Fascinating Languages of Sri Lanka

Filmed on my recent trip to Sri Lanka, I look at the languages of Sri Lanka - Sinhala, Tamil, Sri Lankan Malay, Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole and Sri Lankan English. There's a deep dive into the writing systems, loan words and grammar of all the languages.
00:00 Main and official languages
01:03 Names of Sri Lanka
02:52 Sinhala case system
05:54 Diglossia
06:13 Sinhala writing system
07:22 Retroflex consonants
09:42 Tamil
10:24 Agglutinative grammar
14:57 Nasal consonants
15:52 Vedda language
17:14 Foreign influence and loan words in Sinhala and Tamil
18:52 Sri Lankan English
19:40 Sri Lankan Malay
21:05 Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole
22:35 Sri Lankan Sign Language
22:53 Jaffna Library

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I recently had the opportunity to visit Sri Lanka - one of my favourite places. For the first time, I was able to go to the north of the country. I very much enjoyed researching the linguistic riches of this beautiful island and am priviledged to share them with you.

[@TrevisPietersz]

English is not just spoken by an small elite group in Colombo but rather is also the native language of what is known as the Sri Lankan Burgher community, a term given by the British to the European settlers who remained after the conquest of Sri Lanka by the British. This group consisted of many Dutch, Portuguese, German, French people and others who were employed by the Dutch East India Company. There are not many Burghers left in Sri Lanka as many of them migrated after independence but a small sizable population remains mostly in the western province. As a Dutch Burgher myself who can trace his roots back to Europe it's quite interesting how they abandoned their original native tongues to be employed in the Civil service in the new empire.

[@sudu-manika]

Sinhala is only official language. Tamil not, Bro don't tell fake news 😂😂😂

[@hiruharihari7668]

​@@sudu-manika sinhalese brain🤣🤣🤣

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@sudu-manika your government seems to disagree languagesdept.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38&Itemid=163&lang=en

[@somindadinnaga6786]

As Sri Lankans we lave learnt that "Sangscrit" nad "Pali" are the parents of Sinhala Language Time to time it has got some influences from other languages like portuguese , dutch, English , Arabic and Some several Indian Languages Sinhalese haven't migrated ffrom India Sri Lanka has more than 5000 years of history As you have mentioned Rama - Ravana battle was happened around 5000 years ago There are some stone planks in Sri Lanka written in ancient sinhalese language When the King Wijaya migrated from India, there were rulers in Sri Lanka And they have used the Sinhalese And the fabulous thing about the Sinhala language is you cannot pronounce one word in different manner Every word has it's specific pronounce Except "අ" (a) sound Only doubt in that sound is there are three sounds as very short , short and long In Sinhalese there are two characters for that sound one is definitely for long sound But other one is for both very short and short sound Ex : papadam - පපඩම් In this word firt "ප" is in short 'අ' sound second "ප" in very short or sinked sound "පා" is used for long sound Except this all other words have it's own specific pronounce

[@user-zb6yp4qe5l]

I am a native Sri Lankan, and I learned lot about my country from this video. Good job! ❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you liked it!

[@DN_cooking]

😂

[@ransikadealwis8379]

Because you have knowledge about your own history these bloody idiotic politicians removed history from school curriculum

[@bs-dd6cu]

Are you sinhalees or Tamil. If you are a sinhalees please don't tell me you are coming from king Vijaya who migrate to Sri lanka from India. If you are Tamil 1000 stories there. Be wised 🦉

[@samithufernando]

Perhaps the most interesting video on Sri Lanka I've ever watched.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow. That is praise indeed. Thank you!

[@ransikadealwis8379]

Because he was telling something so tasty for Tamil separatists for not accepting srilankan than saying Tamil elam

[@samithufernando]

@@ransikadealwis8379 What do you mean?

[@sujeevadealwis5513]

Basically, what the British did was divide and rule.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Sadly yes.

[@ransikadealwis8379]

Absolutely right. That is why British colonists gave more opportunities to Tamils and tried to make a rift between two major ethnic groups. They even gave parliamentary representation disproportionately. The Sinhalese population as a percentage relayively was much higher than today. We should stop talking about this subject anymore and move with young people who were not corrupted with extremist ideologies. We should learn Tamil and even should elect a Tamil priminister and Muslim priminister in the future. Lashman kadiragamar should have been the first Tamil prime minister if Not Ltte had not brutally killed him

[@rusiruhettimullage5226]

A wonderful video Dave ! It makes me happy that there is something like this, finally. :)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you so much. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

[@freecommentor]

Highly informative. And with a sense of humor also. Wonderful video. Keep it up. Love to see more.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad you enjoyed it.

[@SteevFernando-ok4dm]

love your video mate. very informative.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Much appreciated!

[@geenadasilva9287]

thanks for this. As a language lover and a half sinhalese woman who is only just discovering her connection, this is a joy. (my father's family is from Mount Lavinia btw)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad you like it.

[@dula1020]

This song selections are top notch ❤. Keep it up. I watched all the video without skipping. Miss my country

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@user-go2lj4th8u]

Yes, beautiful songs.

