| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA | |
| Languages | |
| Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole, English, Sinhala, and Tamil; formerly Ceylon Creole Dutch | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Burgher people, Portuguese, Portuguese Burghers, Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamil |
The Dutch Burghers[1][2] are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka, of mixed Dutch, Portuguese Burgher and Sri Lankan descent.[3] However, they are a different community when compared with Portuguese Burghers.[4] Originally an entirely Protestant community, many Burghers today remain Christian but belong to a variety of denominations. The Dutch Burghers of Sri Lanka speak English and the local languages Sinhala and Tamil.
Some Dutch Burghers on the East Coast in Batticaloa do not speak English as their first language but instead a Portuguese-Tamil creole that is still spoken in households. The reason for this is due to the original Dutch settlers there mixing heavily with Portuguese Burgher women centuries ago, hence resulting in Burghers with Dutch surnames (e.g., Barthelot) who speak Portuguese Creole.
- ^ DeVotta, Neil (2004). Blowback: Linguistic Nationalism, Institutional Decay, and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka. Stanford University Press. p. 276. ISBN 9780804749244.
- ^ "Long Reigneth the Otterly Test: Genealogy and Sri Lankan Burghers in a 'Poscolonial' World". Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ West, Barbara A. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 1025. ISBN 9781438119137.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
lankalibrarywas invoked but never defined (see the help page).