Sinhala script
The Sinhala script is an abugida used primarily to write the Sinhala language, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the majority of Sri Lanka's population as one of the country's two official languages.[1][2] Derived from the ancient Brahmi script, it is written from left to right and consists of 56 basic characters: 38 consonants (each with an inherent vowel sound, typically /a/) and 18 independent vowels, along with dependent vowel signs, unique features such as prenasalized stops (e.g., for sounds like /mb/, /nd/, /ŋg/) and distinct signs for the short and long low front vowels ä and äː (U+0D87 and U+0D88).[1][3] The script's origins trace back to the introduction of Brahmi to Sri Lanka around the 3rd century BCE, with the earliest inscriptions appearing in Sinhala-Prakrit by the late 3rd or early 2nd century BCE.[4] It evolved as a variant of Southern Brahmi, influenced by Pallava scripts from southern India during the 6th century CE, and developed into a distinct form used alongside the Sinhala language's precursor, Elu, by the first millennium CE.[4][5] Beyond Sinhala, the script serves liturgical purposes for Pali and Sanskrit in Buddhist texts and has been adapted for some Tamil writing in Sri Lanka.[1] Key structural elements include the virama (U+0DCA, known as al-lakuna) to suppress inherent vowels in consonant clusters, often rendered visibly unless combined with a zero-width joiner, and reduced conjunct forms like repaya (for /rə/), yansaya (for /j/), and rakaaraansaya (for /r/).[1] The script adheres to the national standard SLS 1134 and supports script-specific digits (U+0DE6–U+0DEF), with archaic numerals (U+111E0–U+111FF) preserved for historical contexts predating 1815.[1] These features reflect its adaptation to Sinhala phonology, which lacks aspiration distinctions common in other Indo-Aryan languages due to substrate influences from pre-Indic languages in Sri Lanka.[4]Overview
General Characteristics
The Sinhala script is an abugida, a type of writing system in which consonants carry an inherent vowel sound, typically /a/, which can be modified or suppressed using diacritical marks.[6] It is written from left to right and is primarily used to write the Sinhala language, spoken by over 16 million people mainly in Sri Lanka.[6] The script descends from the Brahmi script through the Grantha script, with its modern form stabilizing around the 13th century CE.[7] A distinctive feature of the Sinhala script is its rounded, bulbous letter shapes, which evolved to minimize damage when writing on ola (palm) leaves using a stylus.[8] Unlike many other Brahmic scripts, Sinhala avoids complex consonant conjuncts for clusters; instead, it employs a visible virama (halant) mark to suppress the inherent vowel and often stacks or juxtaposes letters side by side.[6] The script includes two varieties: the śuddha siṃhala (pure Sinhala) set for native words, comprising 28 consonants (24 basic and 4 prenasalized) and 12 independent vowels, and the miśra siṃhala (mixed Sinhala) extension for Sanskrit and Pali loanwords, adding aspirated forms and other characters.[6] Sinhala features two unique vowels not found in other Indic scripts: the short æ (/æ/) represented by ඇ and the long ǣ (/æː/) by ඈ, which are essential for native phonemes like those in words such as "apple" (ඇපල්).[7] Vowel diacritics (matras) attach above, below, to the left, or right of consonants, with 14 such combining forms.[8] Punctuation traditionally lacks a full stop, using a spiral mark called kunddaliya (෴), though modern usage incorporates Western commas and periods.[8] The Unicode standard encodes the script in two blocks with 91 characters, supporting both varieties and numerals.[7]Geographical and Linguistic Context