[@baymathiya4581]

I watched your video with much interest. Your account is insightful and a lot of fun. I like your Sinhala pronunciation! I think as a language Sinhala is much more difficult than English. There has been a very rich tradition of Sinhalese literature that spans over two and half thousands years. I have immense respect for Tamil culture, traditions, language and literature that are equally ancient and unique. They have been enriched by the larger South Indian Tamil traditions, just like the Sinhalese being influenced by the Indian traditions, maybe northern. Still Tamil people in the North and East have their unique traditions that they are very proud of. It is this uniqueness that is often subdued by Sinhalese. However, it is good that more Sinhalese are learning to embrace the unique as well as interdependent bases of all ethnicities. Both cultures are land-based. Sinhala and Tamil languages are phonetic. Muslim people have also lived in Sri Lanka for centuries claiming their unique identity and a lot of them Tamil as their first language. There is a remarkable distinction between spoken Sinhala and written Sinhala that makes it more difficult to study as a second language. In spoken Sinhala many of the grammar rules are broken. For example, the sentence 'I go home' in written Sinhala would be, 'mama gedara yami' whereas in spoken Sinhala, 'mama gedara yanawa'. I have studied and used Sinhala as my first language, growing up and as you said, used English in my higher education and professional practice. As someone domiciled in a western country, your account brings tons of nostalgic memories of my childhood and youth! You are right about the ways in which Tamil people have been marginalized, including their language and culture. Burning of the Jaffna library is a crime that defies any sensibilities. It is a loss for the entire world! It is also very important to contextualize the divisions and tensions within Sri Lanka's colonial past, especially the British who made irrevocable destruction of these rich cultures, burnt one of the world's most ancient libraries in Alu Viharaya in Matale, destroyed the preserved watersheds in the hill country, employed the divide and rule policy to create tensions among the Sinhalalese and Tamils we have seen in recent decades.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I’m so glad you found it interesting and I agree with your summary. I was not aware of the burning of the Alu Viharaya library. Such a dreadful thing! You are of course right about the terrible and long lasting effects of the British colonial method of divide and rule not only in Sri Lanka but also in many other places.

[@kpakeerathakumar5326]

Don't denied the one of oldest library in Jaffna was burn down by ruling Sinhalese 1981

[@baymathiya4581]

Absolutely YES, thanks so much for highlighting it. Burning the Jaffna library by Sinhalese Buddhist thugs led by a thug of a politician is one of the most heinous acts that defies any civilized sense. It was the Pride of Thamil heritage. It enshrined such rare ancient documents and books. The speaker does talk about it. This is all part of the genocide of Thamil peoples in Sri Lanka. Also remember what happened in 1956 and in 1972. Then 1981, Sinhalese Buddhists showed the world who we (most of us) really are OMG! Sinhalese people (myself included), should take this history to our hearts seriously, as we all have been complicit in this massive crime. Listen to and learn about the truth, speak out, act and make a lifelong commitment to undivided justice!

[@beardninja5029]

As a young Sinhalese Sri Lankan, the Sinhala Only Act was one of the worst decisions taken by our government. Words cannot describe the harm it caused our nation. As the current generation of Sri Lankans, we must strive our best to promote harmony and equality amongst our different ethnic groups.

[@gnanathasanebenezer2915]

Your words are SO true, bless you!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Indeed. Thank you so much for your comment. Young people are our hope for a more enlightened future where we treasure our common humanity.

[@dananjaperera7922]

You dont know the History, being a Singhalese. What do you do for Sinhalese who were chased out from Jafna. Tamil leaders always stand up for their people For Innocent Sinhalese no one. Before Sinhala made State Languge all the rights were only for Enhlish speaking people and non Sinhalese. 50% of higher rank jobs occupied by non Sinhalese, where most amendments were done to historical documents including village names.

[@ven.weerakodiyanenandarath2673]

😂

[@ven.weerakodiyanenandarath2673]

I think you need more critical ability before comment ru***sh

[@DanHannanMEP]

You are a lucky man to be there. Keep up these amazing videos, you genius.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow, thank you. This one’s a bit more of a niche topic than I usually do.

[@DanHannanMEP]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages A diglossic language based on abugida and retroflex consonants? This is what your fans come here for!

[@ZootBurger]

That was a most enjoyable video, Sir... visually stunning, a musical treat for the ear, and full of really interesting linguistic and historical information. Bravo! ❤❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mahendraperera7688]

A Sinhalese here, thank you very much about the content. You have explained it without any bias. I love my country and that love grew more after seeing this.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My great pleasure. Thank you for your lovely comment.

[@upendrak95]

Excellent professional presentation clip, interesting and well done.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Many thanks. So glad you thinks so.

[@alsaceramenaden6607]

Wow, well researched history of Ceylon/Sri lanka. Thank you.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sanjulachandrasekara6848]

Sinhalese never migrated from India. That's wrong. Thanks for making a video about my country anyway. Please do consider of finding the actual and correct facts before you release a video to the world. Coz you are talking about a nation.

