You don't need to know the Sinhala language to go to Sri Lanka,
but it helps. As this photo indicates, English is extremely
common, and one can get by. Having a guide like Katie who speaks
like a native is very helpful, though!  English was the common
international language in Sri Lanka. We saw tourists from all
over, but almost all spoke some English. It was a little eerie
to see a German tourist and a Sri Lankan bank clerk arguing in
English over the exchange rate.   A city street Kandy. Try to
find something besides English... it's not easy!  Sinhala words
and phrases:  Language structure:  Some of the Sinhala language
is actually quite elegantly constructed, and much can be said in
a few syllables. (Bear in mind that I am not a linguist - these
are my impressions from speaking with Katie. She and the other
Peace Corps volunteers often spoke in "Singlish", sprinking
their speech with Sinhalisms.) What I found the most interesting
was the use of suffixes to indicate overall meanings. For
example:  Another i