The Sri Lankan Language Community and Social Effects of Sinhalese Diglossia

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a small island situated on the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula in the Indian Ocean. Even though it is a small island, its significance in the Asian region has always been felt with great interest with whoever came in contact with the island nation. Socially, culturally, linguistically and geographically, Sri Lanka presents a variety of interests to be explored and enjoyed. Strategic situation of the island in the Indian Ocean has always be a key factor for the external powers to look for settlement in the island. Historically encounters with various rulers from the mainland had the interest of making the island a part of their kingdom. In the latter part of the history during the colonization, the Portuguese, Dutch and the British managed to maintain their authority on the island nation for varying periods of time of which the longest being the British who were the last colonizers. Except for the issue of sovereignty of the people on the island under the colonial rule, there are certain aspects which lent to enrich or change the social, cultural, political, economic and linguistic outlook of the country. Sri Lanka has always maintained a close affinity to its neighbors in the region socially, culturally and linguistically.

Sri Lanka as a nation comprises of people from two main ethnic origins namely Sinhalese and Tamil with smaller numbers of Malays, Persians, Chinese and Arabs living in harmony. The island also enjoys the co-existence of all the major religions namely Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Baha?i. Ethnically, Sinhalese are the majority and their main religion is Buddhism. Three main languages are in use namely Sinhala, Tamil and English with Arabic and Malay being confined to the cultural and religious activities of the respective groups. Thus it is clearly evident that Sri Lanka belongs to one of the multilingual, multi-religious and multicultural nations in the region. Like any other country in the region, Sri Lanka has its own issues to address internally and where possible with the help of its neighboring nations. The point that I would like to bring to discussion is Diglossia which is one of linguistic interest even though it has political ramifications. I would like to briefly examine the points of diglossia in the Sinhala Language which is the language of the majority of speakers.