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CONTENTS 5

ABOUT SINHALESE ...... 9 Abbreviations ...... 10 PRONUNCIATION ...... PRONUNCIATION ...... 11 Vowels...... 12 The Sinhalese Alphabet ...... 16 Consonants ...... 13

GRAMMAR ...... 17 Word Order ...... 17 To Be ...... 30 Articles ...... 17 Modals ...... 30 Grammatical Terms ...... 19 Essential Verbs ...... 32 Nouns ...... 20 Adverbs ...... 33 Case ...... 21 Possessives ...... 34 Adjectives ...... 24 Questions ...... 35 Pronouns ...... 25 Negatives ...... 36 Verbs...... 26 Prepositions ...... 37 To Have ...... 29 Conjunctions ...... 38

MEETING PEOPLE ...... 39 You Should Know ...... 39 Cultural Differences ...... 46 Greetings & Goodbyes ...... 39 Age ...... 47 Forms of Address ...... 40 Occupations ...... 47 Talking to Monks ...... 41 Feelings ...... 50 Body Language ...... 43 Breaking the First Encounters ...... 43 Language Barrier ...... 51 Making Conversation ...... 44 Staying in Touch ...... 52 Nationalities ...... 45

GETTING AROUND ...... 55 Finding Your Way ...... 55 Boat ...... 61 Addresses ...... 57 Bus ...... 62 Taxi ...... 58 Train ...... 63 Buying Tickets ...... 59 Car ...... 63 Air ...... 60 Bicycle ...... 65

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6 Contents

ACCOMMODATION ...... 67 Finding Accommodation ...... 67 Complaints ...... 72 Booking Ahead ...... 68 Checking Out ...... 73 Checking In ...... 69 Renting ...... 75 Requests & Queries ...... 70 AROUND TOWN ...... 77 Looking For ...... 77 Telecommunications ...... 81 At the Bank ...... 78 Sightseeing ...... 85 At the Post Office ...... 80 Paperwork ...... 89 GOING OUT ...... 91 Where to Go ...... 91 Nightclubs & Bars ...... 93 Invitations ...... 92 Arranging to Meet ...... 94 Responding to Invitations ...... 92 INTERESTS ...... FAMILY ...... 95 Questions ...... 95 Family ...... 97 Replies ...... 96 SHOPPING ...... INTERESTS & ACTIVITIES ...... 99 Common Interests ...... 99 Calmer Activities ...... 103 Music ...... 100 Talking about Sport ...... 104 Cinema & Theatre ...... 101 Going to a Match ...... 105 Opinions ...... 102 Keeping Fit ...... 106 Types of Sport ...... 103 Talking about Travelling ...... 107 SOCIAL ISSUES ...... 109 Politics ...... 109 Social Issues ...... 112 . SHOPPING ...... 113 Looking For ...... 113 Toiletries ...... 120 Making a Purchase ...... 114 For the Baby ...... 121 Bargaining ...... 115 Stationery & Publications ..... 121 Essential Groceries ...... 116 Music ...... 122 Clothing ...... 117 Photography ...... 123 Souvenirs ...... 119 Smoking ...... 123 Materials ...... 119 Sizes & Comparisons ...... 124 Colours ...... 120 Weights & Measures ...... 124

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Contents 7

FOOD ...... 125 Through the Day ...... 125 Vegetarian & Special Meals .... 129 Snacks ...... 126 Self-Catering ...... 130 Eating Out ...... 126 At the Market ...... 130 Typical Dishes ...... 128 Drinks ...... 135 . IN THE COUNTRY ...... 137 Camping ...... 137 Geographical Terms ...... 143 Hiking ...... 138 Fauna ...... 144 At the Beach ...... 140 Flora & Agriculture ...... 146 Weather ...... 142 HEALTH...... 149 At the Doctor ...... 149 Parts of the Body ...... 156 Ailments ...... 149 Alternative Treatments ...... 158 Women’s Health ...... 153 At the Chemist ...... 158 Special Health Needs ...... 155 At the Dentist ...... 160 SPECIFIC NEEDS ...... 161 Disabled Travellers ...... 161 Pilgrimage & Religion ...... 163 Travelling with the Family ..... 162 TIME, DATES & FESTIVALS ...... 165 Telling the Time...... 165 Future ...... 168 Days of the Week ...... 165 During the Day ...... 168 Months ...... 166 Festivals & Seasons ...... 166 National Holidays ...... 169 Dates ...... 166 Celebrations ...... 171 Present ...... 167 Toasts & Condolences ...... 172 Past ...... 167 NUMBERS & AMOUNTS ...... 173 Cardinal Numbers ...... 173 Fractions ...... 175 Ordinal Numbers ...... 175 Useful Amounts ...... 176 EMERGENCIES ...... 177 General ...... 177 Health ...... 182 Police ...... 178 ENGLISH–SINHALA DICTIONARY ...... 183 INDEX ...... 225

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i t Bangladesh t r a S l k a P Jaffna Bay of Delft India Island Sri Lanka Mankulam Mannar Mannar Island Gulf of Vavuniya Mannar Trincomalee Wilpattu National Park Gal Oya Dambulla

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LANKA M Negombo Kegalle Katunayake Pidurutalagala (2524m) COLOMBO Adam's Peak Kalu INDIAN (2224m) Ratnapura da Uda Walawe OCEAN Ku National Park Kataragama Sinharaja Wa Forest la Yala West i n w G Reserve e National Park Hikkaduwa Ambalantota Galle Tangalla

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0 15 30 mi

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About Sinhalese 9 INTRODUCTION

Sinhala is one of the two official languages of Sri Lanka, a nation of more than twenty million people. It is the first language of more than 75% of the population. Around 20%, mostly in the north, speak the second of Sri Lanka’s official languages – Tamil – and a number of other languages, creoles and dialects are spoken in various parts of the country. English is spoken by approximately 10% of the population.

