(in Sinhala ශ්‍රී ලංකා śrī laṃkā , IPA:  [ˌʃɾiːˈlaŋkaː] ; whereas the island itself is referred to as ලංකාව laṃkāva , IPA:  [laŋˈkaːʋə] , in Tamil இலங்கை ilaṅkai , iˈlaŋɡai ). In 1978 it was changed to " Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka". [ 18 ] The current name is