Sinhala Origins

[1991sudarshan]

What is the origin of the Sinhalese of Srilanka? Their language is of Indo-Aryan branch, hence can it be that they were also immigrants ?

 

[beorna]

of course are the singhalese immigrants, probably from northern India. they came during the last millenium BC and dislodged and assimilated the native population of the Vedda.

 

[1991sudarshan]

of course are the singhalese immigrants, probably from northern India. they came during the last millenium BC and dislodged and assimilated the native population of the Vedda.

Are the vedda people of Dravidian origin??

 

[The Imperial]

My dad says they are descended from Orissa (Kalingans)..... but I dint make the connection.

I observed their script, it's like a cursive form of Tamil script.... their accent and language sounds Tamil with no Hindi words(thats strange if they are from Orissa).

Well they are Buddhists(yet they discriminate against the Tamils, I have been to Lanka, and I have seen Tamils tremble before the Sinhalese).

Their country is similar to Tamil Nadu (except that its a lot cleaner and heavily militarized).

 

[1991sudarshan]

My dad says they are descended from Orissa (Kalingans)..... but I dint make the connection.

I observed their script, it's like a cursive form of Tamil script.... their accent and language sounds Tamil with no Hindi words(thats strange if they are from Orissa).

Well they are Buddhists(yet they discriminate against the Tamils, I have been to Lanka, and I have seen Tamils tremble before the Sinhalese).

Their country is similar to Tamil Nadu (except that its a lot cleaner and heavily militarized).

Hindi is a very recent a language and do not expect the Hindi words to be in Sinhalese

 

[The Imperial]

Hindi is a very recent a language and do not expect the Hindi words to be in Sinhalese

Well, what makes Gujrati, Marathi, Rajastani and Bengali sound similar to a South Indian ear? It's the Hindi'shness...... what I meant was, when Sinhalese speak, they lack that Hindi'sness.

EDIT:

It seems my dad is apparently right about the Sinhalese being descendents of the ancient Oriya (i.e. Kalingans).

Sinhala language is descendant from Oriya and thus is 'Indo-Aryan' language.

It is believed that about the 5th century BCE, settlers from North-Eastern India [4] reached the island of Sri Lanka. This group of settlers is referred to as prince Vijaya and his entourage in the chronicle Mahavamsa. These new settlers merged with the native Hela tribes known as Yakka, Naga who spoke Elu language, and a new nation called Sinhala came to exist.[5] In the following centuries, there was substantial immigration from Eastern India-Bengal (Kalinga, Magadha)[6] which led to an admixture of features of Eastern Prakrits.

Like other North Indian languages, this seems to be from Prakrit too.

EDIT(2):

Something interesting:

Sinhala (Siṃhāla) is actually a Sanskrit term; the corresponding Middle Indic word is Sīhala; the actual Sinhala term is Hela* (also Elu, Helu). The Sanskrit and the Middle Indic words have as their first element (siṃha and sīha) the word "lion" in the respective languages.

'elu', 'helu' means crap in Kannada.... does it mean the same in Tamil?

 

[1991sudarshan]

[QUOTE



'elu', 'helu' means crap in Kannada.... does it mean the same in Tamil?[/QUOTE]

There is no consonant "h" in tamil! ELU should be Ezhu (எழ&#3009 means to raise, to get up!

 

[The Imperial]

[QUOTE



'elu', 'helu' means crap in Kannada.... does it mean the same in Tamil?

There is no consonant "h" in tamil! ELU should be Ezhu (எழ&#3009 means to raise, to get up![/QUOTE]

oh yes... you mean ellhu? thats there in kannada too... I mean 'elu'....

AHHH! I hate Latin alphabet, very difficult to show phonetics. I assume you know how to read kannada or hindi?

ಏಲು..... or..... ऐलू


sorry for the OT posts.... i apologize

 

[1991sudarshan]

There is no consonant "h" in tamil! ELU should be Ezhu (எழ&#3009 means to raise, to get up!

oh yes... you mean ellhu? thats there in kannada too... I mean 'elu'....

AHHH! I hate Latin alphabet, very difficult to show phonetics. I assume you know how to read kannada or hindi?

