Everything You Need To Learn Sinhala
Sinhala, or Sinhalese, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka. It, along with Tamil, is one of the two official languages of Sri Lanka. It’s spoken by over 17 million people.
Sinhala is closely related to Maldivian, a language spoken by the people of Maldives, though the two languages aren’t mutually intelligible.
The language is written in the Sinhala script, which descends from the Brahmi script, and is written from left to right.
Learners of Sinhala will find learning resources lacking, unfortunately, and our list reflects this. That said, there’s still enough here to get you to a conversational level in Sinhala.
Sinhala Language Learning Books
You can’t go wrong with a Sinhala language course/study book as your introduction to the language. Here, you’ll be taught Sinhala grammar, basic vocabulary, and the basics of sentence construction.
Another important addition to your collection should be a concise English-Sinhala dictionary. It’s crucial that you have a good dictionary, as you’ll need to refer back to it often on your journey to fluency.
Wanna learn essential words and phrases quickly? Well, consider getting a Sinhala phrasebook. With one of these, you’ll have a list of the most common Sinhalese words and phrases at your disposal, which you can study before travelling to Sri Lanka.
A Sinhala alphabet practice workbook will also come in handy for those unfamiliar with the writing system.
Sinhala Children’s Books
It’s always a good idea to practice your newfound language skills by reading children’s books in Sinhala. Designed to be easy-to-read, using common vocabulary and short, simple sentences, these books will ease beginners into the language without overwhelming them.
What’s also great about the books on this list, is that they’re bilingual dual language English-Sinhala stories, meaning you can use the parallel English text as a guide as you read the Sinhala version of the story.
Other Sinhala Books
Reading more advanced books in Sinhala is recommended once you’ve gained confidence from reading children’s books. With books for older readers, like the Bible in Sinhala, you’ll be introduced to much more complex language and concepts, thereby giving your Sinhala vocabulary and overall skills a huge boost.
Sinhala Digital Courses
If you want to learn the language but don’t have the time to sit down with books, a Sinhala e-course might suit you well. These types of courses tend to be focused on building your Sinhala speaking and listening skills, and not so much on the language theory side of things.
EuroTalk Interactive’s TalkNow! Learn Sinhala course is an interactive digital CD-Rom course that will teach you the essential Sinhala words and phrases you’ll need to communicate with natives whilst in Sri Lanka. This is a fun way of picking up lots of new vocabulary that you’re more likely to retain.
SINHALA INTERACTIVE COURSES
![Talk Now! Sinhala [CD-ROM Course]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51QA2JAPNML.jpg)