[@user-tk9sy5yz4u]

😂😂😂

[@oratorsforuminstitute2607]

Lots of Sinhala languages words have their roots from SANSKRIT. Many regional languages in India (Hindi, Malayalam etc.) have words with roots from SAMSKRIT. 5:16

[@user-ib2dq7ev5n]

​@@oratorsforuminstitute2607 sinhala is an indo aryan language so not a suprise..? But sinhala prakrit elu got that sanskrit influence later.. elu was a separate language like magadhi but spoken in sri lanka then.. America or UK aren't the same country even thou they speak the same language and which happened like few hundred years ago.. in this case it was more than 2500 years ago and the languages different.. like tamil sinhala is the oldest surviving indo aryan language.. I'm saying this because sanskrit still is a dead language.. if it is not then sinhala would be the second oldest..

[@hiruharihari7668]

​@@user-ib2dq7ev5n nice joke brother.

[@georgepeter8016]

Who was prince Vijay in that case. Do you know who are Aryans. Why do we say Arya Sinhala . Please get back to your books. From where did Buddhism reach this land. Who is Arahath Mahinda ???

[@udaniwijayasundara]

Hi, Thank you for the video. But Sinhalese are not migrated from India. We are the world's very first civilization according to ancient resources. If you could find accounts written on Sri Lanka before the colonial era, even in English books in the early periods of the colonial era, you will see how much Sri Lanka's actual history has been changed. If anybody wants to find actual history of Sri Lanka, they will definitely revealed the world's biggest distortion of historical facts.

[@user-jt3dw6vv4x]

Highly informative and wonderful video 😊

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So nice of you

[@AbooBeggarAlBigDaddy]

I hope you will pin this comment for the knowledge of the viewers... 0:10 Let me tell you something... Before the arrival and king Vijaya and his native migrants, there was a community called "Hela" in ancient Sri Lanka and that king married a Hela girl named Kuveni. Vijaya's race was called "Sinha Vansha" and Kuveni's race was called "Hela Vansha". And after the marriage of Vijaya and Kuweni, many "Sinha Vansha" people married the local "Hela Vansha" people and that's the beginning of the Sinhala race. Sinha + Hela = Sinhala Therefore Sinhala people didn't migrate here and they are the native people... with some genetical relations with Indian immigrants. In fact... Tamil people came to Sri Lanka after the Chola Invasion from south east of India🇮🇳...

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

The Chola invasion was 600 years before the Angles invaded what is now called England after them, which is the point I was making.

[@ransikadealwis8379]

Excellent brother . This gentleman has misinterpreted lots of things as small minority of Tamils still are trying to destroy our country through separatism rather than being srilankan and moving forward as one nation. They send ghost like these people time time. We should not allow anybody to post videos like this without proper validation. Because these types of videos lead to misconceptions. We are not going to talk about there motherland England or whatever. Even though we have become the victim of their barbaric invasions

[@HirunKarunaratne]

Hey, no way! You're in Sri Lanka? What a coincidence. As a linguistic enthusiast, I've been watching you for a long time, and seeing you pop up here randomly is awesome. I hope you're having a blast in my homeland!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad to hear it. I was only there for two weeks and have been home for a while. I did have a blast and am very fond of your homeland. The video took much longer to edit than I expected.

[@hawkingdawking4572]

New knowledge even for south Indians. 😊

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you found it useful.

[@user-po2kq5in2u]

OMG 😅 I have never seen a foreigner pronouncing Sinhala that good. Such a great flexible tongue you have. 😅

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you! 😃

[@fingerstylesankha4508]

Hats off for taking pains to create this excellent informative video!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So nice of you

[@jayandesilva8706]

How nice. Learnt lot of about my own country and dialect from you sir…❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad to have helped.

[@sarithimaduwage8251]

Very informative. Thank you

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My pleasure.

[@denethweerasinghe]

Not just loanwords, there are a lot of Portuguese surnames that still survive today even amongst non-Burghers, like Perera, Da Silva and Fernando. Awesome video ♥

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad you think so. That’s for the comment about surnames - an interesting legacy.

[@akalangkadezoysa3475]

wow well researched and well explained keep it up

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you liked it

[@Nisharigan]

Thank you for the helpful video. It really helped me with my research for my documentary film. I am grateful for your hard work and time.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad it was helpful! What is your documentary about?

[@Nisharigan]

​@@DaveHuxtableLanguages We're creating a documentary exploring traditional medicinal practices across different cultures in Sri Lanka. It's a journey to understand the healing traditions of various communities and the plants they use for remedies, while also exploring the connections between traditional and Western medicine.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@Nisharigan Sounds fascinating. I wish you every success with your project.

[@Nisharigan]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Thank you so much Sir.

[@pasindulakshitha2407]

Thanks a lot, learned a lot about my native language and history I did not know before.❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

That's great!

[@ven.weerakodiyanenandarath2673]

This is not the wrong with you. The wrong with education in your country. Very sad

[@chathuranga86]

What an excellent video regarding Sri Lanka and our languages. Very well produced.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So nice of you

[@dantabujha9635]

this is amazing 😻

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad you think so.

