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Message: <blockquote data-quote="firoz85" data-source="post: 4651423" data-attributes="member: 22060">CultureThe Sri Lankan Moors possess a unique culture that differentiates them from the dominant Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups on the island. The cultural domain of Sri Lankan Moors has been strongly shaped by Islam, hence most customs and practices are dictated by Islamic law. While preserving many of their ancestral customs, the Moors have also adopted several South Asian practices.[2][edit] LanguagesThe Moors speak a modified form of the Tamil language which is influenced by Arabic [2]. However since there isn't an official name for the dialect, it is commonly referred as Tamil. The Sinhala language has also had strong influence on speech, especially in the Central region of Sri Lanka where most Moors are multilingual. In the past, the Arwi language was used extensively by the Moor community, however it is now virtually extinct as a spoken language and is confined only to religious texts. Today, the Tamil script is commonly used; however the official script used in religious affairs is still Arwi, which is a modified form of the Arabic script [3].Many Arabic and Arabized words exist in the form of Tamil spoken by Moors. Among many examples, greetings and blessings are exchanged in Arabic instead of Tamil, such as Assalamu Alaikum instead of Vanakkam and Jazakallah instead of Nandri. Furthermore, to a smaller extent words have also been absorbed from Portuguese, Dutch, English and notably, Sri Lankan Creole Malay.[edit] Arwi Language in Sri LankaPrior to the adoption of Tamil and Sinhala, the Arwi language was used as a mother tongue by the Sri Lankan Moors. Arwi is linguistically related to both Semitic and Dravidian tongues now spoken predominantly in the Middle East and Southern India, respectively. It is also believed to be also related to Brahui, a Dravidian language spoken today by nearly 350,000 in East Baluchistan, Pakistan.[citation needed]The Arwi Alphabet.The linguistic "marriage" of Arabic with Sri Lankan dialects is a process that has been active in the region for several centuries. The distinctiveness of the speech behavior of the Moors of Sri Lanka, has been referred to as Arabic-Tamil, Arabuthamul, Arwi, or Shonakam. It enjoys a religious knowledge affinity with a dialect of Jawi, used by the Malays of the island, as well as with other northern India derived languages such as Urdu, used by smaller groups of Muslims in the country. The linguistic medium of Arwi is composed of more than one set of grammars and vocabularies that a speaker may switch back and forth from, depending on the situation. Spoken forms of coastal regional Arwi also differ from central regional forms. Compared to many among the Sinhalese, Tamil, or Burgher peoples of Sri Lanka who have traditionally tended to be monolingual, Moors were much more at home with Sinhala and Tamil, and in some instances English, as well as Arwi.As a written language Arwi employs an invented orthography for a creolized, or mixed, system of speech patterns. Arwi spoken in Sri Lanka, contained a mixture of words that have Semitic, Dravidian and Indo-European origins (i.e. Arabic, Tamil and Sinhalese, respectively)[4]. Research on its history has only very recently begun to appear in print. It is believed to have originated during the early stages of Islamizing contact between Sri Lankan peoples with Arab and Persian traders. The principles of its development and structure are possibly related to similar systems known for other similar Islamized speech and writing systems such as Maldivian, Jawi, Urdu, and Persian.Arwi is known to be a matter of at least scholarly interest in some parts of Sri Lanka today. Languages such as Sinhala, Tamil and English have replaced it in many contexts. Several reasons can be attributed to the decline of Arwi including the popularization of English during colonial times and the lack of competitive printing facilities. Furthermore, the early 20th century adoption of an Arabic dominant Islamic school curriculum by scholars has also contributed to the extinction of Arwi as a spoken language and its overall decline in Sri Lanka.Today, the Arwi Language exists only as a written medium for religious uses. Alongside standard Arabic, It is often used in formal religious ceremonies; however, unlike Arabic, Arwi is seldom taught in religious schools and is consequently in deep decline. The most notable usage of Arwi can be found in devotional chants such as the Talaifatiha, which is exclusively conducted by women during certain religious festivals.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Moors#Languages" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Moors#Languages</a></blockquote>

Verification: Winadiyakata thappara keeyak tibeda?

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