Indo Aryan Languages and the identity of Sinhala Language Rathnasiri Arangala It is impossible to say that there is a consensus

on the number of languages used in the world even among linguists. Although books on language studies deem that 4000 to 5000 languages are in use, it is believed that the actual number varies from 3000 to 10000( Crystal (1987) 1992: 284). These languages are subjected to numerous classifications for the ease of study. Categorizing languages according to their historical origins is one such classification. As per this view, world languages are divided into mutually exclusive language families. (Crystal (1987) 1992: 293-294; OGrady et al., 1996:Ch.9) In studying vocabularies of different languages, the existence of words that show phonological similarities across languages is apparent. This is the result of two or more languages evolving from one mother language. The genetic relationship of languages explains the evolution of languages where changes in one language lead to creation of multiple new languages. One method available to the historical linguists to identify the evolution of genetically related languages and the way in which daughter languages inherit words from their mother language is comparative recreation. To establish the methodical phonetic relationship that exists between the genetically related languages, comparative recreation method is used. (OGrady et al. 1996:349-50; 389-90) Some of these languages families constitute of hundreds of languages whereas others may have just one language. Similarly, some language families constitute of obsolete languages. (OGrady et al., 1996:390-391.) Nearly 30 main language families have been identified and several other languages are deemed language isolates since they do not show any genetic or structural relationship with any other language. (Crystal (1987) 1992:326-327.) Sinhala language belongs to Indo European language family. The languages belonging to this language family were originally spread around the entire Europe and a large area of South Asia but as result of colonialism they are now found in every corner of the globe. Indo European language family consists of ten branches and it is regarded as the largest language family in terms of its constituent languages and the number of people who use them as their mother tongue. (Crystal (1987) 1992 : 296303 ; OGrady et al., 1996:390.) Before the advents of colonialism Sinhala language was also the worlds southernmost Indo European language. Sinhala language belongs to Indo Iranian branch of Indo European family. Indo Iranian branch consists of two language groups: Iranian and Indo Aryan. It is believed that the parent language that gave birth to Indo Iranian branch might have bee split into two groups around 2nd century BC. Old Iranian which boasts of written evidence as old as 1700 BC is identified as the oldest form of the Iranian group. Oldest language form of the Indo Aryan group is preserved in the Vedic language which is the oldest form of

Sanskrit language. European scholars identify it as Vedic Sanskrit. *******(Masica (1991) 1993 : Ch. 3.) The Indo Aryan group is studied under three stages according to its historical evolution. These three stages are Early indo Aryan stage, Middle Indo Aryan stage and Modern Indo Aryan stage. The time period between 1500 BC and 600 BC is considered Early Indo Aryan stage. The Vedic language or the Vedic Sanskrit which had been used for religious purposes is the earliest form of language used in the Early Indo Aryan stage. It is generally held that it may have been used in the western part of India which was under the Iranian influence. The oldest form of Vedic language is found in II to VII books of Rig Veda. The Vedic language used in Brahmin and Sutra texts is considered as belonging to a later stage. Language features belonging to the second phase of the Early Indo Aryan stage are found in classical Sanskrit literary texts like Mahabharata and Ramayana. This language form is identified as literary Sanskrit or secular Sanskrit and it is widely held that its basis was a dialect used in Madhya Pradesh including western Sind valley, eastern Punjab and Haryana. It is clear that Sanskrit literature of later origin were influenced by languages that came into being in the consequent evolutionary stages of the Indo Aryan group. (Masica (1991) 1993: 5.) Secular Sanskrit is recognized by some scholars as Paniniya Sanskrit. A scholar named Panini in 4th or 5th century BC wrote a book with eight chapters on grammatical features of language use and to denote the meaning studied by Panini or subjected to the rules set by Panini, the term Paniniya Sanskrit is used. The etymological meaning of the term Sanskrit is systematized or cleaned. Another meaning is the form of language systematized with rules to suit transcribing purposes. According to this definition, it can be said that Sanskrit is a language form methodically prepared for written purposes rather than for spoken purposes. Bothe Vedic language and secular Sanskrit can be regarded as two evolutionary stages of proto Indo Iranian language. These two show differences in phonology, vocabulary and grammar. It is reasonable to consider secular Sanskrit as an evolution of Vedic language. Since only samples of written language belonging to Early Indo Aryan stage has been found, it is difficult to form conclusions on the spoken language of that time. For a long time, Vedic literature was preserved as an oral tradition. If hypothesized that there was no difference between spoken and written word of that time, it can be assumed that Vedic language may have been used for spoken purposes too. It is safe to assume that Vedic language may at least have been used as the spoken language of the upper echelons of the society. However, it can be concluded that in the time of Vedic Sanskrit writing samples, spoken word would have been a verity of proto Indo Iranian.(Ghatage 1962:84.) Second stage of Indo Aryan languages, Middle Indo Aryan stage, dates from 600 BC to 100 AD. Languages used in this stage can be divided into several categories.

