Sri Lanka’s history revolves around a story of strife between the two biggest ethnic groups of the country.
A Turbulent History
Sri Lanka’s history revolves around a story of strife between the two biggest ethnic groups of the country: the Hindu and Muslim Tamils and the Buddhist Sinhalese. There are conflicting legends surrounding almost every ancient site, and it’s very difficult for historians to distinguish between myths and fact. However, it’s generally agreed that it was in the 3rd century BC when Buddhism arrived on the island, carried here by Indian emperor Ashoka’s son.
A Bright Future Ahead for Sri Lanka
The fascinating island of Sri Lanka has shown that it’s extremely adept at bouncing back from adversity. On Boxing Day in 2004 a tsunami killed more than 30,000 people across Sri Lanka, destroying many coastal towns; and now, only 12 years later, this country is moving forward, in fact, it’s ahead of the rest of the region, both economically and socially. Infrastructure is expanding and tourism is booming, and it looks like Sri Lanka has a very bright future indeed.
Ethnicity and Religions of Sri Lanka
Ethnicity/race: (approximate figures only)
74 % Sinhalese, with the rest of the population consisting of Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamil, Sri Lankan Tamil, and some unspecified.
Religions (approximate figures only)
Most of the Sinhalese population (approximately 70%) practice Buddhism; while the Tamil population almost exclusively practice Hinduism. Christianity – Roman Catholics – accounts for around 6% of the population, and almost 1% of the population are Anglican. Around 10% of the people of Sri Lanka practice Islam.
The languages of Sri Lanka
74% Sinhala (official and national),
18% Tamil (national),
8% other;
The English language is spoken competently by approximately 10% of the population, and it’s also used in government. A small minority of people in Tamil also speak Portuguese Creole, which is a carryover from colonial times.
Sinhala: Language of the Sinhalese Ethnic Group
Sinhala, which is also known as Singhalese or Sinhalese, is the native tongue of the Sinhalese ethnic group – the largest in Sri Lanka. The Sinhala language is an Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-European language group. About 13 million people in Sri Lanka are native speakers of Sinhala and approximately 17 million people speak the language. Besides the Sinhala speakers in Sri Lanka, this language is also spoken in Singapore, Canada, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. Together with Tamil, it’s one of the recognized official languages of Sri Lanka.
The Sinhala alphabet contains 54 letters – 36 consonants and 18 vowels; however, only 24 consonants and 12 vowels are used when writing colloquial spoken Sinhala. The remaining letters are sounds that have been lost during the course of linguistic change.
Tamil: Language of the Sri Lankan Tamils
The Tamil language is a classical language, the oldest of the Dravidian language family. Besides being spoken by the Tamils in Sri Lanka, it’s also spoken in Malaysia, India, and Singapore. It’s estimated that today there are more than 74 million speakers of Tamil worldwide.
Tamil Translation
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