Sri Lanka Malay
Encyclopedia
The Sri Lankan Malay is an Austronesian language formed through a unique mixture of the Sinhalese language and the Tamil language
with Malay
. Sri Lanka Malay (SLM) is a restructured vernacular of Malay base spoken by at least five different communities in Sri Lanka which has evolved to be significantly divergent from other varieties of Malay due to intimate contact with the dominant languages of Sinhala and Tamil
. The language is exclusively spoken by Sri Lankan Malays
, whose ancestry include exiles and labourers brought by the Dutch and British, as well as soldiers in the Dutch garrison. They now constitute 0.3% of the Sri Lankan population, numbering some 46,000.
Sri Lanka Malay survives mostly through oral contact. However, there have been rare instances when it was written in Sinhala or Tamil script
. In the 19th century, Sri Lanka Malay was written in the Gundul script, which was based on the Arabic alphabet
with similarities to the Jawi script. Although there have been attempts to revive the written form of Sri Lankan Malay, it is presently in decline as many Malay youth are starting to adapt Sinhala and English at home.
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
with Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
. Sri Lanka Malay (SLM) is a restructured vernacular of Malay base spoken by at least five different communities in Sri Lanka which has evolved to be significantly divergent from other varieties of Malay due to intimate contact with the dominant languages of Sinhala and Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. The language is exclusively spoken by Sri Lankan Malays
Sri Lankan Malays
The Malays of Sri Lanka originated in Southeast Asia and today consist of about 50,000 people...
, whose ancestry include exiles and labourers brought by the Dutch and British, as well as soldiers in the Dutch garrison. They now constitute 0.3% of the Sri Lankan population, numbering some 46,000.
Sri Lanka Malay survives mostly through oral contact. However, there have been rare instances when it was written in Sinhala or Tamil script
Tamil script
The Tamil script is a script that is used to write the Tamil language as well as other minority languages such as Badaga, Irulas, and Paniya...
. In the 19th century, Sri Lanka Malay was written in the Gundul script, which was based on the Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
with similarities to the Jawi script. Although there have been attempts to revive the written form of Sri Lankan Malay, it is presently in decline as many Malay youth are starting to adapt Sinhala and English at home.