Sri Lanka Malay language

Not to be confused with Sri Lankan Malays.

Sri Lankan Malay
Native toSri Lanka
RegionNationwide, especially in Hambantota District
EthnicitySri Lankan Malays, also spoken by some Javanese Sri Lankans and Sinhalese in Hambantota
Native speakers
46,000 (2006)[1]
Malay-based creole
  • Sri Lankan Malay
Language codes
ISO 639-3sci
Glottologsril1245
ELPSri Lanka Malay

Sri Lankan Malay, also known as Sri Lankan Creole Malay, bahasa Melayu, Ja basawa, or Java mozhi, is a Malay-based creole language spoken in Sri Lanka, formed as a mixture of Sinhala and Shonam (Sri Lankan Muslim Tamil), with Malay being the major lexifier.[2] It is traditionally spoken by the Sri Lankan Malays, Javanese Sri Lankans, and among some Sinhalese in Hambantota.[3] Today, the number of speakers of the language have dwindled considerably but it has continued to be spoken notably in the Hambantota District of Southern Sri Lanka, which has traditionally been home to many Sri Lankan Malays.

  1. ^ Sri Lankan Malay at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ "APiCS Online - Survey chapter: Sri Lankan Malay". apics-online.info. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  3. ^ de Silva Jayasuriya, Shihan (2002). "Sri Lankan Malay: A Unique Creole" (PDF). NUSA: Linguistic Studies of Languages in and Around Indonesia. 50: 43–57.