Languages in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka - Colombo - Negombo - Dambulla - Kandy
Ethnic Sinhalese people make up around 74% of the population, therefore Sinhalese language is the most common language in the island country of Sri Lanka. There are many languages in Sri Lanka as it is the home of several other communities. Sinhala language is spoken by nearly sixteen million people, amongst whom nearly thirteen million are native speakers. It has originated from one of the branches of the Indo Aryan group of languages which in turn is a branch of Indo European languages.Sinhala is recognized by the constitution of the country and the alphabets of this language have originated from the Brahmi script. Dhiveni which is spoken in Maldives can be termed as the closest language to Sinhala. The development of this language can be broadly divided in to 4 periods like Sinhala Prakrit, Proto Sinhala, Medieval Sinhala and Modern Sinhala. The most noticeable points of this language are, there are no aspirate stops, all long vowels are shortened, consonant clusters and germinate consonants are simplified. There are also several common features with another widely spoken tongue in Sri Lanka, Tamil.
Ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils speak their native tongue with élan in Sri Lanka and it is also one of the constitutionally recognized languages in Sri Lanka. Tamil is spoken by around 74 million speakers globally. It is a very old language belonging to the Dravidian family and has no relation to the Sanskrit family. Literary works in this language are found in palm leaf manuscripts in Sri Lanka, but by all accounts and proofs, it was sometime in 2nd Century CE that the first extant works were composed. Tamil language has under its canopy Irula, Kaikadi, Betta Kurumba, Sholaga and Yerukula languages. Tamil communities in Jaffna, Colombo and the hilly regions of Sri Lanka speak this language.
Any comment on the languages in Sri Lanka will never be complete without English which has become one of the universally spoken languages in the country. Sri Lankan people in general converse in English when dealing with tourists or any other international meets.
Ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils speak their native tongue with élan in Sri Lanka and it is also one of the constitutionally recognized languages in Sri Lanka. Tamil is spoken by around 74 million speakers globally. It is a very old language belonging to the Dravidian family and has no relation to the Sanskrit family. Literary works in this language are found in palm leaf manuscripts in Sri Lanka, but by all accounts and proofs, it was sometime in 2nd Century CE that the first extant works were composed. Tamil language has under its canopy Irula, Kaikadi, Betta Kurumba, Sholaga and Yerukula languages. Tamil communities in Jaffna, Colombo and the hilly regions of Sri Lanka speak this language.
Any comment on the languages in Sri Lanka will never be complete without English which has become one of the universally spoken languages in the country. Sri Lankan people in general converse in English when dealing with tourists or any other international meets.
