It surprises me that Sinhalese has lost its inherited term for & #39;water& #39;, preferring instead the Dutch loan වතුර ⟨waturə⟩. The inherited term පෑන් ⟨pǣn⟩ (< OIA pānī) still, however, appears fossilized in some nominal constructions such as mī pǣnī & #39;honey& #39; (LIT & #39;bee water& #39;).
                        
                        
                        
                        
                                                
                    
                    
                                    
                    
                        
                        
                        Are there any other interesting examples of South Asian languages displaying such a drastic loss of inherited vocabulary in the "everyday-domain"? I would love to know!
                        
                        
                        
                        
                                                
                    
                    
                                    
                    
                        
                        
                        Preferably non-religiously primed loans, from languages with which speakers had a relatively brief period of contact. Dutch colonialism in Sri Lanka, for example, lasted only about a century.
                        
                        
                        
                        
                                                
                    
                    
                                    
                    
                        
                        
                        Sorry, this should be mī pæni ⟨mī pæṇi⟩ මී පැණි (unlengthened vowels)
                        
                        
                        
                        
                                                
                    
                    
                
                 
                         Read on Twitter
Read on Twitter 
                                     
                                    