Editing Sinhala script (section)

==History==
The Sinhala script is a [[Brahmic script|Brahmi derivate]] and was thought to have been imported from Northern India around the 3rd century BCE.{{sfnp|Daniels|1996|p=379}} It developed in a complex manner, partly independently but also strongly influenced by South Indian scripts at various stages,<ref name="cardona">{{cite book |last1=Cardona |first1=George |last2=Dhanesh |first2=Jain |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |date=2003 |page=109}}</ref> manifestly influenced by the early [[Grantha alphabet|Grantha script]].{{sfnp|Daniels|1996|p=408}}<ref name="diringer" /> Pottery from the 6th century BCE has been found in [[Anuradhapura]] with lithic Brahmi inscriptions written in [[Prakrit]] or Sinhala Prakrit. It has caused debate as to whether Ceylonese Brahmi influenced Brahmi in the Indian mainland.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHHzP4uVpn4C&q=anuradhapura+brahmi&pg=PA119|title=The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia|last=Ray|first=Himanshu Prabha|date=2003-08-14|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521011099|language=en}}</ref>

Medieval Sinhalese, which emerged around 750 AD, which is thought to be derived from [[Grantha script]].<ref name=diringer>{{cite book |last1=Diringer |first1=David |title=Alphabet a key to the history of mankind |date=1948 |page=389}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=Pillai |first=N. Nadaraja |year=2018 |title=Contributions of the Tamils to the Writing Systems of Some South-East Asian Countries |url=http://www.languageinindia.com/jan2018/nadarajantamilwritingsystems.pdf |journal=Language in India |publisher=Language in India |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=403 |issn=1930-2940 |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref> Although, it has to be noted that between the Proto-Sinhalese and the Medieval Sinhalese that the found inscriptions are radically different, thus, it looks like a break.<ref name="diringer" /> However, according to the author Diringer a new script which has been derived from the Grantha script "''was also later employed for official inscriptions''".<ref name="diringer" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pillai |first=N. Nadaraja |year=2018 |title=Contributions of the Tamils to the Writing Systems of Some South-East Asian Countries |url=http://www.languageinindia.com/jan2018/nadarajantamilwritingsystems.pdf |journal=Language in India |publisher=Language in India |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=403 |issn=1930-2940 |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref> Subsequently, Medieval (and modern) Sinhalese resemble the South Indian scripts.<ref name="cardona"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pillai |first=N. Nadaraja |year=2018 |title=Contributions of the Tamils to the Writing Systems of Some South-East Asian Countries |url=http://www.languageinindia.com/jan2018/nadarajantamilwritingsystems.pdf |journal=Language in India |publisher=Language in India |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=403 |issn=1930-2940 |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref> The earliest surviving literature is from the 9th century CE, by this time around the script became more prevalent and was used in other contexts as well.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pillai |first=N. Nadaraja |year=2018 |title=Contributions of the Tamils to the Writing Systems of Some South-East Asian Countries |url=http://www.languageinindia.com/jan2018/nadarajantamilwritingsystems.pdf |journal=Language in India |publisher=Language in India |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=403 |issn=1930-2940 |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref> For instance, the [[Pali Canon|Buddhist literature]] of the [[Theravada]]-[[Buddhism|Buddhists]] of Sri Lanka, written in [[Pali]], used Sinhala script.

Modern Sinhalese emerged in the 13th century and is marked by the composition of the grammar book ''Sidat Sangara''.<ref name=diringer/> In 1736, the Dutch were the first to print with Sinhala [[Typeface|type]] on the island. The resulting type followed the features of the native Sinhala script used on palm leaves. The type created by the Dutch was monolinear and geometric in fashion, with no separation between words in early documents. During the second half of the 19th century, during the [[History of British Ceylon|colonial period]], a new style of Sinhala letterforms emerged in opposition to the monolinear and geometric form that used high contrast and had varied thicknesses. This high contrast type gradually replaced the monolinear type as the preferred style and continues to be used in the present day. The high contrast style is still preferred for text typesetting in printed newspapers, books, and magazines in Sri Lanka.<ref name="Dalton" />

Today, the alphabet is used by over [[Demographics of Sri Lanka|16 million people]] to write Sinhala in very diverse contexts, such as [[List of newspapers in Sri Lanka|newspapers]], [[List of television networks in Sri Lanka|TV commercials]], [[Government of Sri Lanka|government]] announcements, [[graffiti]], and [[Education in Sri Lanka|schoolbooks]].

[[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] is the main language written in this script, but rare instances of its use for writing [[Sri Lankan Creole Malay language|Sri Lanka Malay]] have been recorded.<ref name="Nordhoff2009">{{Cite book
| author = Nordhoff S
| title = A grammar of Upcountry Sri Lanka Malay 
| publisher = LOT Publications
| place = Utrecht
| pages = 35
| url = https://www.lotpublications.nl/a-grammar-of-upcountry-sri-lanka-malay-a-grammar-of-upcountry-sri-lanka-malay
| isbn = 978-94-6093-011-9
| date = 2009}}</ref>