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.
In the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company took over coastal Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) from the Portuguese.
[6] The Burgher sub-culture, and cuisine has been portrayed effectively through popular literature, notably Carl Muller's trilogy and Michael Ondaatje's Running in the Family.
Linguistically disadvantaged by the Sinhala Only Act, many Burghers lost their social status, employment and privileges.
A large community of Sri Lankans exists in Australia today, of which many are descendants of the migration over the last 50 years.