Origin from 800
An abugida used to write Sinhala and, in an extended form with extra letters for Sanskrit and Pali sounds, Buddhist canonical texts in Sri Lanka. Its earliest ancestor is Brahmi, brought to the island by the third century BCE, but its modern rounded letterforms took shape by around the eighth century CE under the influence of Grantha and the Kadamba-Pallava script tradition of South India, again a rounding driven by writing on palm leaves. Sinhala distinguishes a full set of letters reserved for Sanskrit and Pali loanwords (the 'Sanskrit' or elu-misra series) from the smaller core set needed for native Sinhala vocabulary.
Facts
Directionality In Use Since (Year) Connections
Descends From
Source Wikipedia: Sinhala Language
Script Of
Source Wikipedia: Sinhala Language
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sinhala Language
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