The Sinhala script is the writing system primarily used for the Sinhala language, an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-European family.[9] This language is spoken by the Sinhalese people, who form the majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka, and it exhibits insular characteristics due to its geographical isolation from other Indo-Aryan languages on the Indian mainland. Sinhala has been influenced by prolonged contact with Dravidian languages, particularly Tamil, which is also official in Sri Lanka, leading to shared phonological features and lexical borrowings despite their distinct families.[10] The script itself is an abugida derived from ancient Brahmi, adapted to represent Sinhala's phonology, including unique vowel and consonant inventories that distinguish it from continental Indo-Aryan scripts.[6] Geographically, the Sinhala script is predominantly used within Sri Lanka, where Sinhala serves as a national and official language alongside Tamil.[9] The language and its script are most prevalent among the approximately 16.1 million native speakers (74.1% of the country's population of 21.78 million as of the 2024 census), who constitute the Sinhalese ethnic majority.[11] Within Sri Lanka, Sinhala is the dominant language in the southwestern, central, and southern regions, including major urban centers like Colombo, Kandy, and Galle, where it functions in administration, education, media, and daily communication.[12] Dialectal variations in pronunciation and vocabulary exist across these areas, reflecting regional differences, though the script remains standardized for writing.[12] Beyond Sri Lanka, the Sinhala script sees limited use among the Sinhalese diaspora, estimated at over 1 million worldwide, with significant communities in countries such as Australia (around 200,000 as of 2024), the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, where it appears in community publications, religious texts, and cultural materials.[13] In Sri Lanka, the script also accommodates Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, through a mixed form (miśra siṃhala) that incorporates additional graphemes for Prakrit-derived terms, underscoring its role in religious and scholarly contexts.[6] This extended usage highlights the script's adaptability within Sri Lanka's multicultural linguistic landscape, where it coexists with Tamil script in the north and east.History
Origins from Brahmi
The Sinhala script originates from the Brahmi script, which was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE, likely alongside the arrival of Buddhism from northern India.[14] This introduction is associated with the missionary activities during the reign of Emperor Ashoka, though some evidence suggests pre-Ashokan influences possibly via South Indian channels.[15] The earliest known inscriptions using this script appear in cave sites across the island, such as those at Mihintale, dating to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, and documenting donations by early rulers like King Devanampiya Tissa (247–207 BCE) and King Uttiya (207–197 BCE).[15] These inscriptions, primarily in Prakrit, exhibit the angular, lapidary style characteristic of early Brahmi, with 38 letters but limited usage of about 22, focusing on basic consonants and short vowels without conjunct forms.[16] Over the subsequent centuries, the script underwent gradual transformation into distinct Sinhala forms, divided into phases: Early Brahmi (3rd century BCE to 1st century CE), marked by archaic, geometric shapes; Later Brahmi (2nd to 4th centuries CE), featuring smoother curves and serifs influenced by regional Indian variants; and Transitional Brahmi (5th to 7th centuries CE), bridging to medieval Sinhala.[16] Key evolutionary changes included the development of rounded letterforms adapted to palm-leaf writing, the addition of diacritics for vowel modifications, and innovations like new vowel signs for sounds unique to Sinhala, such as /æ/ (ඇ).[14] This period saw external influences, notably from Andhra Brahmi in southern India between the 1st century BCE and 5th century CE, evident in shared glyph variations for consonants like "ka" and "ma" in Sri Lankan inscriptions at sites like Vessagiriya and Ritigala.