ಏಲು..... or..... ऐलू


sorry for the OT posts.... i apologize [/QUOTE]

Yeah I read Kannada as well as Hindi! I have never come across any word "elu" in the modern day conversation I have to little research in the ancient tamil vocabulary

see this link!
The Hindu : Origin of 'Tamil Eelam'

 

[The Imperial]

oh yes... you mean ellhu? thats there in kannada too... I mean 'elu'....

AHHH! I hate Latin alphabet, very difficult to show phonetics. I assume you know how to read kannada or hindi?

ಏಲು..... or..... ऐलू


sorry for the OT posts.... i apologize

Yeah I read Kannada as well as Hindi! I have never come across any word "elu" in the modern day conversation I have to little research in the ancient tamil vocabulary

see this link!
The Hindu : Origin of 'Tamil Eelam'

Oh thanks for the link. Chill da, it was not intended to be a serious question

 

[1991sudarshan]

Oh thanks for the link. Chill da, it was not intended to be a serious question

what serious question??

 

[The Imperial]

what serious question??

Arey... chuck mado le.... that 'elu' question.... that question was intended to be a humorous one not a serious one.

 

[Shaheen]

Well, what makes Gujrati, Marathi, Rajastani and Bengali sound similar to a South Indian ear? It's the Hindi'shness...... what I meant was, when Sinhalese speak, they lack that Hindi'sness.

I dont sense the "Hindiness" in Marathi either for example. I thought it was a South Indian language but then i have only heard it once. Bengali sounds different too.

Intersting how Divehi is also classed in the same branch as Sinhala and they form their own little linguistic group

 

[The Imperial]

I dont sense the "Hindiness" in Marathi either for example. I thought it was a South Indian language but then i have only heard it once. Bengali sounds different too.

you are not a South Indian are you?

 

[1991sudarshan]

It has been established by the historians that the Dravidians are the immigrants from Africa! I think that proto-dravidian people would have made several parallel sea voages form africa towards the Peninsular India! There is a very high probability that the part of the proto-dravidian people would have landed in Srilanka and the remaining people would have landed in the present day Malabar coast and Kanyakumari! The proto-dravidian people who landed in srilanka would have traveled north and joined with the other proto-dravidian people people in the peninsular Indian and the remaining people would have stayed behind to become the Vedda people !

 

[1991sudarshan]

you are not a South Indian are you?

He is form Pakistan and settled in UK

 

[Shaheen]

you are not a South Indian are you?

No, just saying how the language sounds from a Urdu speaking persons point of view

 

[The Imperial]

He is form Pakistan and settled in UK

That was my point

He said Marathi and Hindi did not sound familiar... but to an untrained South Indian ear, Marathi and Hindi sound the same.... just the way Telugu and Kannada and Tamil sound the same to a North Indian (or to a Pakistani )

 

[The Imperial]

It has been established by the historians that the Dravidians are the immigrants from Africa! I think that proto-dravidian people would have made several parallel sea voages form africa towards the Peninsular India! There is a very high probability that the part of the proto-dravidian people would have landed in Srilanka and the remaining people would have landed in the present day Malabar coast and Kanyakumari! The proto-dravidian people who landed in srilanka would have traveled north and joined with the other proto-dravidian people people in the peninsular Indian and the remaining people would have stayed behind to become the Vedda people !

I fail to see this theory as I see South Indians and North Indians as belonging to the same race.

 

[1991sudarshan]

Well, what makes Gujrati, Marathi, Rajastani and Bengali sound similar to a South Indian ear? It's the Hindi'shness...... what I meant was, when Sinhalese speak, they lack that Hindi'sness.

Instead of Hindi'shness we can put it as Hindustani'shness! Hindustani'shness is established by the moguls and the other Muslim dynasty! gujarati Rajastani are derived form Hindi and in turn Hindi is derived form mixture between the sanskrit or pali with the Persian language! If the kalinaga hypothesis is true, then proto- Sinhalese can be considered to be one of the pure derivatives of Sanskrit! AT the time of Kalinaga Kingdom there was no muslim dynasty hence you can not expect the Hindi'shness or Hindustani'shness!