page_title: Vedda
section_title: Language
hierarchical_section_title: Vedda / Language
caption_attribution_description: English: The major ports and cities during the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka.
context_page_description: The Vedda or Wanniyalaeto are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Veddas, are accorded indigenous status. The Vedda minority in Sri Lanka is in threat of becoming completely assimilated. Most speak Sinhala instead of their indigenous languages which are nearing extinction. It has been hypothesized that the Vedda were probably the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka and have lived on the island since before the arrival of other ethnic groups in India.
  Veddas are also mentioned in Robert Knox's history of his captivity by the King of Kandy in the 17th century. Knox described them as "wild men", but also said there was a "tamer sort", and that the latter sometimes served in the king's army.
  The Ratnapura District, which is part of the Sabaragamuwa Province, is known to have been inhabited by the Veddas in the distant past. This has been shown by scholars like Nandadeva Wijesekera. The very name Sabaragamuwa is believed to have meant the village of the Sabaras or "forest barbarians".
context_section_description: The original language of the Veddas is the Vedda language, which today is used primarily by the interior Veddas of Dambana. Communities such as Coast Veddas and Anuradhapura Veddas, who do not identify themselves strictly as Veddas, also use Vedda language for communication during hunting and or for religious chants. When a systematic field study was conducted in 1959 it was determined that the language was confined to the older generation of Veddas from Dambana. In the 1990s, self-identifying Veddas knew few words and phrases in the Vedda language, but there were individuals who knew the language comprehensively. Initially, there was considerable debate among linguists as to whether Vedda is a dialect of Sinhala or an independent language. Later studies indicate that it diverged from its parent stock in the 10th century and became a Creole and a stable independent language by the 13th century, under the influence of Sinhala.
  The parent Vedda language(s) is of unknown genetic origins, while Sinhala is of the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European languages. Phonologically it is distinguished from Sinhala by the higher frequency of palatal sounds C and J. The effect is also heightened by the addition of inanimate suffixes. Vedda language word class is morphologically divided into nouns, verbs and variables with unique gender distinctions inanimate nouns. Per its Creole tradition, it has reduced and simplified many forms of Sinhala such as second person pronouns and denotations of negative meanings. Instead of borrowing new words from Sinhala, Vedda created combinations of words from a limited lexical stock. Vedda also maintains many archaic Sinhala terms prior to the 10th to 12th centuries, as a relict of its close contact with Sinhala. Vedda also retains a number of unique words that cannot be derived from Sinhala. Likewise, Sinhala has also borrowed from the original Vedda language, words, and grammatical structures, differentiating it from its related Indo-Aryan languages. Vedda has exerted a substratum influence in the formation of Sinhala.
  Veddas that have adopted Sinhala are found primarily in the southeastern part of the country, especially in the vicinity of Bintenne in Uva Province. There are also Veddas that have adopted Sinhala who live in Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province.
  Another group, often termed East Coast Veddas, is found in coastal areas of the Eastern Province, between Batticaloa and Trincomalee. These Veddas have adopted Tamil as their mother tongue.
caption: Malaya Rata was the historical center of the Vedda language, a Sinhala-based creole.
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