankans but instead identifying themselves as either [[Eelam]] Tamils, Ceylon Tamils, or simply Tamils.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tamilculture.com/why-im-not-sri-lankan|title = Why I'm Not 'Sri Lankan'}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=38093|title=TamilNet}}</ref> Many still support the idea of [[Tamil Eelam]], a proposed [[independent state]] that Sri Lankan Tamils [[Vaddukoddai Resolution|aspired to create]] in the [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North-East]] of Sri Lanka.<ref>Colombo Telegraph - Vaddukoddai Resolution: More Relevant Now Than Ever Before, https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/vaddukoddai-resolution-more-relevant-now-than-ever-before/</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF | title=Parliamentary Election - 1977 | publisher=Department of Elections Sri Lanka | access-date=March 14, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717002624/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF | archive-date=17 July 2011 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>Adrian Wijemanne, War and Peace in Post-colonial Ceylon, 1948-1991, 1996, p32 https://books.google.com/books?id=9EiToLETF5UC&pg=PA32</ref><ref>International Crisis Group - The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora after the LTTE, p13-14 https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/113104/186_the_sri_lankan_tamil_diaspora.pdf</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tamil National Alliance -A Sinking Ship|date=3 September 2018|url=https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/tamil-national-alliance-a-sinking-ship/}}</ref> Inspired by the [[Flag of tamil eelam|Tamil Eelam flag]], the [[tiger]] also used by the [[LTTE]], has become a symbol of [[Tamil nationalism#Sri Lanka|Tamil nationalism]] for some Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/eelam-tamil-flag-hoisted-valvettithurai|title = Eelam Tamil flag hoisted in Valvettithurai | Tamil Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamils-across-london-hoist-tamil-eelam-flags-build-maaveerar-naal|title = Tamils across London hoist Tamil Eelam flags in build-up to Maaveerar Naal | Tamil Guardian}}</ref> | ||
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| caption2 = South Indian type black and red ware pot sherds found in Sri Lanka and dated to 1st to 2nd century CE. Displayed at the [[National Museum of Colombo]]. | | caption2 = South Indian type black and red ware pot sherds found in Sri Lanka and dated to 1st to 2nd century CE. Displayed at the [[National Museum of Colombo]]. | ||
}} | }} | ||
The [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous]] [[Vedda | The [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous]] [[Vedda]]s are ethnically related to people in South India and early populations of [[Southeast Asia]]. It is not possible to ascertain what languages that they originally spoke as [[Vedda language]] is considered diverged from its original source (due to Sinhalese language influence).<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Vedda|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]]| location=London|year=2008|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/624466/Vedda|access-date=23 June 2008}}</ref> | ||
According to [[K. Indrapala]], [[cultural diffusion]], rather than migration of people, spread the [[Prakrit]] and [[Tamil language]]s from peninsular India into an existing [[mesolithic]] population, centuries before the [[common era]].{{Sfn|Indrapala|2007|pp=53–54}} [[Tamil Brahmi]] and Tamil-Prakrit scripts were used to write the Tamil language during this period on the island.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Schalk|first1=Peter|year=2002|title=Buddhism Among Tamils in Pre-colonial Tamilakam and Ilam: Prologue. The Pre-Pallava and the Pallava Period|journal=Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis|publisher=[[Uppsala University]]|volume=19–20|pages=100–220|isbn=978-91-554-5357-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2QEAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> | According to [[K. Indrapala]], [[cultural diffusion]], rather than migration of people, spread the [[Prakrit]] and [[Tamil language]]s from peninsular India into an existing [[mesolithic]] population, centuries before the [[common era]].{{Sfn|Indrapala|2007|pp=53–54}} [[Tamil Brahmi]] and Tamil-Prakrit scripts were used to write the Tamil language during this period on the island.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Schalk|first1=Peter|year=2002|title=Buddhism Among Tamils in Pre-colonial Tamilakam and Ilam: Prologue. The Pre-Pallava and the Pallava Period|journal=Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis|publisher=[[Uppsala University]]|volume=19–20|pages=100–220|isbn=978-91-554-5357-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2QEAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> | ||
During the [[Protohistory|protohistoric period]] (1000-500 BCE) Sri Lanka was culturally united with [[South India|Southern India]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30208096.ece |title=Reading the past in a more inclusive way - Interview with Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne |work=Frontline (2006) |date=26 January 2006 }}</ref> and shared the same megalithic burials, [[Black and red ware culture|pottery]], iron technology, farming techniques and [[megalithic graffiti symbols|megalithic graffiti]].<ref name="Seneviratne">{{cite book |last=Seneviratne |first = Sudharshan|title=Social base of early Buddhism in south east India and Sri Lanka|date=1984 }}</ref><ref name="Karunaratne">{{cite book |last=Karunaratne |first = Priyantha|title=Secondary state formation during the early iron age on the island of Sri Lanka : the evolution of a periphery|date=2010 }}</ref> This cultural complex spread from southern India along with Dravidian clans such as the [[Velir]], prior to the migration of [[Prakrit]] speakers.