[17] By the 8th century CE, the script had fully diverged into the Sinhala alphabet, retaining its abugida structure—an alpha-syllabary where consonants carry an inherent /a/ vowel, modified by diacritics—but with simplified and more fluid designs suited to the Sinhala language's phonetic needs.[16] This evolution reflects both indigenous adaptations and interactions with Dravidian scripts like Tamil Brahmi, as seen in comparative palaeographic studies of cave inscriptions.[15] The process, spanning roughly ten centuries, transformed the original Brahmi into a script optimized for Sri Lankan Prakrit and emerging Sinhala, with over 1,500 surviving inscriptions providing primary evidence of these changes.[16]Evolution and Influences
The Sinhala script traces its origins to the Southern Brahmi script, a variant of the ancient Brahmi writing system that spread to Sri Lanka with the introduction of Buddhism around the 3rd century BCE.[8] Early evidence of this script appears in cave and rock inscriptions across the island, dating back to the same period, with the oldest known examples found in Anuradhapura and other archaeological sites.[16] These initial forms were angular and linear, reflecting the influence of the Asokan Brahmi used in Indian edicts from the 3rd century BCE, and were primarily employed for Prakrit-language inscriptions related to Buddhist donations and royal decrees.[16] The script underwent gradual transformation over the first millennium CE, evolving through distinct phases aligned with linguistic and cultural shifts in Sri Lanka. From the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, it remained in an Early Brahmi stage with about 38 basic characters, lacking distinct long vowels or complex conjuncts.[16] By the 2nd to 4th centuries CE, Later Brahmi forms emerged, showing smoother curves as writing materials transitioned from rock surfaces to softer substrates like metal and palm leaves.[8] The Transitional Brahmi phase (5th–7th centuries CE) marked a pivotal shift toward more rounded letter shapes, coinciding with the rise of Old Sinhala as a distinct Indo-Aryan language influenced by local Dravidian elements.[16] This period saw the development of unique Sinhala features, such as simplified vowel diacritics, driven by the need to adapt to the phonetic requirements of the evolving Sinhala language, which blended Indo-Aryan roots with substrate influences from pre-existing Elu dialects.[8] External influences played a crucial role in shaping the script's distinctive morphology, particularly from South Indian writing systems during periods of trade, migration, and political interaction. Between the 4th and 9th centuries CE, the Pallava Grantha script from the Pallava dynasty in southern India exerted significant impact, introducing more fluid forms and modifications to consonant shapes, such as the elongation and curving of vertical strokes in letters like ka and ta.[18] Concurrently, Dravidian Tamil script elements influenced vowel notations and conjunct formations due to cultural exchanges and intermarriages in ancient Sri Lankan kingdoms.[8] The adoption of ola leaves (from the talipot palm) as the primary writing medium from the early centuries CE further drove orthographic changes; unlike chiseling on stone, stylus writing on these fragile leaves favored rounded, loop-like glyphs to avoid tears, resulting in the script's characteristic circularity seen in medieval forms by the 8th–10th centuries CE.[8] By the 11th–13th centuries CE, these influences coalesced into the Medieval and Modern Sinhala stages, stabilizing the script's 56-character inventory with minimal alterations thereafter, even as colonial eras introduced punctuation from European scripts without altering core letterforms.[16]Script Components
Consonants