[@jr_8292]

Thanks so much for a fascinating video about a truly beautiful country, both culturally and naturally. And I will now use "proungoablers" in my daily vocabulary!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My huge pleasure. Who knows, it might be next year’s OED word of the year.

[@tissaliyanage]

Sinhalese had to sit for tamil proficiency exams to get government jobs. It continues today also.

[@mt841000]

wow! this is amazing!!! while spoken Sinhalese is indo-aryan its scripting is based on Grantha scripts which tamil script falls as well (you'll find many similarity between sinhala and malayali scripts)

[@taxiabey6772]

Seradib or Serendib all these are because the original name of Sri Lanka was Sihaladeep aka “the land of Sihala (Sinhala) people. Arabians called it Serendib because they couldn't pronounce Sihaladeep. European was even unable to pronounce it like that. They called Sihala as Ceylanha and then later the British called it Ceylon officially. Ptolemy called Sri Lanka Taprobane because Sri Lanka’s first historic name before Sihaladeep was Tamparapani aka the island with beaches which has soil colored like copper sheets.

[@Userdudei]

Serendib means fertile land in arabic. Thats why arabs called lanka as serendib...nothing to do with sihala eh..

[@sujikanth]

​@@Userdudeifacts

[@taxiabey6772]

@@Userdudei Serendib word (Like Serendipity in the English language) came to the Arabic language because of Serandib (Sehaladeep). Study the history.. Ehh.. Just because the Serendib word has a different meaning (fertile land) in Arabic now doesn't necessarily mean that initially it had that meaning. First the word was originated from the Sihaladeep and then Serendib became a word to interpret a fertile land because Sihaladeep was famous for fertile soil. For example consider the Indus river. Indus Valley later became Hindustan, India (British) etc etc. Thousands of years ago, the Indus was used to interpret a river. Does Inustan (Hindustan)/Hindu/India etc etc use fo interpret a river? No!! But the word exists. Learn the origin words. If Arabians create a new word in the future to interpret the land of opportunity/infidels, surely they will use America as their arabic word. After 1000 of years someone will argue that “Ohh the meaning of America in Arabic is land of infidels/opportunity, but nothing related to the country America blah blah balah” 😂😂😂

[@taxiabey6772]

@@sujikanth Which facts? 😂😂

[@Userdudei]

@@taxiabey6772 ameer in arabic means leader. Ka has no direct meaning. Ngl😂 but america isnt an arabic word. But serendib is

[@lankawalpola8297]

Interesting investigation, thanks for the effort , appreciate it

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My pleasure.

[@varunaeeriyaulla]

As a Sri Lankan, I don't give a fk about who came first or where we came. We are from Africa. 😅

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

We are from Africa, we are all related and our common humanity is a precious and beautiful thing! Thank you!

[@janakasanjaya6926]

Thank you very much for the video

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

You are welcome

[@eruthayamarythiagarajah8960]

Very good video. I’m a Sri Lankan American fluent in both languages. I enjoyed. Very educational! Interesting!!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you liked it!

[@sashu9029]

You mean you are tamil? Where does america come in between?

[@angelsilva3727]

i have seen some inscriptions in caves which look like latin letters more than the teapot style . Do you have any idea to which language they belong please.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I’m afraid I don’t.

[@Indrani-S2022]

Those are "Brahmi" letters. Sinhala letters evolved from prehistoric Brahmi and then Brahmi to present day Sinhala letters. There is a belief that when you keep on writing square shaped letters, it ultimately becomes circular shape as Sinhala letters are today. Also, one significant thing to notice with Sinhala letters compared to letters of other languages is that all circle to the right, like a galaxy, except eight letters of the 54-letter Mixed Sinhala alphabet.

[@angelsilva3727]

@@Indrani-S2022 Thanks a lot

[@nnes759]

Has anyone looked into Kannada scripts vs Sinhalese as they both look super duper similar although I tried to learn Gr 1 Sinhalese in 70s most forgotten I left to West in 70s, but you need to compare both alphabets & grammars etc side by side to see how much similar or different, other possible ones are Kannadans next door.. the Telugu,then near by Odian & Bengali, my bet is Kannada scripts,..

[@pasindukandanaarachchi4242]

awesome video.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you. Glad you think so.

[@nilminisubramaniam7985]

A well researched and a much needed unbiased clarification for the diverse population of Sri Lanka. Very insightful. Thank you. I am from Jaffna but have lived all my life in the south and central Sri lanka.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you liked it!

[@JanakaVithanage]

Thank you for doing such a remarkable study of the Sinhala language. 🙏

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

It's my pleasure

[@shehanavindra7137]

You Sir have done justice to my wonderful native language. I have discussions with my colleagues (I live in Canada now) about Sri Lanka and I can give them this video which gives a great understanding about Sinhala. Not to mention the choice of background music is absolutely impeccable.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Excellent! Thanks for your kind comment.

[@savindusanthusa99]

Amount of attention to details ...the effort is just incredible ..he has dig deep into the island nation than its own citizens ❤❤❤❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you so much for your appreciation.

[@Dilshan_Shanuka]

11:11 Can anyone say the name of the song please

[@carlinberg]

Great video, very interesting!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you think so.

