Na-ɳa-la-ɭa Division of Sinhala Language: A Morphological Study of Usage

Abstract

In focusing on the origin and evolution of the Sinhala language, the evolution of the word has a fundamental place among its basic elements. In the evolution of words, sounds can be identified as a special feature. Varieties such as Alveolar (Dental) and Retroflex, etc. reveal that these sounds are divided into various divisions according to variations in the articulation of sounds. This research investigates on what basis the sounds Na-ɳa-la-ɭa, which belong to those varieties, indicate the diversity of the Sinhala language. The main objective of this research is to study whether the usage of Na-ɳa-la-ɭa in the Sinhala language is based on phonological features or evolutionary features. It is also used as the research problem. In this research, which aims to investigate the usage and evolutionary characteristics of Na-ɳa-la-ɭa, first, words with that difference are collected. Sample of the research contains only the nouns mentioned in the books Butsaɽənə and Ama:vatuɽə are used. Next, a morphological analysis is performed by examining how the collected data appear in the original languages. Data analysis includes transcription according to the International Phonetics Alphabet and classification of the same instances according to phonetic patterns. The expected result of this research is to reveal the base of Na-ɳa-la-ɭa characters used in nouns in the Sinhala language. Furthermore, it is a basic expectation that the phonological or evolutionary factors that led to the existence of differentiation of na-ɳa-la-ɭa in the Sinhala language will be clarified through this research.