The Writing System is Similar to Armenian: Lavrov on Sinhala Language

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, gave an interview for the documentary film "MGIMO: In All Languages of the World," dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), where Lavrov himself studied.

Among other things, Sergey Lavrov was asked about the foreign languages he learned during his student years. According to the minister, he wanted to study Arabic and French, but he ended up learning English and Sinhala (the language of the Sinhalese, the main ethnic group in Sri Lanka).

"It was interesting, as the new language had a completely unusual script, somewhat similar to Armenian. This is Sanskrit, a diglossic language," said the Russian Foreign Minister while discussing Sinhala.

Lavrov also spoke about the Sinhala lecturer Alexander Belkovich, who, according to the Russian Foreign Minister, was able to teach Sinhala to his students without ever having been to Sri Lanka.