[@ISHUMAYA]

Awesome video 🌷💫🙌

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you 🙌

[@jayashan_b]

Ohh. Very informative. It’s an honor to have you here. 😊❤ but we didn’t came from India 😌😜

[@cyblackbox]

super video thank you

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad you think so.

[@arcticpolyglots]

Great video, interesting stuff! Would you Dave be interested to speak about your language background on our language podcast?

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

With pleasure.

[@ranjanvitharana8426]

Please note that your first phrase about how the country was inhabited is not correct. As per our historical records, very old ones are available at the London library in England, The HELAYANS who have lived since the beginning of this Island for uncountable years. Helayans have not migrated from India. National of HELAYANS are represented by the main four groups of people. They are Deva, Naga, Yaksha and Kumbanda. This island was divided into four quarters during the very very ancient era. Those four quarters are, Dambadiwa (Jambudveepa), Lanka Dveepa, Giri Dveepa and Kuru Dveepa. Due to these important four quarters, total island was called SEWHELAY ( means four HELAYANS). This name has changed like, seehelay ...Ceylon ..These people spoke mainly two languages. 1. Suddha Magadhi ( sometimes called Paali). 2. Sinhala. By now all HELAYANS are commonly known as Sinhalese and they use only the Sinhala language... You may study the details to understand the pathetic journey this nation had under the influences of so many invasions from the South Indian empires and Europe empires, which include Portuguese, Dutch and British. Finally this nation lost its sovereignty to the British in 1812 through an agreement. I kindly request you, Sir, please study the history of this nation through authentic sources. Thanks. Thanks

[@Jeepster353]

We all love our present multicultural Lanka. However it is very disturbing that revisionist historians are backing claims of who was here first. The Vedda and the Sinhalese have a connection and clearly Sinhalese are only found on this island! No where else! There is linguistic and a DNA match to evolution on this island! Tamils although may have been here in small populace maybe through trade and fishing etc, were never an established community until the Chola invasions and the British who brought the larger number of labourers from India! Please stick to the facts ! Sri Lanka was known as Buddhist SimHela island even during the chola and pandya empires of south India!

[@dananjaperera7922]

Good explanation

[@nnes759]

According to several last few yrs latest Archeological works info I read very recently says close to what you're saying too, as to the corrected new DNA analysis results of several burial discoveries near Anuradhapura & to South, East, North & West areas of SL they found Few Trail of Tamil DNAs of Traders etc of few hundred yrs before dates of Sinhala kings,etc Establishment, but Cholas arrival remains same100-200 yrs after that & possibly Cheras/ Pandiyas akso arrived bit after that too mostly, all after the early Sinhalese establishment according to these latest analysis reportings easily seen on Britania, world Hist..& Wikipe.. etc on web.

[@chinthanaperera6202]

Interesting and thank you

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mylife8229]

Good explain sir ❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks for liking

[@ddinterior8404]

Wonderful video !!! Appreciate your efforts to make such a beautiful video with factual information. However I disagree with your description about the origin of the nation . There are evidence that ancient island People called “ hela “ which later gave the name “ Sihala “ (not Sinhala) were in the island dating back to many thousands years. Respected Scholars like Prof: Raj Somadeva argues ancient hela people were the descendants of Island’s prehistoric man ( 38,000 BCE) .

[@LiveEarth918]

Great ❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you.

[@torrawel]

Mooie video ! (ik weet dat u Nederlands spreekt dus dat schrijft makkelijker voor mij :)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Ik ben blij dat U het leuk vond.

[@user-nv4ew7id4y]

Thank you

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

You're welcome

[@upilaperera]

wonderful video , i'm srilanken but i learn a lot from this video, and its thambapanni its means copper coloured earth

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you liked it

[@ruwacj]

Very Good Documentry, Fact finding, Reserch and Music selection was great. actually better than Net Geo, Discovery or BBC documentary... Hatts Off..

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow, thank you. I am honoured.

[@gayanmadusanka5651]

Serendib comes from sinhaladeep , arabs made that name . Cheras (modern day Kerala state) have nothing to do with it

[@harinfernando7845]

Fantastic

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you so much 😀

[@chaminithewarapperuma5369]

Thanks dave

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My pleasure.

[@user-yc8hk1px2d]

Gentlemen tamil people sinhala people living together in srilanka for long time British invasion divided the country interesting to know that majority of the tamil people living outside the country not in Jaffna peninsula unfortunately sinhalese people have only srilanka Tamil people have another country India sinhala people have history of thousands of History in srilanka tamil too learn the history

[@laurencecrouch3634]

What an informative, well-produced, and all round nice video, with an entertaining sprinkling of language nerd/dad joke humour 😁 I love it, thank you. As someone who has studied the Thai language for a long time, something that really did surprise and delight me was how similar the vowels are in Singhala and Thai. The 'i' vowel (อิ in Thai), the 'u' (อู) and 'e' (เอ) must be cognates for sure. They also look a lot like the Hindi/Sanksrit vowels, which is less surprising but also very cool. I guess they all come originally from ancient Indic roots. Anyway thanks again for the video, will check out some more of your channel. Cheers 👍

[@user-jt3dw6vv4x]

Yeah it would be from the common Indic roots. All of those languages were influenced by Sanskrit.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Indeed.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Yes, as someone else mentioned, many of the fascinating writing systems in south and South-East Asia have shared roots.

