Sinhalese Grammatical Usages in Colophons in the Manuscript Literature in Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT: In the broad field of manuscriptology, ―Colophonis defined as an inscription placed at the end ofa book or manuscript and giving details of its publication—e.g., the name of the printer and the date of printing‖(Encyclopedia of Britannica). In the sphere of manuscriptology, the study of colophons is of paramountimportance.Colophon, ‗Samamāpti vākya‘ in the Manuscript Literature in Sri Lanka has been evident since the6th century BC. The aim of this study is to identify colophons in the Manuscript Literature in Sri Lanka as adisclosure of various Sinhalese Grammatical Usages. Grammar in a language according to Linguistics is the setof structural rules governing the composition of words, phrases, clauses and sentences. According to Hudson(1984:1) word grammar is a theory of language structure. At the most general level, it consists of generalization(Hudson, Richard, 1984, Word Grammar, Basil Blackwell Publisher Limited, England). This study wasconducted through the content analysis of Colophons in those Ola-leaf manuscripts originally available in theNational Museum of Sri Lanka with due attention Micro-Linguistics. According to the findings of this researchcolophons in the manuscript literature in Sri Lanka could be read as a revelation of Macro- and Micro Linguisticfeatures of Sinhalese.

Keywords: Manuscriptology, Colophon, Manuscript Literature, Sinhalese Grammar, Macro and MicroLinguistic Features