<ref>Robin Conningham - Anuradhapura - The British-Sri Lankan Excavations at Anuradhapura Salgaha Watta | During the [[Protohistory|protohistoric period]] (1000-500 BCE) Sri Lanka was culturally united with [[South India|Southern India]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30208096.ece |title=Reading the past in a more inclusive way - Interview with Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne |work=Frontline (2006) |date=26 January 2006 }}</ref> and shared the same megalithic burials, [[Black and red ware culture|pottery]], iron technology, farming techniques and [[megalithic graffiti symbols|megalithic graffiti]].<ref name="Seneviratne">{{cite book |last=Seneviratne |first = Sudharshan|title=Social base of early Buddhism in south east India and Sri Lanka|date=1984 }}</ref><ref name="Karunaratne">{{cite book |last=Karunaratne |first = Priyantha|title=Secondary state formation during the early iron age on the island of Sri Lanka : the evolution of a periphery|date=2010 }}</ref> This cultural complex spread from southern India along with Dravidian clans such as the [[Velir]], prior to the migration of [[Prakrit]] speakers.<ref name="Seneviratne"/><ref>Robin Conningham - Anuradhapura - The British-Sri Lankan Excavations at Anuradhapura Salgaha Watta | ||
Volumes 1 and 2 (1999/2006)</ref><ref>Sudharshan Seneviratne (1989) - Pre-State Chieftains And Servants of the State: A Case Study of Parumaka -http://dlib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/2078</ref | Volumes 1 and 2 (1999/2006)</ref><ref>Sudharshan Seneviratne (1989) - Pre-State Chieftains And Servants of the State: A Case Study of Parumaka -http://dlib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/2078</ref> | ||
Settlements of culturally similar early populations of ancient Sri Lanka and ancient [[Tamil Nadu]] in India were excavated at [[Megaliths|megalithic burial sites]] at Pomparippu on the west coast and in [[Kathiraveli]] on the east coast of the island. Bearing a remarkable resemblance to burials in the [[Early Pandyan Kingdom]], these sites were established between the 5th century BCE and 2nd century CE.{{Sfn|de Silva|2005|p=129}}{{Sfn|Indrapala|2007|p=91}} | Settlements of culturally similar early populations of ancient Sri Lanka and ancient [[Tamil Nadu]] in India were excavated at [[Megaliths|megalithic burial sites]] at Pomparippu on the west coast and in [[Kathiraveli]] on the east coast of the island. Bearing a remarkable resemblance to burials in the [[Early Pandyan Kingdom]], these sites were established between the 5th century BCE and 2nd century CE.{{Sfn|de Silva|2005|p=129}}{{Sfn|Indrapala|2007|p=91}} | ||
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Some residents of these two districts, especially the [[Karaiyar]]s, are bilingual, ensuring that the Tamil language survives as a [[lingua franca]] among migrating maritime communities across the island. Negombo Tamil dialect is spoken by about 50,000 people. This number does not include others, outside of Negombo city, who speak local varieties of the Tamil language.{{Sfn|Gair|1998|p=171}} The bilingual catholic [[Karava]]s are also found in the western coastal regions, who trace their origins to the Tamil [[Karaiyar]] however identify themselves as [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bonta|first=Steven|date=2010|title=Negombo Fishermen's Tamil: A Case of Indo-Aryan Contact-Induced Change in a Dravidian Dialect|jstor=41330804|journal=Anthropological Linguistics|volume=52|issue=3/4|pages=310–343|doi=10.1353/anl.2010.0021|s2cid=144089805}}</ref> | Some residents of these two districts, especially the [[Karaiyar]]s, are bilingual, ensuring that the Tamil language survives as a [[lingua franca]] among migrating maritime communities across the island. Negombo Tamil dialect is spoken by about 50,000 people. This number does not include others, outside of Negombo city, who speak local varieties of the Tamil language.{{Sfn|Gair|1998|p=171}} The bilingual catholic [[Karava]]s are also found in the western coastal regions, who trace their origins to the Tamil [[Karaiyar]] however identify themselves as [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bonta|first=Steven|date=2010|title=Negombo Fishermen's Tamil: A Case of Indo-Aryan Contact-Induced Change in a Dravidian Dialect|jstor=41330804|journal=Anthropological Linguistics|volume=52|issue=3/4|pages=310–343|doi=10.1353/anl.2010.0021|s2cid=144089805}}</ref> | ||
Negombo Tamil indicates that the [[Karava | Negombo Tamil indicates that the [[Karava]]s immigrated to Sri Lanka much later than Tamils immigrated to Jaffna. This would suggest that the Negombo dialect continued to evolve in the Coromandel Coast before it arrived in Sri Lanka and began to get influenced by Sinhala. So, in some ways, the dialect is closer to those spoken in Tamil Nadu than to Jaffna Tamil.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/1020026/how-a-unique-tamil-dialect-survived-among-a-fishing-community-in-sri-lanka|title = How a unique Tamil dialect survived among a fishing community in Sri Lanka| date=23 March 2022 }}</ref> | ||
Some [[Sri Lankan place name etymology#Tamil|Tamil place names]] have been retained in these districts. Outside the Tamil-dominated northeast, the Puttalam District has the highest percentage of place names of Tamil origin in Sri Lanka. Composite or hybrid place names are also present in these districts.<ref>{{cite conference|first=K.|last=Kularatnam|title=Tamil Place Names in Ceylon outside the Northern and Eastern Provinces|book-title=Proceedings of the First International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia vol.1|pages=486–493|publisher=International Association of Tamil Research |date=April 1966}}</ref> | Some [[Sri Lankan place name etymology#Tamil|Tamil place names]] have been retained in these districts. Outside the Tamil-dominated northeast, the Puttalam District has the highest percentage of place names of Tamil origin in Sri Lanka. Composite or hybrid place names are also present in these districts.<ref>{{cite conference|first=K.|last=Kularatnam|title=Tamil Place Names in Ceylon outside the Northern and Eastern Provinces|book-title=Proceedings of the First International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia vol.1|pages=486–493|publisher=International Association of Tamil Research |date=April 1966}}</ref> | ||