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The form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is known as Theravada (school of elders). The Pali chronicles (e.g., the Mahavansa) claim that the Sinhalese as an ethnic group are destined to preserve and protect Buddhism. In 1988 almost 93% of the Sinhala-speaking population in Sri Lanka were Buddhist. [60]
[4] [1] Sinhala is also spoken as the first language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 2 million speakers as of 2001. [5] It is written using the Sinhala script, which is a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. [6] Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, alongside Tamil.
Topographic map of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, an island in South Asia shaped as a teardrop or a pear/mango, [168] lies on the Indian Plate, a major tectonic plate that was formerly part of the Indo-Australian Plate. [169] It is in the Indian Ocean southwest of the Bay of Bengal, between latitudes 5° and 10° N, and longitudes 79° and 82° E. [170]
Polonnaruwa Vatadage Sri Lanka Ceylon Tea. The culture of Sri Lanka mixes modern elements with traditional aspects and is known for its regional diversity. Sri Lankan culture has long been influenced by the heritage of Theravada Buddhism passed on from India, and the religion's legacy is particularly strong in Sri Lanka's southern and central regions.
The languages spoken on the island nation are deeply influenced by the various languages in India, Europe and Southeast Asia. Arab settlers and the colonial powers of Portugal, the Netherlands and Britain have also influenced the development of modern languages in Sri Lanka. See below for the most-spoken languages of Sri Lanka. [1]
A 1595 map of Sri Lanka created by Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius (from Sri Lanka) Image 46 R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo (from Sri Lanka ) Image 47 Maha rath mala ( Rhododendron arboreum ssp. zeylanicum ) is a rare sub-species of Rhododendron arboreum found in Central Highlands of Sri Lanka .
Although this language is no longer spoken there are Dutch influences found in the Sinhala and Tamil languages. There is also a portion of the Sri Lankan population with Dutch surnames, often people of mixed Dutch and Sri Lankan heritage, who are known as Burghers.
Unlike immigrants to countries in Continental Europe, the majority of Sri Lankan Tamils that went to live in Anglo-Saxon countries achieved entry through non-refugee methods such as educational visas and family reunion visas, owing to the highly educated in Sri Lanka being literate in English as well as Tamil.