The Sinhala script, an abugida derived from ancient Brahmi, features 41 consonants that form the core of its syllabic structure. These consonants are divided into two main categories: śuddha (pure) letters, which represent 24 native Sinhala sounds including 19 core stops and approximants plus 5 prenasalized forms, and miśra (mixed) letters, comprising 17 additional forms borrowed primarily from Sanskrit and Pali influences for aspirated and foreign sounds. While the full inventory includes 41 graphemes per SLS 1134:2004, modern usage often favors around 40, excluding very rare forms like certain conjunct-like jña (ඤ, /ɟɲə/). Each consonant inherently carries the vowel sound /ə/ (schwa) or /a/, which can be modified or suppressed using diacritics to form syllables.[6][19] Consonants in Sinhala are classified by place and manner of articulation, following a traditional Indic order: velar, palatal, retroflex, dental, labial, semivowels, sibilants, and glottal. This organization groups stops into pairs of unaspirated (alpaprāṇa) and aspirated (mahāprāṇa) voiceless forms, followed by voiced counterparts, nasals, and prenasalized variants. For instance, velar consonants include the unaspirated ka (ක, /kə/), aspirated kha (ඛ, /khə/), voiced ga (ග, /gə/), and prenasalized nga (ඟ, /ᵑgə/).[20] Palatal stops feature affricates like ca (ච, /t͡ʃə/) and ja (ජ, /d͡ʒə/), while retroflex series include ṭa (ට, /ʈə/) and ḍa (ඩ, /ɖə/), reflecting Dravidian influences. Labial consonants range from pa (ප, /pə/) to bha (භ, /bhə/), and sibilants encompass dental sa (ස, /sə/), palatal śa (ශ, /ʃə/), and retroflex ṣa (ෂ, /ʂə/). Semivowels such as ya (ය, /jə/), ra (ර, /rə/), la (ල, /lə/), and va (ව, /ʋə/) complete the inventory, with special forms like ḷa (ළ, /ɭə/) for retroflex lateral and fa (ෆ, /fə/) for the borrowed labiodental fricative.[6]| Articulation Group | Unaspirated Voiceless | Aspirated Voiceless | Voiced | Nasal | Prenasalized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velar | ක (/k/) | ඛ (/kh/) | ග (/g/) | ඞ (/ŋ/) | ඟ (/ᵑg/) |
| Palatal | ච (/t͡ʃ/) | ඡ (/t͡ʃʰ/) | ජ (/d͡ʒ/) | ඤ (/ɲ/) | ඦ (/ᵑɟ/) |
| Retroflex | ට (/ʈ/) | ඨ (/ʈʰ/) | ඩ (/ɖ/) | ණ (/ɳ/) | ඬ (/ᵑɖ/) |
| Dental | ත (/t/) | ථ (/tʰ/) | ද (/d/) | න (/n/) | ඳ (/ⁿd/) |
| Labial | ප (/p/) | ඵ (/pʰ/) | බ (/b/) | ම (/m/) | ඹ (/ᵐb/) |
Vowels and Diacritics
The Sinhala script, an abugida derived from Brahmi, employs an inherent vowel sound of /a/ (or schwa /ə/ in unstressed positions) with each consonant glyph, which can be modified or suppressed using dependent vowel signs known as diacritics.[6] These diacritics allow for the representation of various vowel qualities when the inherent /a/ is not desired, attaching to consonants in positions such as before (pre-base), after (post-base), above, below, or in combinations forming circumgraphs that span multiple sides of the base glyph.[20] Independent vowel letters, used at the start of words or in isolation, number 18 in total, comprising 14 core vowels (12 pure śuddha and 2 mixed miśra diphthongs) plus four archaic vocalic forms derived from Sanskrit influence.[6] Vowel signs, totaling 16 dependent forms, are combining marks that follow the consonant in logical Unicode order but render visually around it, ensuring compact syllabic representation.[20] Independent vowels include short and long pairs for most qualities, such as /a/ (අ, U+0D85), /aː/ (ආ, U+0D86), /æ/ (ඇ, U+0D87), and /æː/ (ඈ, U+0D88), with the latter two being distinctive to Sinhala among Indic scripts.[20] Front vowels like /i/ (ඉ, U+0D89) and /iː/ (ඊ, U+0D8A) are represented by dedicated glyphs, while back rounded vowels include /u/ (උ, U+0D8B) and /uː/ (ඌ, U+0D8C). Mid vowels cover /e/ (එ, U+0D91), /eː/ (ඒ, U+0D92), /o/ (ඔ, U+0D94), and /oː/ (ඕ, U+0D95), alongside diphthongs /ai/ (ඓ, U+0D93) and /au/ (ඖ, U+0D96). Archaic forms such as vocalic /r/ (ඍ, U+0D8D), /rː/ (ඎ, U+0D8E), /l/ (ඏ, U+0D8F), and /lː/ (ඐ, U+0D90) appear primarily in loanwords from Pali or Sanskrit.[6] These independent forms maintain the script's rounded, cursive aesthetic, influenced by historical evolution from Pallava Grantha scripts.