Endangered Languages Project

Restructured vernacular of Malay base spoken by at least five different communities in Sri Lanka; influenced by Tamil and Sinhala.

ALSO KNOWN AS		Sri Lankan Creole Malay, Melayu Bahasa, Java Jati, Sri Lankan Malay, Melayu, Sri Lanka pe Melayu, Java, Ja basawa, Java mozhi
CLASSIFICATION		Pidgin or Creole, Malay based
ORTHOGRAPHY		Latin
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		sci
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Keeping Kirinda vital: The endangerment-empowerment dilemma in the documentation of Sri Lanka Malay” (51-66) . Lim, Lisa and Ansaldo, Umberto (2006)

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Five communities (Colombo, Slave Island, Kandy & other Upcountry, Hambantota, and Kirinda) have been examined, and the results indicate that Sri Lanka Malay is no longer acquired by younger generation whereas in other communities (exclusive of Kirinda) Sri Lanka Malay is mainly used by old-middle generations. By contrast, Sri Lanka Malay is used in all domains in Kirinda.

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

Revitalization projects by communities members are heard but they target at learning Malaysia's Standard Malay instead of Sri Lanka Malay.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Sinhala; Tamil; English; Standard Malay

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

In Colombo, Sinhala and English are predominantly used and younger generations can't speak Sri Lanka Malay. As for Sri Lanka Malay spoken on Slave Island, it has been strongly influenced by Tamil. In Hambantota and Kirinda, speakers of Sri Lanka Malay are often trilingual in Sinhala and Tamil. By contrast, Sri Lanka Malay is the dominant language spoken by all generations in Kirinda. However, language shift to Standard Malay has been observed in Sri Lanka Malay speaking communities.

PLACES: Sri Lanka

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Colombo, Slave Island, Kandy & other Upcountry, Hambantota, and Kirinda

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
46,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Malays in Sri Lanka constitute 0.3% of the population.

MORE ON VITALITY

In the Colombo Malay community, "[i]n general, the community typically shows strong linguistic vitality in SLM in the middle to old generations and rapidly decreasing (in many cases, to nil) linguistic competence in the vernacular in the young generation."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Sinhala
Tamil
English

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

Sri Lanka Malay spoken as a home language. Sinhala, Tamil are national languages.

PLACES: Sri Lanka

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
46,000
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 2006

MORE ON VITALITY

Clear shift to English among young generation in Colombo. Kirinda is the only vital community of Sri Lanka Malays having a young generation of speakers as L1. Home domain use only.

PLACES: Sri Lanka

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Cities of Colombo, Kandy, Badulla, Hambantota, Kirinda.

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
30,000-40,000
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
40,000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"There are no statistics on the number of speakers living outside Sri Lanka, and the statistics that are available fro Sri Lanka are ethnic statistics rather than linguistic ones."

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
Scripts (Writing system): Latin
More on Orthography: "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 ..."

PLACES: Sri Lanka

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "The largest number of speakers is found in the greater Colombo area ..."

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: "It is also spoken overseas by individuals, in families, and within ethnic social networks in émigré communities, primarily in the English-speaking world (Australia, Canada, Britain, and the United States), as well as in the Gulf States, where Sri Lankans have pursued employment opportunities."

	2006	Keeping Kirinda vital: The endangerment-empowerment dilemma in the documentation of Sri Lanka Malay		51-66			ACLC Working Papers	1			http://www.academia.edu/2461108/Keeping_Kirinda_vital_The_endangerment-empowerment_dilemma_in_the_documentation_of_Sri_Lanka_Malay	Lim, Lisa and Ansaldo, Umberto	Lim, Lisa and Ansaldo, Umberto. 2006. Keeping Kirinda vital: The endangerment-empowerment dilemma in the documentation of Sri Lanka Malay. ACLC Working Papers 1. 51-66. http://www.academia.edu/2461108/Keeping_Kirinda_vital_The_endangerment-empowerment_dilemma_in_the_documentation_of_Sri_Lanka_Malay							almost all	Sinhala; Tamil; English; Standard Malay	Revitalization projects by communities members are heard but they target at learning Malaysia's Standard Malay instead of Sri Lanka Malay.	In Colombo, Sinhala and English are predominantly used and younger generations can't speak Sri Lanka Malay. As for Sri Lanka Malay spoken on Slave Island, it has been strongly influenced by Tamil. In Hambantota and Kirinda, speakers of Sri Lanka Malay are often trilingual in Sinhala and Tamil. By contrast, Sri Lanka Malay is the dominant language spoken by all generations in Kirinda. However, language shift to Standard Malay has been observed in Sri Lanka Malay speaking communities.	All the Sri Lanka Malay speakers are at least bilingual in Sinhala or Tamil which is the natinoal language.	Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	11	Five communities (Colombo, Slave Island, Kandy & other Upcountry, Hambantota, and Kirinda) have been examined, and the results indicate that Sri Lanka Malay is no longer acquired by younger generation whereas in other communities (exclusive of Kirinda) Sri Lanka Malay is mainly used by old-middle generations. By contrast, Sri Lanka Malay is used in all domains in Kirinda.	14	14		Sri Lanka	Colombo, Slave Island, Kandy & other Upcountry, Hambantota, and Kirinda
		Glottolog									http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/		"Glottolog." Online: http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/.																				6.92, 79.86
	2013	Sri Lankan Malay	The Survey of Pidgin and Creole Languages - Volume III: Contact Languages Based on the Languages from Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas	77-85	Michaelis, Susanne Maria, Philippe Maurer, Martin Haspelmath, and Magnus Huber	Oxford University Press			Oxford	9		Slomanson, Peter	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.		40,000	30,000-40,000		10000-99999	"There are no statistics on the number of speakers living outside Sri Lanka, and the statistics that are available fro Sri Lanka are ethnic statistics rather than linguistic ones."						Threatened (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				12	"It is also spoken overseas by individuals, in families, and within ethnic social networks in émigré communities, primarily in the English-speaking world (Australia, Canada, Britain, and the United States), as well as in the Gulf States, where Sri Lankans have pursued employment opportunities."	Sri Lanka	"The largest number of speakers is found in the greater Colombo area ..."
	2006	"Sri Lanka Malay" DoBES project									http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/slm	Umberto Ansaldo	Ansaldo, Umberto. 2006. ""Sri Lanka Malay" DoBES Project." Online: http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/slm.			46,000		10000-99999	Malays in Sri Lanka constitute 0.3% of the population.		Sinhala, Tamil, English		Sri Lanka Malay spoken as a home language. Sinhala, Tamil are national languages.		Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		In the Colombo Malay community, "[i]n general, the community typically shows strong linguistic vitality in SLM in the middle to old generations and rapidly decreasing (in many cases, to nil) linguistic competence in the vernacular in the young generation."				Sri Lanka
16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		46,000	2006	10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Clear shift to English among young generation in Colombo. Kirinda is the only vital community of Sri Lanka Malays having a young generation of speakers as L1. Home domain use only.				Sri Lanka	Cities of Colombo, Kandy, Badulla, Hambantota, Kirinda.

Sri Lanka Malay

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

46,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

46,000

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000-40,000

Discussion

Sri Lanka Malay

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

46,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

46,000

Threatened

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000-40,000

Discussion

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Sources of information

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