It is written using the Sinhala script, which is a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. Sinhala is also spoken as the first language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 2 million people as of 2001. Sinhala ( / ˈ s ɪ n h ə l ə, ˈ s ɪ ŋ ə l ə/ SIN-hə-lə, SING-ə-lə Sinhala: සිංහල, siṁhala, ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( / ˌ s ɪ n( h) ə ˈ l iː z, ˌ s ɪ ŋ( ɡ) ə ˈ l iː z/ SIN-(h)ə- LEEZ, SING-(g)ə- LEEZ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million.