Similarly, this era laid the foundation for Sinhala language. According to the content of available transcriptions, languages can be categorized. First category is the middle indo Aryan languages used for religious purposes. Pali, Ardha Magadhi, Jaina and Maharashtri were used by anti Brahmin ascetic groups as their medium of religious instruction. Since these language forms were documented after nearly five centuries, it is doubtful that their original forms are preserved in the transcriptions. Second category contains the languages found in secular writings like drams, epics and stories. Maharashtri and a host of languages that come under the common name Prakrit belong to this category. These languages are further categorized as Uttara, Madhya, Prachya and Uddichaya depending on their geographical spread. In addition, a number of religious and social divisions of theses languages are used as bases for categorization. Asoka Prakrit which contains numerous local dialects belonging to 3rd century BC forms the third language category of the middle Indo Aryan stage. Since the original forms of these languages have been preserved, they provide historical linguists with a more trustworthy source. Vedic language and Sanskrit were used in Brahmin society whereas Prakrit languages can be regarded as the tongues of Kshtriaya or warrior caste. It is mentioned that in Sanskrit drams, Kings use Sanskrit to engage in spiritual monologues whereas Prakrit languages are used to converse with women and servants. Bharata in his Natyashastra prescribes these guidelines. Saurasheni, Magadhi (used in Bihar) and Maharashtri (used in south west) are some Prakrit languages used in dramas. Jain Prakrit too was used in literary endeavors and it is believed that other Prakrit languages like Paishachi may have been used for documentation purposes to an extent. There is evidence that suggests Prakrit languages may have transcended Indian borderlines. Language used in Gandari Dhammapada or Khotan manuscripts which were discovered in Turkistan area of China is one such example. This language form is known as Niya Prakrit. (Masica (191) 1993: 52.) These manuscripts are believed to have been produced around 1st century AD and 3rd Century AD. The second example is Sinhala Prakrit. Its oldest transcriptions date back to 3rd century AD. But the origin of Sinhala Prakrit is assumed to date back to the Aryan colonization that took place several centuries prior to 3rd century AD. Therefore, Sinhala Prakrit can be regarded as one of the oldest Prakrit languages. Apabransha era is considered as the third stage of Prakrit languages. Apabransha is considered as one evolutionary stage of Pali and other Prakrit languages. This can be regarded as a result of independent development of Prakrit languages. Earliest examples of Apabransha are found in Kalidasas Wickramorvashi. It is held that Apabransha spread around 9th and 10th centuries AD and some of its verities survived

