The language of these inscriptions with long vowels and aspirated consonants is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi, a regional associate of the Middle Indian Prakrits that has been used during the time of the Buddha. The early form of the Sinhala language is attested as early as the 3rd century BCE. Along with Pali, it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka. It is written using the Sinhala script, which is a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. Sinhala is also spoken as the first language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 2 million people as of 2001. Sinhala ( / ˈ s ɪ n h ə l ə, ˈ s ɪ ŋ ə l ə/ SIN-hə-lə, SING-ə-lə Sinhala: සිංහල, siṁhala, ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( / ˌ s ɪ n( h) ə ˈ l iː z, ˌ s ɪ ŋ( ɡ) ə-/), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |