40-463: The Sri Lanka Rūpavāhinī Corporation ( Sinhala : ශ්රී ලංකා රූපවාහිනී සංස්ථාව ; Tamil : இலங்கை ரூபவாகினி கூட்டுத்தாபனம் ), also known as Jathika Rupavahini (lit. National Television ) or simply as Rupavahini , is the national television network of Sri Lanka . The term Rupavahini literally means "purveyor of images" in the Sinhala language . Established by Parliament under Act No. 6 of 1982 for
80-662: A Dravidian origin for this word. ), dola for pig in Vedda and offering in Sinhala. Other common words are rera for wild duck, and gala for stones (in toponyms used throughout the island, although others have also suggested a Dravidian origin). There are also high frequency words denoting body parts in Sinhala, such as olluva for head, kakula for leg, bella for neck and kalava for thighs, that are derived from pre-Sinhalese languages of Sri Lanka. The oldest Sinhala grammar, Sidatsan̆garavā , written in
120-471: A daily segment for children and ended at 11pm. There were three daily news bulletins, with a Tamil edition at 7pm, a Sinhala edition at 8:15pm and an English edition at 9:30pm. Sinhala-language feature films were broadcast once a month. By 1985, broadcasts started earlier at 5:30pm, with the slots for news remaining unchanged. One of the initial aims of the corporation was to broadcast educational programmes for 500 schools by offering free sets to classrooms, under
160-462: A government act on 23 January 1982, and established on February 14 the same year. Rupavahini began broadcasting on 15 February 1982, one day after it was established, with an opening speech from J. R. Jayewardene, Sri Lanka's president at the time. Funding was donated by the Japanese government. Both transmitters were built and installed by Japanese technicians. Broadcasts initially started at 6pm with
200-456: A national television service was planned several times as far back as 1965 (Ceylon at the time), when then-Minister of State J. R. Jayawardene suggested its creation, but was rejected by Dudley Senanayake 's government, whose media advisors led by Neville Jayaweera called television "a gift of a rhinoceros ". In 1977, the idea of launching a television service resurfaced. President J. R. Jayewardene, in early 1978, held talks with technicians of
240-779: A period of prior bilingualism: "The earliest type of contact in Sri Lanka, not considering the aboriginal Vedda languages, was that which occurred between South Dravidian and Sinhala. It seems plausible to assume prolonged contact between these two populations as well as a high degree of bilingualism. This explains why Sinhala looks deeply South Dravidian for an Indo-Aryan language. There is corroboration in genetic findings." In addition to many Tamil loanwords , several phonetic and grammatical features also present in neighbouring Dravidian languages set modern spoken Sinhala apart from its Northern Indo-Aryan relatives. These features are evidence of close interactions with Dravidian speakers. Some of
280-576: A transliteration of Sinhala, with macrons (RŪPAVĀHINĪ) appeared below. The leaf in the right wing was incorporated into NTV's previous symbol and is incorporated into trophies held at award shows organized by the corporation, the Ape Gamana logo, and the SLRC's news operation. The logo of Rupavahini's children's club, Muthuhara, was also Peiris' creation. A news item on the logo was seen on the Sinhala, Tamil and English news bulletins on launch day. The logo
320-463: Is a conspicuous example of the linguistic phenomenon known as diglossia . Sinhala ( Siṁhala ) is a Sanskrit term; the corresponding Middle Indo-Aryan ( Eḷu ) word is Sīhala . The name is a derivative of siṁha , the Sanskrit word for 'lion'. The name is sometimes glossed as 'abode of lions', and attributed to a supposed former abundance of lions on the island. According to
360-545: 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. Sinhala is also spoken as the first language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 2 million speakers as of 2001. It is written using the Sinhala script , which is a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. Sinhala
400-484: Is divided into four epochs: The most important phonetic developments of Sinhala include: According to Wilhelm Geiger , an example of a possible Western feature in Sinhala is the retention of initial /v/ which developed into /b/ in the Eastern languages (e.g. Sanskrit viṁśati "twenty", Sinhala visi- , Hindi bīs ). This is disputed by Muhammad Shahidullah who says that Sinhala Prakrit branched off from
440-412: Is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, alongside Tamil . Along with Pali , it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. Early forms of the Sinhala language are attested as early as the 3rd century BCE. The language of these inscriptions, still retaining long vowels and aspirated consonants, is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi , a regional associate of
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#1732791242550480-729: The Middle Indian Prakrits that had been used during the time of the Buddha . The most closely related languages are the Vedda language (an endangered, indigenous creole still spoken by a minority of Sri Lankans, mixing Sinhala with an isolate of unknown origin and from which Old Sinhala borrowed various aspects into its main Indo-Aryan substrate), and the Maldivian language . It has two main varieties, written and spoken, and
520-587: The UNESCO National Commission of Ceylon According to Wilhelm Geiger , Sinhala has features that set it apart from other Indo-Aryan languages. Some of the differences can be explained by the substrate influence of the parent stock of the Vedda language . Sinhala has many words that are only found in Sinhala, or shared between Sinhala and Vedda and not etymologically derivable from Middle or Old Indo-Aryan. Possible examples include kola for leaf in Sinhala and Vedda (although others suggest
560-464: The 13th century CE, recognised a category of words that exclusively belonged to early Sinhala. The grammar lists naram̆ba (to see) and koḷom̆ba (fort or harbour) as belonging to an indigenous source. Koḷom̆ba is the source of the name of the commercial capital Colombo . The consistent left branching syntax and the loss of aspirated stops in Sinhala is attributed to a probable South Dravidian substratum effect. This has been explained by
600-516: The 80s and 90s, Rupavahini aired a number of dubbed cartoons led by Titus Thotawatte , the most remarkable titles being Bugs Bunny ( Ha Ha Hari Hawa , Doctor Dolittle ( Dosthara Honda Hitha ) and Top Cat ( Pissu Pusa ). These continued to air on Rupavahini for years. Rupavahini reopened two relays in Kokavil and Palavi in 1994. 'Rupavahini 2' launched in April 1999 before it changed its name to
640-716: The Eastern Prakrits prior to this change. He cites the edicts of Ashoka , no copy of which shows this sound change. An example of an Eastern feature is the ending -e for masculine nominative singular (instead of Western -o ) in Sinhalese Prakrit. There are several cases of vocabulary doublets , one example being the words mæssā ("fly") and mækkā ("flea"), which both correspond to Sanskrit makṣikā but stem from two regionally different Prakrit words macchiā (Western Prakrits) and makkhikā (as in Eastern Prakrits like Pali ). In 1815,
680-499: The Japanese Nippon Electric Company , while also accepting proposals from German and French electronics companies to be their suppliers. According to Japanese law, the national television service was to be a public service television station and not a commercial service. President J.R. Jayewardene approved the creation of the national television service on 4 March 1980. Rūpavāhinī was created under
720-461: The Rupavahini logo appears, accompanied by an instrumental rendition of Kawurudo ara Kawuluwen by singer-songwriter Sanath Nandasiri . The bird appears towards the end of the channel's nightly end of transmission sequence, flying past the transmitter at Rupavahini's headquarters. The sequence is followed by the national anthem . On 24 February 2022, coinciding with changes to Rupavahini News,
760-425: The channel changed its logo for the first time, the bird was kept intact but the screen was replaced by a rounded rectangle. The Tamil and English forms of the name were removed. There was some criticism on social media over the decision. In October, Rupavahini reverted its logo due to internal and external pressure. In 2007, then government minister Mervyn Silva and his bodyguards stormed the Rupavahini and attacked
800-469: The channel to temporarily go 24/7 (still doing the formal start and end of transmission routines) to alleviate time zone differences. Due to unknown reasons, the channel was removed. The channel now starts up shortly before 04:00 IST and closes down shortly after midnight. On 22 February 2022, Rupavahini changed its logo by changing its shape and removing the Tamil and English names of the network, leaving only
840-681: The chronicle Mahāvaṃsa , written in Pali, Prince Vijaya of the Vanga Kingdom and his entourage merged in Sri Lanka with later settlers from the Pandya kingdom . In the following centuries, there was substantial immigration from Eastern India, including additional migration from the Vanga Kingdom (Bengal), as well as Kalinga and Magadha . This influx led to an admixture of features of Eastern Prakrits. The development of Sinhala
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#1732791242550880-546: The conversion to HD in November 2022, Rupavahini has used a slightly modified version of the German Telefunken FuBK colour test card during non-broadcast hours. The pink and purple bars are solid and the text (RUPAVAHINI-SRI LANKA) is set to half-width. Rupavahini is an autonomous corporation run by a chairman, director-general, and a board of directors appointed by the president. Until 1998, Rupavahini
920-558: The current 'Channel Eye' in August 2000. The corporation signed a historic agreement with Canal France International on 28 July 2004. On 1 January 2008, Channel Eye became a time-shared channel, altering with the newly created Nethra TV. In 2009, series of Rupavahini productions available in DVD and VCD formats under the title "RU Entertainments". Rupavahini is the first Sri Lankan channel to telecast foreign teledramas . The most popular of them
960-555: The features that may be traced to Dravidian influence are: ඒක ēka it අලුත් aḷut new කියලා kiyalā having-said මම mama I දන්නවා dannavā know ඒක අලුත් කියලා මම දන්නවා ēka aḷut kiyalā mama dannavā it new having-said I know "I know that it is new." ඒක ēka it අලුත් aḷut new ද da Q කියලා kiyalā having-said මම mama I දන්නේ Titus Thotawatte Thotawattege Don Manuel Titus de Silva ( Sinhala :ටයිටස් තොටවත්ත), popularly as Titus Thotawatte ,
1000-607: The island of Ceylon came under British rule . During the career of Christopher Reynolds as a Sinhalese lecturer at the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London , he extensively researched the Sinhalese language and its pre-1815 literature. The Sri Lankan government awarded him the Sri Lanka Ranjana medal for his work. He wrote the 377-page An anthology of Sinhalese literature up to 1815 , selected by
1040-544: The name in the predominant Sinhala language, therefore making it monolingual. The change was later reverted in October as the new logo was described by activists as "divisive". As anti-government protests intensify and after protesters stormed the headquarters of the network, Rupavahini temporarily ceased operations shortly after playing the national anthem on 13 July 2022. Currently, the SLRC operates three channels. All transmitters are in analog. From its launch in 1982 to
1080-602: The network's services are only available by analog transmission. But there are plans to upgrade to digital broadcasting . From 2011 Kokavil began to broadcast in DVB-T2 for the North area in Sri Lanka. There were plans to transmit DVB-T2 digital television all over the country in 2015. By 2021, however, the government had switched to a plan to use ISDB-T after receiving aid from the Japanese foreign ministry. Sri Lanka had no television services available until 1979. The creation of
1120-406: The news director. Employees then attacked the minister back. On 13 July 2022 a few protesters that claimed to be leaders of 2022 Sri Lankan protests , entered the premises and demanded for all scheduled programmes to be stopped and only content related to the then ongoing protest to be broadcast. The channel was off air for a short period during the time of the incident. Later on the same day two of
1160-536: The original equipment using digital technology under three grant aid projects from the Government of Japan. Its studio complex is in Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The complex comprises a master control room, four studios, two dubbing studios, a digital post-production unit, two analogue post-production units, several editing suites including non-linear editing, and four outside broadcast vehicles. In
1200-603: The principle that television was to be used as an aid for the teacher. Early in its existence, Rupavahini could be received well, depending on weather conditions, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . Viewers preferred Rupavahini over Doordarshan 's local station , especially its agricultural and children's programming. The relays were often jammed by a Doordarshan relayer in Trivandrum in Kerala . Rupavahini's popularity led to