An Indo-Aryan language, Sinhala developed in isolation from other members of its language family – as a result, and because of influences from Tamil, it was even classified as a Dravidian language. Other members of the Indo-Aryan family include Bengali, Hindi and Punjabi. Its closest relative is Divehi, spoken in the Maldive Islands. Modern Sinhala is a language that has been greatly affected by travel and trade over the centuries, and loan words can be found from a number of languages, including Dutch, Portuguese, English and Malay. According to Sinhalese tradition, the 6th century introduction of the language to the island is attributed to a sequence of events commencing with a journey by from the kingdom of Sinhapura (Bengal). Banished to sea by the king, Vijaya and his followers landed on an island, defeated its evil ‘demon inhabitants’, then settled down to create a dynasty. Thus Sri Lanka was born. There is certainly some fact behind this traditional explanation, and the date given in the story accounts neatly for the develop- ment of unique characteristics that distinguish Sinhala from other Indo-Aryan languages. The portrayal of demons might be more 9

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10 Abbreviations Used in This Book

fanciful though. Recent archaeological findings suggest that the ‘demons’ had, in fact, established agricultural practices, includ- ing irrigation, used iron and made pottery – not normally the work of demons! Two forms of Sinhala are in use today, a literary written form and a spoken form. The written language retains a number of

ABOUT SINHALESE features that link it back to the ancient Indian languages Pali and Sanscrit, and is most commonly associated with Buddhism and education. Spoken Sinhala, however, is the focus of this book for obvious reasons, and while some scholars suggest that differences between the two forms are so great that they might almost be considered distinct languages, it is the spoken form that everyone understands. Although the grammar of Sinhala may at first seem daunting to English speakers, its relative flexibility allows speakers to have a go at making sentences and still be understood. The sounds are quite similar to those found in English and, as is the case with every country you visit, your efforts to speak the language will be rewarded, sometimes with laughter (of the appreciative kind) and certainly with approval.

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS BOOK adj adjective n noun f feminine neut neuter inf informal pl plural lit literal sg singular m masculine v verb

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PRONUNCIATION 11 11

), fol- ‘d’, mal-lah ìq&` ( complicated. complicated. too ), ‘thank you’. To similarly to (‘flower’) and vi-dhyaah-vah l Sôñû m (

, as in

themselves aren’t themselves aren’t dhy PRONUNCIATION mah-lah sthoo-thiy , here, is pronounced ’ needs to be pronounced clearly in the latter. ’ needs to be pronounced l , as in the sound produced by the combination compare ‘pot’ (aspirated) with ‘spot’ ‘t’ is the way the letters ‘p’, sound; this PRONUNCIATION TIPS PRONUNCIATION sth pronounced without a puff of air – dhyaah pronounced with a puff of air after the (‘bag’), each ‘ You’ll find, however, that many of the transliterations contain that many of the You’ll find, however, Throughout the book, we’ve split the transliterations into syl- Throughout the book, we’ve Ll consonants consonants unaspirated diphthongs (unaspirated) aspirated and ‘k’ in English at the are pronounced beginning of a word of two vowels, for example, the ‘ai’ ‘aisle’ in pronounce this correctly, try saying the ‘ss’ in ‘hiss’ followed by pronounce this correctly, is ‘toothy’. Another example m Pronunciation of Sinhala is not difficult – many of the sounds – many of the sounds of Sinhala is not difficult Pronunciation languages in the region, English and, unlike other are similar to tones. there are no by Don’t be put off that may be unfamiliar. consonant clusters – the sounds their appearance One example is lowed by the ‘yar’ in ‘yarn’ – but remember it’s only one syllable.lowed by the ‘yar’ in ‘yarn’ This is particularly important where alables to aid pronunciation. a word, as you need to pronounce themconsonant is doubled in to be understood. For example, toboth for the correct meaning avoid confusion between ‘science’. The 1 1

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12 Vowels

VOWELS There are 12 vowels in Sinhala, which can be divided into two groups: short and long, with six in each. Short Vowels Script Transliteration Pronunciation a ah as the ‘u’ in ‘cup’ a# a as the ‘a’ in ‘pat’ e e as the ‘e’ in ‘pet’ i i as the ‘i’ in ‘pit’ o o as the ‘o’ in ‘pot’ u u as the ‘u’ in ‘put’ Long Vowels a` aah as the ‘a’ in ‘part’

PRONUNCIATION a$ aa as the ‘a’ in ‘ant’ E eh as the ‘a’ in ‘bathe’ I ee as the ‘ee’ in ‘see’ O oh as the ‘o’ in ‘port’ u_ oo as the ‘oo’ in ‘pool’

In script, vowels only appear as separate characters at the beginning of a word, for example, in ee-lahn-gah (I]<), ‘next’, the I (ee) is clearly visible. When vowels appear elsewhere in a word, they’re indicated by a symbol added to the consonant they follow. Within a word, ee is represented xby À, for example, in aah-di-kaah-lee-nah (a`Øk`Ån) ‘ancient’, it appears in combination with l (lah) to form Å (lee) (see Applying Vowels to Consonants on page 14). Vowel Combinations (Diphthongs) Script Transliteration Pronunciation a`û ai as the ‘ai’ in ‘aisle’ o_ au as the ‘ou’ in ‘ounce’ Eû ei as the ‘ei’ in ‘weight’ oû oi as the ‘oi’ in ‘oil’

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