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| Sheng Li |
If you listen to her speak
Sinhala you would know she is a foreigner. But the high-flown Sinhala she speaks,
the kind that native Sri Lankans have reservations using, takes one aback. Here
is a Chinese woman who has studied the Sinhala language for two decades.
“There are many methods in which
Sinhala can be made easy to learn,” says Sheng Li. “One is 'Buddagajjaya'.
Another is 'Sakaskada'. Learning to read and pronounce the verses in
Buddagajjaya is an excellent method to practice good pronunciation. I learnt
it. It was hard, but helped me immensely. She recited a few verses from
Sakaskada.
When asked about the motive
behind writing Sith Pahana, Sheng Li says “to give light to the minds in
the dark.” The book consists of 71 stories, which at a glance seems simple. But
each story has a deeper meaning. Sheng Li's Sith Pahana will definitely
draw more attention from among other books to be launched this September. A
collection of stories written in Sinhala, Sith Pahana, is to be launched
on September 7 at 3.45 pm at the Sri Lanka Youth Auditorium, Maharagama.
Sheng Li is the director Sinhala
Service of China Radio International in Beijing China. It is quite surprising
to meet a Chinese person writing in Sinhala, in an era when young native
speakers of Sinhala are veering away from reading in their mother tongue. Not
only does Sheng Li write in Sinhala, the way she handles the language is far better
than some of the local Sinhala writers. Language used in Sith Pahana is
simple but artistic. And the book addresses a wide range of people from young
adults to the more mature from intellectuals to commoners.
In one of the motivational
stories, she writes about a happy dog which enters a house of 1,000 mirrors.
The happy dog's happiness is reflected from all 1,000 mirrors back to him.
Another dog, which is always sad and despondent, goes inside this house of mirrors.
Its sad face is reflected back to him from a 1,000 mirrors. Through this story
Sheng Li tries to convey that, what a person sees in another person is the
reflection of his or her own feelings and impressions of the other. This is one
of the many stories found in Sith Pahana, where each story is added with
more color coupled with a fascinating illustration.
Q. What made you grow fond of the Sinhala language?
It is a long story. Over a
decade ago, when I was schooling I wasn't even aware that there is a country
called Sri Lanka where a language called Sinhala is spoken. I think it was my
destiny to learn Sinhala. Later I got the opportunity to study Sinhala at the Foreign
Language University in Beijing. I studied Sinhala there for four years. The
more I studied the language, the more I fell in love with the language. After
that I got a chance to study Sinhala further, at the University of Kelaniya. I
have also worked as a lecturer in Sinhala at the Beijing Foreign Language
University teaching young Chinese who were keen on learning Sinhala.
Q. Since you have studied Sinhala, what do you think about Sinhala as a language?
To be honest, Sinhala is
not an easy language to learn, especially for a foreigner. Unlike Chinese it
has two languages; written Sinhala and spoken Sinhala. The way you write is
different from the way you speak. I think it’s beautiful as it is scientific.
Q. Why do you say Sinhala is a scientific language?
When you look at the
pronunciation of the language you can see that it is scientific. Sinhala e is
made using sounds coming from different parts of the mouth. Take for example
Murdaja and Danthaja. When 'Murdaja' and 'Danathaja' are in words it is
pronounced differently. You have to be careful when you pronounce the word,
since wrong pronunciation can give a completely different meaning.
Q. As a foreigner didn't you find easy methods to learn the language?
There are many methods in which
learning Sinhala can be made easy. One is 'Buddagajjaya'. Another is
'Sakaskada'. Learning to read and pronounce the verses in Buddagajjaya is one
excellent method to practice good pronunciation. I learnt it. It was hard but it
helped me immensely. She recited a few verses from Sakaskada.
Q. How did you find the stories included in the book?
I am a voracious reader.
These stories are collected from many Chinese, Sinhala as well as English books
I have read. But the stories are not directly translated into Sinhala. I have
added a personal touch to every story.
Q. How did you manage to organize a book launching ceremony in Sri Lanka from China?
All the responsibilities of
the launch are handled by the National Youth Services Council and the many Sri
Lankan friends. I should also mention Youth
Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas
Alahapperuma who helped me in this despite his busy schedule. Prem Dissanayaka of
Fast ads and Fast publication who accepted to print and publish this book was
also of great help. Without them this
project would never have become a success.
Sheng Li invites all who
read Sinhala to join her on September 7 at the Sri Lanka Youth Auditorium.
Moreover she hopes to distribute 500 copies of Sith Pahana free of
charge among school students in the Western Province. At a time young Sinhala
speakers are ignoring their mother tongue Sheng Li's attempt should be
appreciated and taken as an example to work towards advancement of the Sinhala
language.
