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The main languages spoken in Sri Lanka are Tamil and Sinhala. Several languages are spoken in Sri Lanka within the Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, and Austronesian families. Sri Lanka accords official status to Sinhala and Tamil, with English as a recognised language. The languages spoken on the island nation are deeply influenced by the various ...
Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, alongside Tamil. Along with Pali, it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. [1] Early forms of the Sinhala language are attested as early as the 3rd century BCE. [7]
The history of Sri Lanka is unique because its relevance and richness extend beyond the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. The early human remains which were found on the island of Sri Lanka date back to about 38,000 years ago ( Balangoda Man ). The historical period roughly begins in the 3rd century BCE, based on Pali ...
Sri Lanka, [a] historically known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest ...
The Sinhalese people ( Sinhala: සිංහල ජනතාව, romanized: Sinhala Janathāva ), also known as the Sinhalese or Sinhala people are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. [15] [16] They are the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, constituting about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number more ...
Mahāvaṃsa (Sinhala: මහාවංශ (Mahāvansha), Pali: මහාවංස (Mahāvaṃsa)) is the meticulously kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka until the period of Mahasena of Anuradhapura. It was written in the style of an epic poem written in the Pali language. [1] It relates the history of Sri Lanka from its legendary beginnings ...
Culturally, Sri Lanka possesses strong links to both India and Southeast Asia. [1] For over 2,500 years, India and Sri Lanka have nurtured a legacy of historical, cultural, religious, spiritual, and linguistic connections. The country has a rich artistic tradition, with distinct creative forms that encompass music, dance, and the visual arts.
British rule. During the British colonial era, English was the official language in Ceylon (known as Sri Lanka since 1972). Until the passage of the Free Education Bill in 1944, education in the English language was the preserve of the Sri Lankan elite and the ordinary people had little knowledge of it.