[@oratorsforuminstitute2607]

Lots of Sinhala languages words have their roots from SANSKRIT. Many regional languages in India (Hindi, Malayalam etc.) have words with roots from SAMSKRIT. 0:43

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Yes, it’s a bit like Latin and Greek in Europe or Classical Chinese in East Asia. Learned words are brought in from a prestigious classical language.

[@vipulawattegedara9200]

Very interesting

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you think so!

[@pakaya8007]

Hello sir , nice to meet you.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hello there!

[@salempasangasp]

Serendipity from sera theevu that's a great fact

[@shantalks007]

Dave just educated all of us sri lankans about our language than our own government education system and education ministry within few minutes 😂❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Sadly education about language is lacking all over the world.

[@shantalks007]

​@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Highly agreed. I truly appreciate this video and your findings and also mainly for sharing it with us sir. When I was going to school, personally for me the teacher who taught the language made most of the students to hate it rather than love it.

[@KaviVari]

23:08 ❤ that's for highlighting.

[@Indrani-S2022]

I am a Siri Lankan. It is always nice to hear when others talk about my country! 2:53 Sinhala is not an Indo-European language as many say it is. In fact, it is a dialect of Hela when Siri Lanka was called "Heladiva" or Island of "Hela". The most Hela words are derived from "Magadhi" or the language of the Buddhas or the language that describes the Path to Nibbana (or enlightenment). Magadhi is a tonal language. Therefore, all Dhamma of the Buddha was written in Magadhi but using Sinhala letters. Magadhi is also the language of people who lived in Magadha, the eastern part of Siri Lanka at the time of Gotama Buddha. Most of Magadha was destroyed due to natural disasters such as Tsunami and famine after the Buddha "parinibbana" or passing away of the Buddha. At present, only the Vedda tribe speaks a dialect very close to Magadhi. There are explanatory notes written reference to the 'Tripitaka', scriptures of the Dhamma of the Buddha written in Alu-Lena in 'Maatula' (present day Kegalle District) in the 456th Buddha Year (456 years after the 'parinibbana' of Gothama Buddha). One such note is 'Maha Sihanada Sutta Vannanawa' where it says that the Buddha gave His discourses both in Magadhi and Hela languages. Also, Sinhala people do not come from Prince Vijaya as some legends depict inaccurately. Sinhala is derived from 'Sewhela' or four 'Hela's, the four sectors of 'Heladiva' or the Island of 'Hela', as it was then divided into four sectors or counties, viz., Yakkha Hela, Naaga Hela, Kumbhanda Hela, and Dewa Hela. Our true identity was destroyed including the name of the country "Sewhela" to Ceylon during foreign invasions of Portuguese and Dutch, then British colonial period from 1795 to 1948. Many of our ancient "ola-leaf" writings that described in writing the true and proud history of the country, were taken away as artefacts to store and exhibit in a London museum to this day. This indeed is the reason many Siri Lankans of today are bewildered when it comes to acknowledging our true and prestigious identity.

[@skipper2594]

@@vasukinimalan888 sinhala is not a mix of tamil at all, sinhala has some tamil borrow words as same as sri lankan tamil has borrowed words from sinhalese , its just something happen when living together for thousands years, its not fair to say sinhala is mix of tamil bcz of that, then anyone can say modern sinhala is a mix of english

[@AsankaW]

Agreed. Unfortunately, most of us are unaware of this. Thank you for sharing this info.

[@Indrani-S2022]

@@skipper2594 Thank you for your insightful reply for fake claims.

[@plazmagaming2182]

Buddy, sinhala is literally an indo-european language. Yes its a dialect of "hela", but hela itself is an indo european language, as well as magadhi. These languages from north india are indo aryan, therefore indo european, you flippin donut.

[@amannsharmaaa]

Magadh is modern day Bihar .. the living place of Buddha

[@jaylilantha1875]

serendeep derived from SINHADEEPA and Taprobane derived THAMBAPANI

[@TheRealDunalTrimp]

Nope

[@AbooBeggarAlBigDaddy]

Sinhaladweepa*

[@skipper2594]

@@TheRealDunalTrimp yes it is

[@Sinhala_buddhist-3934]

The word Thambapani itself derived from the Tamil word called "Thamirabarani"

[@skipper2594]

@@Sinhala_buddhist-3934 😂 dont make up stories kid ,🤣

[@anupaudayanga14]

❤

[@JsportsCricket]

Welcome to srilanka

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you.

[@vasanthanbalasundaram3489]

Hello sir Welcome to sri Lanka 🙏

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks! 😃

[@dahampathum-ym2bz]

❤❤

[@theboyofjoyy]

22:50 at least it has been rebuilt. happy for that. still the lost treasure is lost

[@user-pq9zh3cn2w]

Thank you for your honest view. Only foreigners from west can provide honest report. All Sri Lankan will always deny the fact and twist the report to suit them.

