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A comparative Orthographic Analysis of Malayalam, Tamil and Sinhala

Conference Paper · December 2020

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Dhammika Jayasinghe
University of Ruhuna
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 A comparative Orthographic Analysis of Malayalam, Tamil and Sinhala
Abstract
The recognized writing system of a particular language is called orthography. The spelling based
on vowel and vowel denoting signs, consonants and consonant denoting signs, hyphenation and
word breaks are included to orthography. Most of the modern languages are developed standard
orthography as writing system. The south Asian all scripts share a commonness. The writing
system of Malayalam, Tamil and Sinhala derived from common script (Brahmi) with adaptations
to represent sound specific to each languages. Malayalam is a Dravidian language mainly spoken
in Kerala State of India, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. Tamil is ones of the official languages in
Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Sinhala is an Indo-Aryan language mainly
spoken in Sri Lanka. Almost similar writing system is followed in these three languages. The
comparative orthographic analysis of the three languages, graphemic representations of the
consonants and vowels can be compared and contrasted systematically. The identification of
similarities and differences among the three systems of Malayalam, Tamil and Sinhala orthography
is facilitated in the learning of reading and writing in these languages, particularly among second
language learners. In this paper, the orthography of Malayalam, Tamil and Sinhala Languages are
discussed comparatively. The data were collected through library based documents. The
comparative linguistic methodology is adopted analysis of the data in this study.

Key words: Orthography, Malayalam, Tamil, Sinhala

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