The Pioneer revelation of Mudliyar W. F. Gunawardhana about the grammatical rules and strategies of Sinhala language

Abstract

Mudliyar W. F. Gunawardhana was a renowned scholar who plays a prominent role in uplifting the sphere of language studies in the beginning of the 20th century. It was a period which marked the lack of qualified scholars who were engaged in the field of classical Sinhala grammar. Mudliyar W. F. Gunawardhana‘s contribution is a remarkable in because he was a pioneer in revealing the strategies and rules of the classical Sinhala grammar. The standard acceptance is that honour should be given to Munidasa Kumarathunga as the frontier who revealed the above mentioned grammatical rules. Yet through his work which comprises editions of classical grammar Mudliyar W. F. Gunawardhana revealed very interesting concepts before the emergence of Munidasa Kumarathunga. In this study an attempt has been to analyse theories forwarded by Mudliyar W. F. Gunawardhana on the classical Sinhala grammar. Literature related to the subject area of Sinhala grammar written by Mudliyar W. F. Gunawardhana and Munidasa Kumarathunga.