Sinhala language

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Indo-Aryan language of the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka

Sinhala

Pronunciation
Native to
Region	South Asia
Ethnicity	Sinhalese people
Speakers	16 million
Language family	Indo-European
Early forms
Writing system
Official status
Regulated by

Sinhala (සිංහල, Siṁhala), also known as Sinhalese, is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people, the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka. It is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, alongside Tamil. Sinhala has a rich literary tradition and is written in the Sinhala script, which is a descendant of the ancient Brahmi script.

History

The Sinhala language has its roots in the Prakrit languages, which were spoken in ancient India. It evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit spoken in the Magadha region. The earliest inscriptions in Sinhala date back to the 3rd century BCE, during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa.

Phonology

Sinhala has a complex phonological system with a variety of vowels and consonants. It includes several retroflex sounds, which are characteristic of the Indo-Aryan languages. The language also features a distinction between short and long vowels.

Grammar

Sinhala grammar is characterized by its use of cases, tenses, and moods. It employs a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order, which is typical of many South Asian languages. The language also uses postpositions rather than prepositions.

Writing System

The Sinhala script is an abugida, where each consonant has an inherent vowel sound that can be changed with diacritics. The script is written from left to right and has a unique set of characters for representing both consonants and vowels.

Dialects

There are several dialects of Sinhala, including the Kandyan dialect and the Low Country dialect. These dialects differ mainly in pronunciation and certain vocabulary items.

Literature

Sinhala has a rich literary tradition that dates back over two millennia. The earliest known literary work in Sinhala is the Hela Atuwa, a commentary on the Tripitaka. Other significant works include the Kavsilumina and the Sandesha Kavyas.

Related Pages

• Sinhalese people
• Sri Lanka
• Tamil language
• Indo-Aryan languages
• Sinhala script
• Prakrit
• Magadhi Prakrit
• Brahmi script