Deshamanya Deshamanya (; ; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a civil honour. It is awarded for "''highly meritorious service''", and is conventionally used as a title or prefi ...

Prof. Jayaratna Banda Disanayake (born 16 April 1937) is an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

and one of the leading authorities of the

Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. It is also the first ...

. He was former

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n Ambassador to Thailand.

Academia

Dissanayake received his

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

Dharmaraja College Dharmaraja College (), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and over 4,000+ students. A land area of is owned by the school spreading over half of the Dharmaraja hill ...

, Kandy and

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

Ananda College Ananda College () is a Prestigious Buddhist school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is often known as "The Pinnacle of buddhist education " It is the largest national Buddhist school for boys in Sri Lanka, with a student population exceeding 8000 ac ...

. He graduated from the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

, Peradeniya campus in 1961. He later received a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, to read for a master's degree in linguistics and obtained a PhD from the

University of Colombo The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...

. With a long teaching career of over 45 years as a lecturer of the University of Colombo, he is the author of numerous books on linguistics, culture and history. Prior to his retirement Dissanayake served in the capacity of the Head of the Department of Sinhala at the university.

Publications

* Lanka, the land of kings by J. B. Disanayake (Sumitha Publishers, Distributed by Sarasavi Bookshop, 2007) *Mānava bhāṣā pravēśaya by J. B. Disanayake(Sumita Prakāśakayō, 2005) *Paintings of Kelani Vihara by J. B. Disanayake(Godage Poth Mendura, 2004) *Kălaṇi Vihāre situvaṃ by J. B. Disanayake(Goḍagē Pot Măndura, 2000) *Uḍaraṭa Sinhalaya by J. B. Disanayake(Goḍagē Pot Măndura, 2002) *Understanding the Sinhalese by J. B. Disanayake (S. Godage & Bros., 1998) *Siyalanga rū sobā by J. B. Disanayake (Goḍagē Pot Mandura, 1998) *Banda vaṭā pada raṭā by J. B. Disanayake (s. Goḍagē saha Samāgama, 1996) *Gamaka suvanda siv siya gavu ăsēya by J. B. Disanayake (s. Goḍagē saha Samāgama, 1996) *Siṃhala bhāṣāvē nava muhuṇuvara by J. B. Disanayake (Saṃskr̥tika Kaṭayutu Depārtamēntuva, 1996) *Samakālīna Siṃhala lēkhana vyākaraṇaya by J. B. Disanayake (s. Goḍagē saha Sahōdarayō, 1995) *The monk and the peasant by J. B. Disanayake (State Print. Corp., 1993) *Water in culture by J. B. Disanayake (Ministry of Environment & Parliamentary Affairs, 1992) *Siṃhala budu samaya by J. B. Disanayake (Rajayē Mudraṇa Nītigata Saṃsthāva, 1991) *Studies in Sinhala literacy by J. B. Disanayake(National Association for Total Education,

, 1990) *Nūtana Siṃhala lēkhana vyākaraṇaya by J. B. Disanayake (Lēk Havus Invesṭmanṭs, 1990) *Siṃhala vehera vihāra by J. B. Disanayake(Piyavi Pot Prakāśakayō, 1988) *Mihintale, cradle of Sinhala Buddhist civilization by J. B. Disanayake(Lake House Investments, 1987) *Say it in Sinhala by J. B. Disanayake(Lake House Investments Ltd., 1985) *Aspects of Sinhala folklore by J. B. Disanayake(Lake House Investments, 1984)

References

External links

Sinhala New Year - a celebration of life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disanayake, J B 1937 births Academic staff of the University of Colombo Alumni of Dharmaraja College Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya) Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Thailand Living people Sri Lankan Buddhists Sinhalese people Sri Lankan academics Sinhalese writers

Academia

Publications

See also

References

External links