until 15th century AD. Parkrutha Sarwasva, a grammar treatise written by Markandeya in 15th century specifies 27 varieties of Apabransha. (Jhaveri 1978: 2.) The vocabulary of Middle Indo Aryan languages is based on the Early Indo Aryan varieties. In addition, Prakrit languages contain local vocabularies whose exact etymological bases are obscure. The basis of Modern indo Aryan can be considered as Apabransha. Modern Indo Aryan languages are the modern languages spread across the entire north India, North West India and Deccan area. Sinhala language too is classified as a modern Indo Aryan language. Other than in Sinhala, in other languages, evidence of written documentation are found between 10th century AD and 16th century AD. The Buddhist Sanskrit language used in Mahayana Buddhist texts can be regarded as a Middle Indo Aryan language variety in the guise of Sanskrit. This can be deemed an artificial language or a language specially devised through mixing Pali and Sanskrit to document religious texts since it contain grammatical elements that are not explainable in terms of Sanskrit grammar. It can be concluded that to make Buddhism popular among the people who held Sanskrit in high esteem, this language might have been formulated. Romani language of Gypsies around the world (Masica (1991) 1993: 22-23) left its place of origin during the Middle Indo Aryan stage. It is surmised that a Prakrit language from central India might have been its parent and it might have migrated North Westward so that by the dawn of new millennium it had left its place of origin completely. It is not difficult to identify that all other modern Indo Aryan languages as sharing a similar time period and a similar route of evolution irrespective of minor differences. (Ghatage 1962:132) Next, attention should be given to Sinhala language. After the introduction of three evolutionary stages of Indo Aryan languages, almost all scholars who have done studies on this area considered Sinhala as a modern Indo Aryan language. However, the Prakrit language that later evolved into Sinhala took a route different from other Prakrit languages. Although it is uncertain exactly when it left its place of origin, it is acceptable that by 3rd century AD it had developed into a distinct dialect. As to the place of origin of the variety of Prakrit that came to Sri Lanka, there is no consensus among the language scholars. One group argues that it is an Eastern Indian variety whereas another group asserts that it was a Western Indian variety. However, even in the oldest transcriptions, a mixture of eastern and western characteristics can be identified. The most feasible argument is that although its original source was a western variety in its development the influence of eastern varieties was crucial. (Balagalle (1992) 2006:41.) Since its oldest transcriptions that date back to 3rd century AD, Sinhala Prakrit did not have nasalized consonants and tended to substitute s with h and p with w. The long vowels of early and middle Indo Aryan languages became short and the combined consonants of early and middle Indo Aryan languages became individual consonants in this period. In era termed by Geiger as pre-Sinhala era that spans from 4th century AD to 8th century AD, the demise of *** swara Madhya danthya and Kakudaya niwratnana consonents*** and

transformation of some vowels into different vowels (Geigers theory on *** abhishruti*** explainis this) can be identified. (Balagalle (1992) 2006: 44-53.) Sinhala language was first divided into evolutionary stages by Wilhelm Geiger. Although he revised his original division of stages, it remained popular than the revised version. Both of his divisions identified the period between second/third century BC to fourth /fifth century AD as Sinhala Prakrit period and the period between fourth /fifth century AD to eighth century AD as old Sinhala period. The period between eighth century AD and thirteenth centaury AD is named as middle Sinhala period. It seems that this categorization is in accordance with other Prakrit languages. The determination of 13th century as the modern period of Sinhala language seems to have been influenced by the time of origin of Sidat Sangara. Secondly, the further subdivision of the modern period into classical literary period (13th to 17th century) and modern period (17th century to date) seems to suggest that evolution of Sinhala language was seen as a parallel to evolution of other Prakrit languages. According to Ghatage, the modern period of Sinhala starts from 8th century AD and from 9th century AD the production literary texts can be seen. (Ghatage 1962: 132) The oldest evidence of literary texts can be traced back to three centuries prior to the date given by Ghatage. This cannot be seen in other modern Indo Aryan languages. The availability of an adequate amount of evidence to study the early stages and the evolution of Sinhala language is of great significance. With the aid of findings made by philologists and language scholars including Senarth Paranavithana through close analysis of such evidence, Wimal G Ballagalle revised the division of periods made by Geiger and brought forward the Sinhala Prakrit period in the chronological order of language evolution. He included the Geigers old Sinhala period inside the Prakrit period. He also used the Geigers starting point of the middle Sinhala period and stretched its end point to the 18th century. (Balagalle (1992) 2006: 62) The basis of these revisions is that Sinhala language between the 3rd century BC and 8th century AD share features with other Prakrit languages but after the 8th century it develops features that are unique to it. Balagalle posits that the attempts to re-establish the traditional education system destroyed by foreign invasions and to build a new literary tradition following the guidelines of old texts herald the dawn of a new era of language. He also contends that religious and academic debates, emergence of new modes of communication, introduction of a common system of education and the influence of world literature propelled Sinhala language to a new era of its evolution. (Balagalle (1992) 2006: 67-69.) A close study of these factors and arguments lead to the question whether Sinhala should be regarded as a modern Indo Aryan language. Modern Indo Aryan languages have originated from middle Indo Aryan Prakrit varieties and have evolved through an Apabransha period. With regard to Sinhala, such a clear Apabransha period cannot be seen. But some Apabransha features are found in several documents dated between

