Sri Lanka is home to people of various religions, with different cultures and numerous traditions, which all combine as this great melting pot to give the island the exuberance it has.

Sinhalese and Tamil are the national languages of the country while English is widely spoken as well; Sinhalese, also known as Sinhala or Helabasa is believed to have been brought down to Sri Lanka by Prince Vijaya and his followers during 5^th century BCE. Belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European languages, Sinhala has its own Brahmic writing system and the oldest literary work dates back to the 9^th century. The language has developed over time but it continues to be the mother tongue of the Sinhalese people. Additionally, most people of ethnic groups other than the Buddhists also speak Sinhala, which totals to approximately 3 million people who speak Sinhala in Sri Lanka alone.

One of the longest surviving classical languages in the world, Tamil literature has existed well over 2,000 years with the first records dating back to 2^nd century BCE. It is an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore, one of India’s scheduled languages, and has a significant presence in Malaysia and Mauritius. Spoken mostly by the Hindu’s and Sri Lankan Moor Muslims, Tamil is one of the country’s national languages and has a strong presence in Colombo as well as Northern and Eastern provinces.

Though it is not an official language, English is spoken throughout the island and visitors to Sri Lanka will not run into many instances where they are misunderstood. Most businesses, schools and government offices will be able to correspond in English.

Sinhalese, Tamil and English may be the three main languages of Sri Lanka but a range of other languages are spoken as well: Tourists in Sri Lanka may also hear various forms of Portuguese Creole, Creole Malay and Dutch.