Also Known As:
Sri Lankan Creole Malay, Melayu Bahasa, Java Jati, Sri Lankan Malay, Melayu, Sri Lanka pe Melayu, Java, Ja basawa, Java mozhi
Dialects & Varieties
Sri Lankan Malay
Slomanson, Peter. 2013. Sri Lankan Malay. In The Survey of Pidgin and Creole Languages - Volume III: Contact Languages Based on the Languages from Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas, edited by Michaelis, Susanne Maria, Philippe Maurer, Martin Haspelmath, and Magnus Huber, pp. 77-85. Oxford University Press.
Threatened
40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
30,000-40,000
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 2
A majority of community members speak the language. Speaker numbers are gradually decreasing.
2
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
40,000
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
No results found.
Location and Context
Countries
Sri Lanka
Location Description
"The largest number of speakers is found in the greater Colombo area ..."
Government Support
No results found.
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
No results found.
Other Languages Used By The Community
None
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
Latin
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
"While SLM is ordinarily an unwritten vernacular, an increasing number of younger Kirinda Malays with access to text-messaging and electronic networking do not hesitate to write the language in Latin script, using improvised orthography that sometimes reflects the influence of Tamil ..."
Recent Resources
A grammar guide for Sri Lanka Malay.
Sri Lanka Malay
Outlines history and grammar of Sri Lankan Malay