Interacting with Locals
Sri Lanka is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. This beautiful island has a lot to offer to visitors from pristine beaches, to lush tea estates, heritage and culture. Besides all breath taking venues and activities some of the greatest ambassadors of tourism in Sri Lanka are the locals themselves. Sri Lankans are known for their hospitality and warm smiles. They are very helpful and would love to strike a conversation. However sometimes you may experience difficulties in communicating with all locals equally due to the language barrier. A great number of locals from urban areas like Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna and Galle can communicate in English. As you go to the suburbs and towns with tourist sites, most locals in those areas will not be able to communicate in English and won’t be able to understand English all that well. Therefore being equipped with few phrases and most commonly conversed items in the national languages will always come in very useful.
Tips On Talking To Locals
Sinhala and Tamil are the national languages in Sri Lanka. If you come across somebody who doesn’t speak English they would surely speak either Sinhala or Tamil. Therefore being able to speak a few words will help you during your trip. Even if you do have a guide with you speaking to a local in their mother tongue will be a unique experience.
Sometimes you would notice that some Sri Lankans will be a little shy to initiate a conversation. Try to initiate a conversation in their mother tongue, you will no doubt be able to make many friends and get a first-hand experience into their daily lives especially if you are invited to their workplace or home. Some of the phrases below will be useful to start a conversation.
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Often you would need to ask for directions from locals especially if you’re travelling alone or if your guide is not with you.
Whilst most cities in Sri Lanka have similar names/pronunciation across all languages there are few important cities that have nuances in reference across languages. Knowing them might be useful.
In the event you need to purchase something from a mom and pop store or a souvenir shop the following would be useful to speak to the shop owner. Majority of the retail stores in Sri Lanka are mom and pop stores which are owned by sole proprietors. Super markets are mostly found in urban areas.
For those of you who are interested of knowing how the count in Sinhala and Tamil the following table would be useful. We have also provided some examples of the usage of numbers in a conversation as it may come in handy at a restaurant or retail shop.
Being able to ask for a beer or a cup of coffee might be one of the most important things at the end of an action packed day. Below we have summarized some of the most commonly required or conversed things at a restaurant or pub.
Asking a local to take a photo of you and your family might be another thing you may want to know in the local language. This and few other common phrases have been provided below.
