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56b OMO B 3 4^fe^ SINHALESE This syttem taaches you the eas«ntlalf of ft tanguag« (for travel and enjoyment) without the drudgery of prolonged study 5'- Nn By Don M. de ZILVA WICKREMASINGHi Authorof Tamil Self*Taught Tamil GrammarSaif-Taught, &c. London : E. MAfU-fiOROUCH A CO. LTD. Marlborough's Self-Taught Series of European and Oriental Languages DESIGNED primarily for TOURISTS and TRAVEL- LERS in Foreign lands who, without previous knowledge of the Language, desire to express themselves sufficiently to be understood, these books also form a good foundation for the more seriously minded student. The Method followed throughout the Scries is to give Classified vocabularies and Conversational Phrases under Subjects, arranged in three columns giving first the English word or phrase, second the Foreign equivalent, and third the English phonetic pronunciation. This latter column A makes correct pronunciation a simple matter. section on Elementary Grammar is included in most cases and deals with the construction of sentences and any special pcculiarites of the language, such as Genders, Tenses, Con^ jugation of Verbs, etc. For the more important languages a separate volume on Grammar is published containing, in addition to a thorough treatise on Grammar, Exercises for translation. These books can he obtained through any bookseller. POIl COMPLETE LIST OF LANGUAGES SEE PA&E 4 OF COVLM ^1 k ^^>/x Marlborough's Self-Taught Series. SinDalese SelfCauflbt by the Natural Method -WITH Phonetic Pronunciation THIMM'S SYSTEM BY Don M. de Z. WICKRBMASINQHE, Hon. M.A. (Oxon) Epigraphistto theCeylonGovernment. Lectureron Tamiland Teltigtiinthe UniversityofOxford,andonPaliandPrakritfor Jesus College, Oxford. Authorof " TamilSelf-Taught," "TamilGrammar Self-Taught," etc. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN LONDON E. Marlborough &z Co., Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RSSBRVSO TO The Honourable Mr. F. H. M. CORBET, ADVOCATE-GENERAL OF MADRAS, DEDICATE THESE PAGES, I AS A TOKEN OF SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR HELP AND ENCOURAGEMENT AFFORDED ME IN MY LINGUISTIC STUDIES. M. DE Z. WICKRERIASINGHE. LETCHWORTH THE GARDEN CITY PRESS LTD., PRINTERS. PrintedandMadeinGreatBritain. PREFACE. THISmanualisintendedtosupplyaworkingknowled'geofSinhalese, for the benefit, primarily, of those who have not the time, or, perhaps,the inclination, to master the Grammar ofthe language, and yet require to use the spoken tongue for businessor other purposes. With this object in view, I have compiled the present work mainly on the lines of my Tamil Self-Taught, with the addition of an outline of the Grammar of Sinhalese, pending the publication of a separate volume ofGrammar. Having regardtothe needs ofstudentswhoworkwithoutaTeacher, I have devoted some pages wholly to the subject of pronunciation, andhave giventhetransliterationofalltheSinhalese words occurring in the grammar section of the work, side by side with the Sinhalese character. Inthe scheme oftransliteration I have used full-facedtype to mark the aspirate, instead of attaching the usual h to the aspirated con- s^on=ant,onthe principle of"one sign for one sign": e.g., ssi =k, and k, not kh. This, I consider, is practically useful in the trans- literation of Prakrit and modern Indian dialects, for it will enable the reader to distinguish at a glance the difference between, say, (5sitS523^ rathaka, a red conch shell, and (5(5<553 rathaka (raiaka), a small chariot, unless, as in the " P^pigraphia Zeylanica", a small hyphen is added between the two elements to show that the sound in question is a true double sound. Again, Cf:i and <$^ have been represented by a and 5, not, as is usual in Ceylon, by e and e, these soundsbeing only modifications ofthe sounds of^ a and Cp a. Further, as a guide to the proper intonation of Sinhalese words, I have indicated those vowels which are pronounced fully witha sort of "stress accent" by the mark of the acute accent placed above them. I have not done this, however, in the section containing the Vransliterated vocabularies, idiomatic phrases, and sentences, because 585 there the correct pronunciation of every Sinhalese word xs indicated in the third column of each page by means ofMarlborough's system ofEnglish phonetics. This work being designed purely for practical use, the rules and explanations given in the grammar section are scarcely intended for students entering on a scientific investigation of the Sinhalese language. For them a separate grammar and an etymological and historical lexicon founded on the latest results of Prakrit philology are under preparation. M. DE Z.W. Oxford, 1916. CONTENTS ... . CONTENTS. — PAGE Outline of Grammar. Pages 72-93. Articles 72 Nouns . 74 Pronouns; Personal 80 Demonstrative 83 Interrogative. 85 Verbs 86 Conversational Phrases AND Sentences. (Pages 94-117). ChangingMoney 117 CommercialanrlTrading 112 ExpressionsandPhrases UsefulandNecessaryTdiomafcic 94 . Fishing 111 . Health .. 105 Hotel, The 101 Meals 102-104 Breakfast 102 Dinner 103 Tea .. 104 Monej^ Changing 117 Sinhalese Currency 118 Sinhalese Money wiith EngUsh and American Equivalen 118 EngUsh and American Money with Sinhalese Equivalent: 118 Notices 98 . Planting 116 Post Office and Telegrams 106 Public Works 113 Railway, The 99 Shooting 110 Shopping 109 Time, The 106 Town, In 107 Money, Weights and Measures I IS. 119 Postal Rates . 119