[@ransikadealwis8379]

You should not try to describe something very sensitive without a detailed review. Tamils have obviously migrated from India as Tamilnadu is almost connected to srilanka if Palk Strait is not there. Sinhalese language is Sanskrit based language and we do not understand Tamil relatively not at all. You seem to be supporting lunatic Tamil separatists by implying Sinhalese just another bunch of people migrated from India. But that is absolutely wrong. The indigenous people, Vaddah, also speak a language more similar to Sinhalese than alien Tamil for us. We are enough of these types of unfounded stories. We are currently trying to lead the country as one srilankan than Tamil or Muslim.

[@georgwagner3859]

Sinhalese people never migrated from India, and Sinhala language has nothing to do with India. Lankan ancestors have been living in Lanka for more than 40,000 years. Please study the correct history with archeological evidences. Never spread rumor. Check evidences: homo sapiens balangodensis, Beli lena, Batadomba lena.

[@maheesha8736]

Linguistic comparisons have consistently and clearly shown how sinhala is related to other indo Aryan languages, specially the ලිඛිත භාෂාව is very close to other indo european languages If you compare words between sinhala and Sanskrit you can very clearly see the similarities, and the S-H consonant shift in those words indicate that those words are not new borrowing Your nationalistic beliefs do not change the linguistic facts on the subject

[@georgwagner3859]

@@maheesha8736 Broadening of vocabulary and alpabet is the nature of any living language. It doesn't indicate that Sinhala comes from Sanskrit. Same way one can argue that Sanskrit is generated from Sinhala. Sinhala has unique vowels and sounds such as ඇ, ඈ, ඉලු which are not available in any other languages in world. Are they coming from Indo Aryan? No evidence that India is civilized before 20,000 years which Sri Lanka was. Maybe your genes are coming from a foreigner such as Vijaya. If not, it is a problem of your education which is designed by foreigners.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

It is possible to analyse the ways languages change and show, for example, that Italian came from Latin and not the other way around. There are very clear patterns and correspondences which show how Indo-Aryan languages developed from vernacular varieties of Sanskrit. While the island of Sri Lanka was clearly home to early members of our species, it is meaningless to suggest that those people belonged to any modern culture or ethnicity.

[@BishanCader]

DNA evidence shows otherwise!😊

[@Jeepster353]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages DNA connection to the Vedda is pretty clear of the Sinhalese identity, Vedda do not share anything with Tamils. Vedda is closer to Austroloid aboriginals. This is evolutionary and the fact that you dismissed linguistic similarities with the Vedda as assimilation is just ridiculous!

[@paulkuruvita7447]

I was shocked to see the first three words discovered of Hittite language (recently found) thathi, nagaa and rook are exactly Sinhala words, father, sister and tree.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

How fascinating!

[@varunapriyanka7523]

I appreciate your efforts to promote Sri Lanka. It is a gret help my friend to this country. But how ever Serendib is a old Sinhala term my friend and is described as "Sihala diba" sinhala deepa or sinhala island. If you travel to Jaffna and North you may see Buddhist ruins older than 2200 years old and is why some very optimistic Tamil racists are trying to destroy them. To hide the secret. Anyway sinhalese are a friebdly nation having influenced by Buddhism welcome all nations in this country. It is similar to Englad that some nations are trying to overcome "English people" by many different ways. Evrybody should coexcist while respecting the origins of a country!

[@willbetravelingworld]

Nice voice

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you.

[@aloysiushettiarachchi4523]

Hello, let bygones be bygones. And we want to live in peace without anymore problems. I notice you can pronounce Sinhala words well the same way I can speak English. I believe Sinhala alphabet is more complete than English or German. They write one way and pronounce in another way. Example: high (English) and Hoch (German). Tons of Sinhala words in both German and Malay. Hansa (swan), paradeze (paradise), himmel(heaven, himala(cool and nice place in Sinhala. And Swastika (or stylised form of letter Sri) is our cultural symbol. In Malay to tell someone to come in line they say ‘sila beratur’ in Sinhala this means ‘be good to come in line’ seela is to be good and atura is line. This is because there has been a lot of mix between the People of Sri Vijaya and Sinhalese long before the Duch exiled the troublesome local royal clans from Batavia. Perhaps those royals themselves got to Indonesia with their workers from Sri Lanka’s east earlier hence the connection between Sinhalese and those in South-east Asian countries.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you for these interesting insights - and for your kind words about my pronunciation. I'm sure your English is 1000 times better - at least!

[@caiussl3249]

Exactly now people have learned to live in harmony. Not only Sinhalese and Tamils, there are many other different minorities too, living along with all the other communities. By the way I think Muslim minority speaks Arabic too.

[@aloysiushettiarachchi4523]

@@caiussl3249 You are correct. My chemistry teacher was one Tuan Dwite Hannan. I thought he was a European. But came know that he was a Muslim when he was observing fasting. This perhaps is a pointer to the belief that some of those clans that left Sinhale in the East were connected with Greeks.