4th and 7th century AD. (Balagalle (1992) 2006: 52.) Although not considered as a direct evolution of Indian Prakrit languages, modern Sinhala language is clearly an evolutionary result of the ancient language form known as Sinhala Prakrit. Although the literary uses of modern Indo Aryan languages do not date back as far as 10 th century AD, the evidence of literary uses of Sinhala language can be found in as early as 6th century AD. According to chronicles and epics, origins of Sinhala literature can be further traced back to two or three centuries and it shows characteristics independent of other Prakrit literature. It is important to investigate the causes behind these unique features of Sinhala language. Middle Indo Aryan languages existed as spoken froms in Sanskrit dominated areas and Sinhala got its foundation from a Prakrit isolated from its place of origin. Middle Indo Aryan languages came into contact with Sanskrit and with one another whereas the Prakrit that birthed Sinhala came into contact with one of the main languages of the Dravidian family, Tamil. Similarly it also came into contact with aboriginal language/s of the island. Therefore, Sinhala Prakrit language took an evolutionary route different from other middle Indo Aryan languages. Hence, it is difficult to conclude that it transformed into a modern Indo Aryan language following the evolutionary path of other middle Indo Aryan languages. The issues to be solved are when did Sinhala relinquish its Prakrit form and when did the modern period of Sinhala begin. It is interesting to see whether it became the modern Sinhala as early as 8th century or as result of the European influence in 17th and 18th centuries did it forgo intermediary features to enter the modern period. Hereto discussed facts lead to the conclusion that Sinhala language is older than modern Indo Aryan languages like Bengali, Hindi, Panjabi and Gujarati. Dhivehi which, according to chronological order, is the daughter language of Sinhala is similar to modern Indo Aryan languages. Thus, it is necessary to find the place of Sinhala language within this linguistic chronological hierarchy. In one hand it is not difficult to conclude that Sinhala and Pali are contemporaries with similar origins. Attempts have been made by both European and local scholars to identify Pali as an especially prepared language based on Magadhi Prakrit or Ardha Magadhi or Avanti Prakrit for the purpose of preaching Buddhism (Rahula 1984: 211-218.) or as a literary Prakrit different from Prakrit languages that were in common use since Pali is not found in Edicts of Asoka. The idea is presented that if the teachings of Buddha and their interpretations were not rendered in Pali during the first Buddhist council, for the purpose of disseminating Dharma, they were translated into Pali during the third Buddhist council. Since it can be assumed that according to the chronicles, historical accounts and archeological findings, by the time of Buddha, Aryans have already begun to colonize the island, it is not unreasonable to believe that the variety of Prakrit that birthed Sinhala would have been gaining currency at that time. On this basis, it can be said that both Sinhala and Pali are contemporaries with similar origins. As shown by the

earliest documental evidence, Sinhala Prakrit had already begun to develop with features different from other Prakrit languages. Its acquisition of a novel form prior to the modern Indo Aryan period was discussed in the preceding sections. It is reasonable to conclude that the origins of the diglossic nature of the modern Sinhala dates back to 10th century AD, a time before the modern Indo Aryan period. The Sinhala prose tradition of the 11th century was frequented by Sanskrit and Pali loanwords and it was the origin of the current language form known as Mishra Sinhala. The pure Sinhala form (Hela) used in Sulukalinguda of Dharmapradeepika too was in use at this time. This can be regarded as a language form especially devised for poetics since it has been used in all lyrical endeavors from Sigiri graffiti to Padyawaliya in Kotte era. Texts like Sasadavata and Muwadevdawata which were written in Polonnaruwa era, Kavsilumina which was written in Dambadeni era, Sidat Sangarawa, Siyabaslakara and Elu Sandaslakuna which are academic texts written in verse are written in pure Sinhala or Hudu Heluwa. This pure form is a result of language evolution in 7th and 8th centuries. (Balagalle (1992) 2006, 56.) The factors heretofore taken into consideration assert that Sinhala language took a different evolutionary route from other ***Bhatru*** languages. Since Sinhala had already begun to as show independent developmental traits before the origins of modern Indo Aryan languages, it is reasonable to consider it as a modern language that came into being as a result of the contact between a Middle Indo Aryan language and other languages.