Madurai Tamil (மதுரை தமிழ்), known as Madurai Bashai, is the dialect of Tamil spoken in the region of Madurai and over a vast geographical area of South Tamil Nadu, the area once ruled by the Pandiya kings.
It differs substantially from Nellai Tamil, a region which was also part of the Pandiya domain.
[1][2] The common dialect has made the term Madurai refer to a much larger area than it actually is.
It is not uncommon for people from any of the above cities to introduce themselves as people of Madurai.