[@caiussl3249]

@@aloysiushettiarachchi4523 yes could be. Our connections with Muslims dates back to even before Muslim religion was spread across the middle east. The Arabs has been sea fares and traders with a majority living next to daduru oya today. Sri lankan moors are directly connected to this aspect. And so as Jews in Sri Lanka. I heard studies show that Jewish population in Israel has Sinhalese DNA!

[@user-jt3dw6vv4x]

@@aloysiushettiarachchi4523 Tuan is a Malay name. He would've been a Sri Lankan Malay Muslim or at least half Sri Lankan Malay.

[@malithabanbara3345]

💓💓💓💓

[@bonbonhtml34]

man= minisa/ohu(he in english) woman = gahaniya/kaanthawa/ issthriya/ aya(she) in sinhala srilanka (pearl in the indian ocean)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks for the clarification.

[@amannsharmaaa]

Hindi ( India ) Manu = he Sthree = woman

[@chammiwasantha9869]

Thank u sir.sri lanka history is very old.7000 year old or more.we not held from vijaya.we come from ravana generation.that s the true.gowtham Budda was born in Sri Lanka.look our culture and technic.we are not held from Indian.

[@hiruharihari7668]

Proud to be a tamilan.❤❤

[@nnes759]

Early 1981 was the last time i visited SL, And was closely following it since leaving after 4weeks in end of Jan1981 onward to mid 1980s & it was 1983 when all the Jaffna& Colombo, etc riots& burning of Library, businesses etc took place, not 1981 or 1982 but 1983 (to 2009-2010 or so)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

The library was definitely burnt on June 1 1981. You are right that the civil was was later.

[@nnes759]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages I stand corrected, i checked too & you're absolutely correct its June1 1981, it was so well known yet the hand full of army killing & the ensuing All out communal riots was so Horrendous its meddle destruction as one big.., that riots not only killed, but it destroyed many Businesses, homes, lives & went on for yrs, ( sadly I been to that library & all around that area too)

[@user-pq9zh3cn2w]

Thank you it’s a very honest and more accurate report of Sri Lanka. Only westerners can provide such a honest report. If you ask any Srilankan they will distort the fact and change the facts to suit them. This is the reason Sri Lanka cannot develop, the people are narrow minded and cannot think wisely. The Sri Lanka would have developed much better under foreign rule than self rule. You can train a person but you cannot change their attitudes. Thank you for providing detailed and honest view.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I’m glad you enjoyed the video and understood my intentions to be honest and accurate. I’m not sure I share your faith in Westerners though. I live in the US, where large numbers of people are also narrow minded and believe the most ridiculous things.

[@rupasiriperera5526]

Dave, දේව්, forget the words and enjoy the heaven on Earth!🙂

[@chaminduudara3866]

Thank you for this content. As a Sri Lankan, I highly appreciate your effort.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My pleasure

[@theodiscusgaming3909]

Telugu is from a different branch of Dravidian and so it's not mutually intelligible with Tamil or Kannada

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Ah. Thanks for letting me know.

[@pramudithasenadeera72]

Its Thambapanni තම්බපණ්ණි means copper sand.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you for clarifying.

[@paultheva4991]

The letter thi came first or the tea? Definitely the letter came before tea. So you are wrong.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I just think it looks like a teapot.

[@Chamindacka]

You say that Sinhalese people migrated from India, it is wrong, Tamil people and Muslims migrated, Sinhalese people are the natives of Sri Lanka, now known as Sinhalese, they used to be called Helayo, this country was called Hela Deepa, Varadeepa, Oja Deepa, Manda Deepa. , the people who wrote the oldest genealogy in the world are the Sinhalese people, Rajawalia, Deepavansa, Tupa Vansa, Mahavansa, read and see, the oldest inscriptions were written by our ancestors, so if you read what is on the Internet, it is a lie to the world.Read even the pirated books that were stolen from us in British libraries.

[@Userdudei]

Srilankan tamils are the oldest resides of srilanka according to historians. They descend from the naga tribe. Im not tamil. Just stating facts

[@Userdudei]

And the oldest record of history is deepawangshaya and mahawamsa. Which was written 2nd century bc. Well tamils existed long before that

[@user-ib2dq7ev5n]

​@@Userdudeinope tribal people are the oldest residents of the island because of them tamils couldn't pass the boarders but sinhalese ancestors who were well civilised+with technology were able to control the tribal people and settled there.. since then till the chola invasion it was un mixed sinhalese kingdom.. The best examples are that even sangam literature have mentioned em as singalam the peopel of sri lanka but not as invaders.. Tribal people>sinhalese ancestors>lanakn tamil.. Another best example is lankan tamils using the same language and the same script as TN tamils.. this only means lanakan tamils have made in to lanka only after AD..

[@user-ib2dq7ev5n]

​​@@Userdudei oldest inscriptions found in sri lanka which r from 6BCE and 3BCE are written in old sinhala while the oldest tamil inscription(2BCE found in sri lanka don't even talk about things about lanka but tradings or businesses.. mahavamsa also mentioned that south indians had tradings and businesses with sinhalese kingdoms these tamils even built temple around port areas dried to the constant presence there..

[@caramelldansen2204]

😄