[6] Dependent vowel signs modify the inherent /a/ of consonants, with 13 primary signs for śuddha and miśra vowels, plus three for vocalic forms. Post-base signs include the long /aː/ (ා, U+0DCF), which extends rightward, and the open /æ/ (ැ, U+0DD0) and /æː/ (ෑ, U+0DD1). Above-base signs denote /i/ (ි, U+0DD2) and /iː/ (ී, U+0DD3), while below-base forms represent /u/ (ු, U+0DD4) and /uː/ (ූ, U+0DD6), though their shapes may vary slightly by consonant for aesthetic fitting. Pre-base signs, crucial for /e/ series, include ෙ (U+0DD9) for /e/, which combines with post-base ා for /eː/ (ේ, U+0DDA), forming a circumgraph. Similarly, /o/ (ො, U+0DDC) and /oː/ (ෝ, U+0DDD) use pre-base with post-base extensions, and /au/ (ෞ, U+0DDE) adds a right-hook. Diphthong /ai/ uses a pre-base upper mark (ෛ, U+0DDB).[20] Vocalic signs like ෘ (U+0DD8) for /r/ and the rare Gayanukitta ෟ (U+0DDF) for vocalic /l/ are less common in modern Sinhala but retained for classical texts.[6] To suppress the inherent vowel entirely, the virama (al-lakuna, ්, U+0DCA) is applied, rendering a consonant in its pure form (e.g., ක් for /k/), often facilitating conjunct clusters with zero-width joiner (ZWJ) for reph or special ligatures.[20] Vowel sign shapes are context-sensitive; for instance, the /u/ sign below a consonant like ර (ra) may curve differently than under ක (ka) to avoid overlap. This positional flexibility supports Sinhala's syllabic nature, where a syllable like /kæ/ is written as කැ (consonant + ැ diacritic). In orthographic practice, vowel length contrasts are phonemically significant, distinguishing minimal pairs, though pronunciation may vary regionally.[6]| Vowel Quality | Independent Form (Unicode) | Dependent Sign (Unicode) | Example Syllable | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /a/ (inherent) | අ (U+0D85) | (none) | ක (ka) | N/A |
| /aː/ | ආ (U+0D86) | ා (U+0DCF) | කා (kā) | Post-base |
| /æ/ | ඇ (U+0D87) | ැ (U+0DD0) | කැ (kæ) | Post-base |
| /i/ | ඉ (U+0D89) | ි (U+0DD2) | කි (ki) | Above |
| /e/ | එ (U+0D91) | ෙ (U+0DD9) | කෙ (ke) | Pre-base |
| /ai/ | ඓ (U+0D93) | ෛ (U+0DDB) | කෛ (kai) | Pre-base (above) |
Conjuncts and Special Forms
In the Sinhala script, conjuncts represent consonant clusters where two or more consonants occur without an intervening vowel, typically indicated by a virama (hal kirīma, U+0DCA) that suppresses the inherent vowel of the preceding consonant.[6] Unlike many other Brahmic scripts such as Devanagari, where conjuncts often form compact ligatures by default, Sinhala commonly renders the virama as a visible horizontal bar below the consonant, with the following consonant appearing in full size rather than reduced or stacked.[6] This visible virama approach simplifies readability and is the standard in modern typography, though optional ligated forms can be produced using a zero-width joiner (ZWJ, U+200D) after the virama, particularly for clusters involving the consonants 'ra' (ර) or 'ya' (ය).[6] For example, the cluster 'kva' (ක්ව) may appear as ක්ව with a visible virama or as a ligature in certain fonts, while 'rka' (ර්ක) can form ර්ක using ZWJ for a joined glyph.[6] Special ligatures in Sinhala primarily facilitate the integration of 'ra' and 'ya' within conjuncts, drawing from historical influences in the script's evolution. The repaya (රෙපය), a superscript form of 'ra', replaces the full 'ra' when it precedes another consonant, appearing as a small curved stroke above the following letter to indicate the 'r' sound without altering the base glyph significantly.[23] Similarly, the rakaranshaya attaches the lower half of 'ra' to the base consonant, as seen in forms like රකරංශය, while the yanshaya positions 'ya' as a subscript curl below or to the side of the preceding consonant, such as in conjuncts like ක්ය (kya).[23] These forms, often termed "half-forms" in linguistic analyses, emerged between the 8th and 15th centuries CE and are font-dependent in digital rendering, with older manuscripts favoring touching consonants over explicit viramas.