Editing Vedda (section)

==Language==
{{Main|Vedda language}}
[[File:Tisahamy Aththo (Vedda Chief).jpg|left|upright|thumb|Most prominent Vedda chief late Tisahamy Aththo]]
[[File:Tisahamy Aththo with Some Vedda Women.jpg|left|upright|thumb|Tisahamy Aththo with some Vedda women]]
[[File:Important locations of Anuradhapura Kingdom.png|thumb|right|[[Malaya Rata]] was the historical center of the [[Vedda language]], a [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]-based creole.]]
The original language of the Veddas is the [[Vedda language]], which today is used primarily by the interior Veddas of [[Dambana, Sri Lanka|Dambana]]. Communities such as [[Coast Veddas]] and [[Anuradhapura Veddas]], who do not identify themselves strictly as Veddas, also use Vedda language for communication during hunting and or for religious chants.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} When a systematic field study was conducted in 1959, it was determined that the language was confined to the older generation of Veddas from Dambana. In the 1990s, self-identifying Veddas knew few words and phrases in the Vedda language, but there were individuals who knew the language comprehensively. Initially, there was considerable debate among [[linguists]] as to whether Vedda is a dialect of [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] or an independent language. Later studies indicate that it diverged from its parent stock in the 10th century and became a [[Creole languages|Creole]] and a stable independent language by the 13th century, under the influence of [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]].

The parent Vedda language(s) is of unknown [[Genetic (linguistics)|genetic origins]], while Sinhala is of the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] branch of [[Indo-European languages]]. [[Phonology|Phonologically]] it is distinguished from Sinhala by the higher frequency of [[palatal]] sounds C and J. The effect is also heightened by the addition of [[animacy|inanimate]] [[suffixes]]. Vedda language word class is [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphologically]] divided into [[nouns]], [[verbs]] and variables with unique [[grammatical gender|gender distinctions]] in animate nouns. Per its Creole tradition, it has reduced and simplified many forms of Sinhala such as second person [[pronouns]] and denotations of negative meanings. Instead of borrowing new words from Sinhala, Vedda created combinations of words from a limited lexical stock. Vedda also maintains many [[Archaism|archaic]] Sinhala terms prior to the 10th to 12th centuries, as a [[relict]] of its close contact with Sinhala. Vedda also retains a number of unique words that cannot be derived from Sinhala. Likewise, Sinhala has also borrowed from the original Vedda language, words, and grammatical structures, differentiating it from its related Indo-Aryan languages. Vedda has exerted a [[Substrata (linguistics)|substratum]] influence in the formation of Sinhala.

Veddas that have adopted [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] are found primarily in the southeastern part of the country, especially in the vicinity of Bintenne in [[Uva Province]]. There are also Veddas that have adopted Sinhala who live in Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province.{{sfn|Brow|1978}}<ref name=Nira>{{cite web|url=http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/07/sri-lankas-conflict-culture-and.html|title=Sri Lanka's conflict: culture and lineages of the past|author-link=Nira Wickramasinghe|first=Nira|last=Wickramasinghe| publisher=Sri Lanka Guardian|access-date=February 20, 2016}}</ref>

Another group, often termed [[East Coast Veddas]], is found in coastal areas of the Eastern Province, between [[Batticaloa]] and [[Trincomalee]]. These Veddas have adopted [[Tamil language|Tamil]] as their mother tongue.<ref name="vedda.org">{{Cite web|url=https://vedda.org/coastal-veddas.htm|title=Sri Lanka's east coastal Vedda indigenous communities|website=vedda.org|accessdate=26 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedda.org/seligmann-coastal-veddas.htm|title=East Coast Veddas|website=vedda.org|accessdate=26 May 2023}}</ref>