Languages of Sri Lanka
| Languages of Sri Lanka | |
|---|---|
Sri Lankan sign languages | |
| Keyboard layout | |
The main languages spoken in Sri Lanka are Tamil and Sinhala. Several languages are spoken in
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]
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Native and indigenous languages
As per 2016, the
Sri Lankan Malay
language.
Languages of foreign origin
(click to see full view of memorial plate)
English in Sri Lanka is fluently spoken by approximately 23.8%[3] of the population, and widely used for official and commercial purposes. It is the native language of approximately 74,000 people, mainly in urban areas. A handful of the 3,400 people of Portuguese descent speak Sri Lankan Portuguese creole.[4]
References
- ^ "Sri Lanka – language". Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ Veddah at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ "Sri Lanka – language". Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ Indo-Portuguese (Sri Lanka) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)