[23] An example is the conjunct ක්ෂ (kṣa), which combines 'ka' and 'ṣa' as a single glyph in traditional typesetting. Beyond standard conjuncts, Sinhala features unique special forms for prenasalized consonants, which represent phonemic clusters of a nasal followed by a stop (e.g., /ᵐb/, /ⁿd/, /ŋg/). These are encoded as distinct characters rather than diacritic combinations, including ඹ (mba), ඳ (nda), ඬ (ṇḍa), ඟ (nga), and ඦ (njja), allowing them to function as single units in syllable formation.[6] This orthographic treatment reflects the language's phonological inventory, where prenasalization contrasts with simple nasal-plus-stop sequences, as in words like "amba" (අම්බ, mango) using the dedicated prenasalized form.[24] Vowel diacritics also exhibit special positional forms in conjunct contexts; for instance, the pre-base 'e' vowel (ෙ) shifts leftward around clusters, and circumfix vowels like 'au' (ෞ) envelop the base to accommodate stacked elements without overlap.[6] These adaptations ensure visual harmony in complex syllables, such as බෙක (beka, frog), where the vowel sign integrates seamlessly with the consonant base.[6]Orthography
Letter Names and Pronunciation
The Sinhala script employs an abugida system where each consonant letter inherently carries the vowel sound /a/ (or /ə/ in unstressed positions), and letter names reflect this phonetic structure, typically ending in suffixes like yanna or anna (meaning "letter"). These names are descriptive, incorporating terms such as alpaprāna for unaspirated (gentle) sounds and mahāprāna for aspirated (forceful) sounds, derived from Sanskrit terminology. Vowel letters are named directly after their sounds, prefixed with a- or similar for clarity. Pronunciation of the names follows Sinhala phonology, with epenthetic vowels for ease, such as adding /ə/ between consonants.[20][6] Vowel letters, known as svarayānna, are independent forms used when vowels stand alone or begin words. There are 18 primary vowels, including short and long variants, as well as diphthongs and vocalic forms. Their names and approximate International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) pronunciations are as follows, based on standard Unicode nomenclature and orthographic conventions:| Glyph | Name | IPA Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| අ | Ayanna | /a/ or /ə/ |
| ආ | Aayanna | /aː/ |
| ඇ | Aeyanna | /æ/ |
| ඈ | Aeeyanna | /æː/ |
| ඉ | Iyan na | /i/ |
| ඊ | Iiyanna | /iː/ |
| උ | Uyan na | /u/ |
| ඌ | Uuyanna | /uː/ |
| ඍ | Iru yanna | /r̩i/ |
| ෘ | Iruuyanna | /r̩iː/ |
| ඏ | Ilu yanna | /l̩i/ |
| ෘ | Iluuyanna | /l̩iː/ |
| එ | Eyan na | /e/ |
| ඒ | Eeyanna | /eː/ |
| ඓ | Aiyan na | /ai/ |
| ඔ | Oyan na | /o/ |
| ඕ | Ooyanna | /oː/ |
| ඖ | Auyan na | /au/ |
| Glyph | Name | IPA Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| ක | Alpapraana Kayan na | /k/ |
| ඛ | Mahaapraana Kayan na | /kʰ/ |
| ග | Alpapraana Gayan na | /ɡ/ |
| ඝ | Mahaapraana Gayan na | /ɡʱ/ |
| ඞ | Kantaja Naasikya ya | /ŋ/ |
| ච | Alpapraana Cayan na | /t͡ʃ/ |
| ඣ | Mahaapraana Jayan na | /d͡ʒʱ/ |
| ඟ | Taaluja Naasikya ya | /ɲ/ |
| ට | Alpapraana Ttayan na | /ʈ/ |
| ඩ | Alpapraana Ddayan na | /ɖ/ |
| ණ | Muurdaja Nayan na | /ɳ/ |
| ත | Alpapraana Tayan na | /t̪/ |
| ද | Alpapraana Dayan na | /d̪/ |
| න | Dantaja Nayan na | /n̪/ |
| ප | Alpapraana Payan na | /p/ |
| භ | Mahaapraana Bayan na | /bʱ/ |
| ම | Mayan na | /m/ |
| ය | Yayan na | /j/ |
| ර | Rayan na | /r/ |
| ල | Dantaja Layan na | /l̪/ |
| ව | Vayan na | /ʋ/ |
| ශ | Taaluja Sayan na | /ʃ/ |
| ස | Dantaja Sayan na | /s̪/ |
| හ | Hayan na | /ɦ/ |
| ළ | Muurdaja Layan na | /ɭ/ |
| ෆ | Fayan na | /f/ |
Transliteration Schemes
