Sri Lanka Languages
Sri Lanka is an island nation of southern Asia located off the southeastern coast of India.
It covers an area of 25,332 square miles and has a population of 20,277,597.
The population here is varied and represents a multitude of cultures, including those from other countries.
Sri Lanka’s most widely spoken language is Sinhalese.
We are in a country where many languages have lived together and therefore the linguistic diversity of Sri Lanka is very rich, currently the most spoken are: Sinhalese, Tamil and English.
One of the official and most widely used languages of Sri Lanka is Sinhalese
It is the native language of the Sinhalese people, for a total of about 16 million.
Another 4 million speak Sinhalese as a second language.
This language belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. Within that category, it is part of the Indo-Aryan branch.
It is written in the Sinhalese alphabet which descends from the ancient Indian writing Brahmi.
Modern Sinhalese is traced in the Dravidian language, as well as in Pali and in the medieval version of Sinhalese.
He also borrowed words from Tamil, Portuguese, Dutch and English.
The community of Rodiya in Sri Lanka speaks a Sinhalese dialect called Rodiya.
It is considered an indication of belonging to a lower caste in society.
Tamil, the second official language of Sri Lanka
Within Sri Lanka, there are believed to be around 4.7 million Tamil speakers; although worldwide, there are 70 million.
The language belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is one of the oldest continuously spoken classical languages in the world.
Researchers have discovered writings that date back to 500 B.C. around and his literary works date back over 2000 years.
However, its use has been relegated to areas where Tamil speakers make up the majority of the population.
The perceived inequality between Tamil and Sinhalese led to the civil war from 1983 to 2009 between the government of Sri Lanka and the liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam.
For those Tamil speakers who don’t speak Sinhala, it can be difficult to find work or even do government paperwork.
Creole languages and minority languages spoken in Sri Lanka
In addition to the two official languages in Sri Lanka, several minority languages are also spoken.
Malaysian Creole Sri Lanka is the native language of some 46,000 people.
It is considered an Austronesian language and is made up of a mix of Sinhalese, Tamil and Malay.
The language originally developed with the arrival of Malaysian immigrants, who came as workers, soldiers and exiles from the Dutch and British colonizers during the 1200.
Written Sri Lanka Malay of the 19th century, it used the Gundul alphabet.
Today, however, its use is primarily oral and is decreasing as the youngest Malaysians in Sri Lanka have started to rely on Sinhalese, Tamil and English for communication.
Another Creole language spoken in Sri Lanka is the Portuguese Creole of Sri Lanka, spoken only by 30 of the 3,400 people of Portuguese origin.
These people are descendants of the Topazes, the Casados and the Portuguese Burgher.
This language was the lingua franca of the country between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Foreign languages of Sri Lanka
The main foreign language spoken in this island nation is English.
It is spoken by about 10% of the population.
Its main use is for commercial purposes.
Sri Lanka is indeed the perfect place for children and for people who like animals and nature.
Sri Lanka languages
This country is incredibly green.
It is impossible not to find elephant herds on safari or even on the same road traveling.
It is also very easy to see leopards, macaques and other types of monkeys, giant squirrels, jackals, etc. etc
Furthermore, walking with children and adults through the Peradeniya Botanical Garden is a delight. Along with the giant trees and millions of plants, we will also find monkeys and other animals in this immense place.
