Lang asked: “In Sinhala, are citta and cittā two different words?”
Those are Pali words and WRITTEN with the Sinhala script as චිත්ත and චිත්තා.
– Note the slight difference.
The Sinhala words are සිත and සිත්.
– We know that English words are thought and thoughts.
Lang asked: “Secondly, is there a distinction in capitalization in Sinhala script? For example, is dhamma (what one bears) written differently from Dhamma (teaching of Buddha)?”
No. There are no capital letters in Sinhala.
– dhamma (what one bears) is written as ධම්මා (in plural)
– Dhamma (teaching of Buddha) is written as බුද්ධ ධම්ම. Note that ධම්ම here is in the singular.
P.S. I missed Lang’s following comment: “I have seen the use of ā for plurality, such as citta and cittā, sutta and suttā. Adding an “s”, such as in suttas, is clearly and English imposition.”
The plural of citta and sutta SHOULD BE cittā and suttā.
– I have been writing the plurals as cittas and suttas, since that may make it easier for many to understand.
– But I am going to discuss this in the next post, and also try to adhere to the correct way in the future.
Good questions!