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Pali is the name given to the language of the scriptures (pali canon) of Theravada Buddhism, although Theravada tradition states that the language of the canon is Magadhi, the language spoken by Gotama Buddha. The term Pali originally referred to a canonical text or passage.

The Pali language of the Theravadin canon is a version of a dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan,  created by a mixing of the dialects in which the teachings of the Buddha were orally recorded and transmitted.

The Sinhalese tradition  states that the Theravadin canon was written down in the first century B.C.E. The language of the canon continued to be influenced by commentators and grammarians and by the native languages of the countries in which Theravada Buddhism became established over many centuries. The oral transmission of the Pali canon continued for several centuries after the death of the Buddha, even after the texts were first preserved in writing. No single script was ever developed for the language of the canon; scribes used the scripts of their native languages to transcribe the texts. Although monasteries in South India are known to have been important centres of Buddhist learning in the early part of this millennium, no manuscripts from anywhere in India except Nepal have survived. Almost all the manuscripts available to scholars can be dated to the 18th or 19th centuries C.E. and the textual traditions of the different Buddhist countries represented by these manuscripts show much evidence of interweaving. The pattern of recitation and validation of texts by councils of monks has continued into the 20th century.

Many Pali words have gradually become reasonably familiar in western Buddhist circles, for example - dukkha, kamma, dhamma, nibbana, sutta, metta, dana and sila.

There is a growing range of material on the web for those aspiring to learn Pali. One of the early issues is to become familiar with the alphabetic and Pali diacriticals.

As is often the case, the Access to insight web site contains much useful and detailed material about the Pali language and how to learn and write it.

Other useful links include:

The Digital Library and Museum of Buddhist Studies which includes translations of Buddhist texts, for example the Dhammapada, together with the original Pali, and sound files.

Also,  Andy’s Pali page (or should I write Paa.li) is a mine of information http://www.tipitaka.net/pali/andy/palfon.htm

and the complete Pali Canon can be downloaded from the Journal of Buddhist Ethics which also contains many carefully researched papers on Buddhist ethics.

Pali Verb Conjugation and Noun/Pronoun Declension Tables are very useful once you start learning the language.