Transliteration schemes for the Sinhala script convert its abugida characters into the Latin alphabet, facilitating readability, cataloging, and cross-linguistic analysis while aiming to preserve phonetic and orthographic features. These schemes vary by purpose, with international standards emphasizing uniformity across Indic scripts and specialized systems tailored for library or scholarly use. Key schemes include ISO 15919, which provides a comprehensive framework for modern and classical texts, and the ALA-LC romanization, widely adopted for bibliographic purposes.[25][26] ISO 15919, published in 2001, standardizes the transliteration of Sinhala (along with Devanagari and related Indic scripts) into Latin characters as defined in ISO/IEC 10646. It maps Sinhala consonants, which inherently include the vowel "a" (e.g., ක to "ka", ඛ to "kha"), and provides distinct representations for vowels in independent and dependent (mātrā) forms, using diacritics for retroflex and long sounds (e.g., ට to "ṭa", ආ to "ā"). Special characters like anusvāra (◌ං to "ṁ" or contextually "ṅ/ñ/ṇ/n/m") and visarga (◌ඃ to "ḥ") follow systematic rules to ensure reversibility. This scheme supports Sinhala's unique letters, such as those for prenasalized stops absent in other Indic scripts, and is applicable to texts from any historical period. For example, the word "Sri Lanka" in Sinhala (ශ්රී ලංකා) transliterates as "śrī laṅkā". Its design promotes consistency in digital encoding and international documentation.[27][25] The ALA-LC romanization table, approved by the Library of Congress and the American Library Association, offers a practical scheme for cataloging Sinhala materials, emphasizing phonetic approximation suitable for English speakers. Consonants are rendered without diacritics for most stops (e.g., ක to "k", ග to "g"), while retroflexes use underdots (e.g., ට to "ṭ", ඩ to "ḍ"). Vowels include short and long forms (e.g., අ to "a", ආ to "ā", ඇ to "ă"), with the implicit "a" after consonants supplied in output unless suppressed by virāma (්). Anusvāra follows nasal assimilation rules (e.g., ◌ං before "k" becomes "ṅ"), and diphthongs like ඓ are "ai". Exceptions apply to saññaka marks, where aspirated forms simplify (e.g., non-aspirated + "h"). An example is "kolamba" for කොළඹ (Colombo), highlighting its focus on accessible representation over strict phonetics. This scheme is detailed in official tables and updated periodically for clarity in library systems.[26][28] In linguistic and literary studies, additional schemes like the one outlined by James W. Gair and W. S. Karunatillake provide scholarly transliterations tailored to Sinhala's orthographic complexities, such as conjunct forms and dialectal variations. Their guide, originally appended to works on literary Sinhala, prioritizes accurate representation of inflected forms and is used in academic publications for precise phonetic transcription. These schemes often align closely with ISO 15919 but incorporate nuances for Pali-influenced Sinhala texts. Overall, selection depends on context, with ISO 15919 favored for technical interoperability and ALA-LC for practical cataloging.[29]Numerals and Symbols
Sinhala Numerals
Sinhala numerals form a distinct set of symbols within the Sinhala script, derived from the ancient Brahmi numeral system and adapted for writing on palm leaves (Ola leaves), which influenced their rounded, cursive shapes to avoid tearing the medium.[30] These numerals evolved between 200 and 400 AD, appearing in early rock inscriptions, and were widely used in Sri Lanka for calculations, documentation, and astrology until the 19th century.[30] Following British colonization in 1815, their everyday use declined in favor of Arabic numerals introduced by European powers, though they persisted in specialized contexts like horoscopes into the 20th century.[7] The primary graphic numeral systems are Sinhala Illakkam (archaic numerals) and Lith Illakkam (astrological numerals), with additional non-graphic methods like Katapayadia for dating. Sinhala Illakkam numerals lack a zero and feature unique symbols for individual digits 1 through 9, as well as composite forms for tens (10, 20, up to 90), hundreds (100), and thousands (1000), enabling compact representation of larger numbers in historical texts such as the 1815 Kandyan Convention.[7] These forms originated from Southern Brahmi influences and Grantha script, exhibiting monolinear strokes in early manuscripts that later modulated in printed versions from the Dutch Press in 1736.