A Grammar of the Sinhalese Language


Book Description










Learn Spoken Sinhala


Book Description

This is the second edition of "Learn Spoken Sinhala". This new edition has completely revamped the first edition. The second edition is easier to carry and read, and has been meticulously proofread to remove some typos and inconsistencies. Sinhala language is used and spoken by Sri Lankans, and it is the native language of the Sinhalese, the majority race (more 70% of the population) in Sri Lanka. It is more or less the lingua franca in the country. Linguistically Sinhala is considered as a language belonging to the Indo-European Language family to which English, French, Latin, Spanish, Italian, etc belong. It enjoys a proud history of thousands of years. Sri Lanka being a miraculous and pristine island situated just below the Indian peninsula in a strateically important position along the ancient Silk Road linking the west and east parts of the world. It had been a colony of Portugese, Dutch, and last the English since 1505 up to 1948 AD. Therefore, the Sinhala language has been enriched by those European languages too. Just coming out of an unfortunate terrorist battle in the nothern part of the country, it is again becoming a hub of business, global logistics, knowledge, and tourism. Already many thousands of foreigners are employed in various projects in the country. This book is the only one in the world, which teaches the Spoken Sinhala language based on a sound grammatical underpinning. If you have a working knowledge of the English language, then using this book you can easily understand Sinhala sentence structures and patterns because the book teaches Sinhala in comparison with the English. There are hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans now living abroad, and this book can be useful for them to teach their kids about the beautiful language Sinhala. Sinhala diaspora all over the world will find this useful. Furthermore linguists who research about various languages throughout the world can use this book for their studies. Now there are a lot of people coming to Sri Lanka as businesspersons and workers on various projects and missions. This book can be very useful for them too. The AUTHOR who is already a chamption in proliferation of (free) knowledge in Sinhala medium is willing to personally help and guide you in case you need further assistance and clarifications.







Sinhala


Book Description

Sinhala is one of the official languages of Sri Lanka and the mother tongue of over 70% of the population. Outside Sri Lanka it is used among immigrant populations in the U.K., North America, Australia and some European and Middle Eastern countries. As for the genetic relation, it belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. Although the earliest surviving literature in Sinhala dates from the 8th century A.D., its written tradition has traced a longer path of more than 2,000 years. Among the major topics covered in this volume are the writing system, phonology, morphology, grammatical constructions and discourse and pragmatic aspects of Sinhala. Written in a clear and lucid style, the book presents a rich sampling of the data and serves a useful typological reference. Therefore this is required reading for not only linguists and Sinhala specialists but also to anyone interested in language, thought, and culture.







Language, Religion, and Ethnic Assertiveness


Book Description

For nearly four decades, Sri Lanka has been the scene of an escalating ethnic conflict between the majority Sinhalese and the Tamils, who form the largest minority. Language, Religion, and Ethnic Assertiveness traces the development of Sinhalese nationalism by paying particular attention to the Sinhala language and how it relates to Sinhalese national identity. After Sri Lanka became independent from Great Britain in 1948, an official national language had to be chosen - either "Sinhala only" or "parity of status for Sinhala and Tamil". The victory of the "Sinhala only" proposition that won in the general election of 1956 started the antagonism between the Sinhalese and the Tamils that persists to this day. Using hitherto untapped primary sources, K. N. O. Dharmadasa delineates some of the peculiar features of the linkage between state, religion, and ethnicity in traditional Sinhalese society, providing insight into a tragic conflict that has a long and turbulent history. The book has much to offer historians, political scientists, anthropologists, and sociologists of language and religion, as well as students and scholars of South Asia, postcolonialism, ethnicity, cultural identity, and conflict.