1240-706: The protesters were allowed to express their opinions on a live breaking news -themed programme. At 1:31pm the channel was temporarily taken off the air and did an improvised closedown, by playing the usual routine: the Rupavahini ID, the nightly end of transmission video and the national anthem . Sinhala language Sinhala ( / ˈ s ɪ n h ə l ə , ˈ s ɪ ŋ ə l ə / SIN -hə-lə, SING -ə-lə ; Sinhala: සිංහල , siṁhala , [ˈsiŋɦələ] ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( / ˌ s ɪ n ( h ) ə ˈ l iː z , ˌ s ɪ ŋ ( ɡ ) ə ˈ l iː z / SIN -(h)ə- LEEZ , SING -(g)ə- LEEZ ),
Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-475: The provision of national television service, it produces and broadcasts programmes in three languages. Distinguished civil servant M.J Perera was the founder and chairman of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation. SLRC is the largest television broadcaster in Sri Lanka and has an island-wide reception of its channels. SLRC broadcasts its channels in both VHF and UHF frequencies in Sri Lanka . Currently, all of
1320-624: The purchase of colour television sets in southern India, before the rest of the country started regular services. Newspapers started publishing schedules for the station. Per a 1984 government order, Rupavahini reduced the power of its transmitters as the channel didn't compensate its audience in India via overspill by attracting Indian advertisers. Viewer preference in India continued even after Doordarshan implemented its colour service - its foreign programmes were also attractive. In 1986, Rupavahini expanded its facilities and, in 1998, rehabilitated most of
1360-457: Was Oshin , which was a Japanese teledrama dubbed in Sinhala. Also, the channel telecast the first Korean drama to air in the country called Sujatha Diyani also known as Dae Jang Geum , in November 2012. Which is another popular drama where it led to the foundation of other Korean historical dramas to air and be dubbed in Sinhala as well. In December 2014, the main channel was made available via satellite to Europe (via Eutelsat 70B), prompting
1400-589: Was a Sri Lankan director and editor who made several popular Sri Lanka n action movies in the 1960s and 1970s and later developed Sinhala children's programmes. Thotawatte died on 15 October 2011 in Colombo. He was born on 17 April 1927 in Colombo. He was the second child in a family of three children, with two elder brothers and one younger sister. He attended Ananda College in Colombo and studied art under J.D.A. Perera and Stanley Abeysinghe and Matara Technical College. Thottawatte joined Lester James Peries and Willie Blake as editor to make Rekava in 1956. It
1440-427: Was a source of contention from another designer, who threatened to sue the corporation and the advertising agency who created the logo, for a period of five years. During this period, only Peiris could provide evidence. In the early years, the station's starting animation consisted of the line drawing of the bird and an aerial shot of the facilities. At start-up, a slide (static until the conversion to widescreen) with
1480-489: Was an attempt to make a truly Sinhalese movie in contrast with the Southern Indian copies then in vogue. Thottawatte debuted as a director with Chandiya in 1965. The film starred Gamini Fonseka in the first villains role of Sinhala Cinema. Other early films include Kauda Hari (1969), Thewatha (1970) and Haralaksaya (1971). In 1980,Thotawatte wrote and directed the children's movie Handaya , which
1520-558: Was awarded Best Picture at the Sarasaviya Film Festival. In the 1980s and 1990s, he dubbed English cartoons such as Bugs Bunny , Doctor Dolittle and Top Cat into Sinhala for Sinhalese audiences with the popular titles Ha Ha Hari Hawa , Dosthara Honda Hitha and Pissu Pusa respectively. He is considered to be the pioneer of dubbing programmes in Sri Lanka. These continue to air on Sinhala Television channels. Thotawatte created puppet characters like Eluson. When
1560-405: Was drawn in the Sinhala art style of Tirigitalaya. The bird's wings represent VHF and UHF television aerials and the semi-circle holding the wings represents a satellite dish. The bottom of the message contains an easter egg, which, if rotated, reveals Bandula's initial, "බ", in square format. Apart for a period of a few months in 2022, the channel's name in Sinhala (රූපවාහිනී), Tamil (ரூபவாகினி), and
1600-443: Was funded by a licence fee system: every television owner with at least VHF reception had to pay the government a yearly fee. After a parliament act, the licence fee was scrapped and the funding of Rupavahini was changed to a system of government grants supplemented with TV advertising. Rupavahini's logo is a hill mynah carrying a message in gold on a red TV screen. The logo was designed by artist and painter Bandula Peiris, and
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