( English pronunciation:  /sriˈlɑːŋkə/ , /sriˈlæŋkə/ , or /ʃriˈlɑːŋkə/ ; [ 8 ] [ 9 ] local pronunciation:  [ˌɕriːˈlaŋkaː] ; Sinhala : ශ්‍රී ලංකා , Tamil : இலங்கை ), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known as Ceylon (pronounced /sɨˈlɒn/ , /ˌseɪˈlɒn/ , or /ˌsiːˈlɒn/ ) before 1972,