Sinhala (සිංහල), also spelled Sinhalese, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka. It is one of the two official languages of Sri Lanka alongside Tamil, and is the native tongue of approximately 17 million people — making it one of the world's most geographically concentrated major languages.

Sinhala belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Its closest relative is Dhivehi, the language of the Maldives, which diverged from Sinhala several centuries ago. Despite this connection, Sinhala developed largely in isolation on the island of Sri Lanka, allowing it to evolve a uniquely distinct phonology, vocabulary, and script unlike any other language in the world.

Diglossia — Two Sinhala in One

One of the most fascinating features of Sinhala is its diglossia — the coexistence of two distinct registers used in different social contexts. Formal written Sinhala (literary Sinhala) differs substantially from colloquial spoken Sinhala in grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. A native speaker navigates both naturally, switching between them depending on context: a news broadcast uses literary forms, while everyday conversation uses the spoken register.

A Language Rich in Loanwords

Sinhala has absorbed loanwords from Pali, Sanskrit, Portuguese, Dutch, Malay, and English — a direct reflection of the island's rich trade history and colonial past. Words like "iskole" (school, from English), "boru" (lie, from Portuguese "burro"), and "karumbu" (sugarcane, from Tamil) are everyday reminders of these layered influences that make Sinhala a uniquely cosmopolitan tongue.