[31] Lith Illakkam numerals, designed for ephemerides and astrological calculations, provide symbols for digits 0 through 9, with zero denoted by a halant (virama) modifier on a base consonant, reflecting their integration with Sinhala letter forms from the 8th-9th centuries.[30] Three variants exist, often based on letters like "Kombuwa" for 1 and "Na" for 2, combined with vowel diacritics for higher values; they were used in horoscope pagination and planetary calculations, maintaining relevance in traditional Sinhala Panchanga almanacs.[7] In typography, these numerals emphasize baseline alignment for digits like 2 and 3, differing from the more fluid handwritten styles to ensure legibility in printed astrological texts.[31] For digital representation, Sinhala Illakkam numerals are encoded in the Unicode Sinhala Archaic Numbers block (U+111E0–U+111FF), while Lith Illakkam occupies positions in the Sinhala block at U+0DE6–U+0DEF, both introduced in Unicode 7.0 in 2014 to support cultural preservation and computational processing.[31] Today, while Arabic numerals dominate general writing, Sinhala numerals appear in heritage printing, educational materials, and software for rendering traditional manuscripts, highlighting ongoing typographic research to adapt their historical forms for modern fonts without losing proportional harmony.[7]| Numeral System | Range | Key Features | Example Usage | Unicode Block |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinhala Illakkam | 1–9, 10–90, 100, 1000 | No zero; rounded, cursive symbols for efficiency on Ola leaves | Royal documents, calculations (e.g., 1815 Kandyan Convention) | U+111E0–U+111FF[7] |
| Lith Illakkam | 0–9 | Zero via halant; letter-based with diacritics; three variants | Horoscopes, ephemerides (e.g., planetary positions) | U+0DE6–U+0DEF[7] |
Astrological and Other Numerals
The Sinhala Lith Illakkam, also known as astrological numerals, form a specialized set of digits used primarily in traditional Sri Lankan astrology for recording horoscopes and performing calculations related to planetary positions. These numerals, ranging from 0 to 9, incorporate a zero placeholder known as Hal Lakuna or Halantha, which distinguishes them from earlier numeral systems lacking a zero concept. Derived from elements of the Sinhala script, including consonants and vowel modifiers, they evolved around the 8th–9th centuries CE, influenced by Southern Brahmi and Grantha scripts.[32][3][33] Historically, Lith Illakkam gained prominence during the Kandyan Kingdom period (up to the early 19th century), appearing in Ola leaf manuscripts for non-Buddhist texts, page numbering, and astrological ephemerides. By the 1700s, they were widely adopted by astrologers for their phonetic associations with Nakshatras (lunar mansions), where each digit's shape links to specific sounds or celestial elements. Usage persisted into the 20th century for horoscope casting, though it declined with the adoption of Arabic-Hindu numerals following British colonization in 1815. Evidence from inscriptions, such as those at Dakkina Vihara, shows precursors resembling Brahmi forms for higher values like 40, 50, and 100.[32][3][33] The digits are constructed from Sinhala letters, often with modifications to represent numerical values symbolically. For instance:| Digit | Unicode | Name/Description | Script Derivation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ෦ (U+0DE6) | Hal Lakuna (zero placeholder) | Halant (virama) symbol, removing inherent vowel sounds |
| 1 | ෧ (U+0DE7) | Kombuwa | Basic vertical stroke, akin to a simple consonant form |
| 2 | ෨ (U+0DE8) | Na or Murdhaja Na | Derived from the consonant "Na" with vowel modifier |
| 3 | ෩ (U+0DE9) | Naa | Extension of "Na" with long vowel sign |
| 4 | ෪ (U+0DEA) | Ja | Based on the consonant "Ja" |
| 5 | ෫ (U+0DEB) | Da | From the consonant "Da" |
| 6 | ෬ (U+0DEC) | Aakara (Akma) | Vowel sign "A" combined with modifier |
| 7 | ෭ (U+0DED) | Eka (OO) | Resembling the vowel "OO" or a looped form |
| 8 | ෮ (U+0DEE) | Aata (Ra) | Derived from "Ra" with circular element |
| 9 | ෯ (U+0DEF) | Nawa (Ni) | From the consonant "Ni" |