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English in Asia and the Southern HemisphereProf. R. HickeyWS 2015/16
Sri Lanka
Marina Ewerlein and Frederike Müller
Course of study: LA-BA
Type of credit:TN
Module: I
English in Asia and the Southern Hemisphere Prof. R. HickeyWS 2015/16
Sri Lanka in General
Marina Ewerlein
Course of study: LA-BA
Type of credit:TN
Module: I
Sri Lanka in General
Main facts:
- Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
- 65,610 km²
- Capital: Sri Jayewardenepura
- Commercial Capital: Colombo
Source: Worldaltas/ Government of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka in General
Main facts:
- population: 20.3 million( last counted in 2011)
Source: Government of Sri Lanka/ SVE
Sri Lanka in General
Main facts:
- Religion Buddhism 70.19%Hinduism 12.61%Christianity 7.45%Islam 9.71%
- EthnicitySihalese, 74.9%;Tamil, 15.4%;Muslim 9.2%;others 0.5% (2012 est)
Source: Government of Sri Lanka/ SVE
Sri Lanka in General
Source: Worldatlas
History:543 BC: Sinhalese people from northern India
250 BC: Buddhism
12th century: Sri Lanka most powerful
16th century: Portugese
17th century: Dutch
1796: British
1802: Crown Colony
1948: Independence
1972: name change
1983: civil war26th December 2004: Tsunami
Sri Lanka: Tsunami 2004
Source: Tsunami Disaster in Sri Lanka
- 36,603 people perished in the months following the tsunami
- Another 800,000 people directly affected
- 90,000 buildings were destroyed.
Sri Lanka in General
Conclusion:
- Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean
- many different groups
- first settlement in 543 BC
English in Asia and the Southern Hemisphere Prof. R. HickeyWS 2015/16
Sri Lanka: Language
Frederike Müller
Course of study: LA-BA
Type of credit:TN
Module: I
Sri Lanka: Language
Status and function of English in Sri Lanka
After independence from Britain in 1948: English was de
facto language until 1956 → Sinhala: sole official
language
1987: Constitution of Sri Lanka states English as “link
language” (official languages: Tamil and Sinhala) →
English in fact more than this in government, many
areas of officialdom, media, advertisement and
education system
Sri Lanka: Language
Administration: parity for English in cases where the
official language is not the language of a speaker (e.g.
for speakers of Sinhala in an Tamil area)
Judiciary: all laws and legislation published in Sinhala
and Tamil PLUS a translation of English
→ most disparity in Sri Lanka´s courts: language used
in Sri Lanka´s highest court is English
Sri Lanka: Language
Education:
- Due to law in 1956: English as a medium of instruction
changed to Sinhala
- 1980s: International Schools → so popular that there
are now even English-medium pre- schools for
children under three years
- 1990s: government sponsored interventions to
emphasize English from grade 1-13
- lack of competent English teachers, urban-rural
disparities
Sri Lanka: Language
Interpersonal Communication:
- increase in the use of English, especially in the homes
of young people → result of the
reintroduction of English in schools
- English as language of e-mail and text-messaging
- English as association with prestige
→ examples explains the common assumption that
English is an official language
Sri Lanka: Language
- many complexities and sub-variaties of Sri Lankan English
- significant class distinctions: stereotype “Colombo” family: English as first
language
- the further you travel from Colombo, the greater is the influence of Sinhala
and Tamil on the English people speak
- many Sinhala and Tamil words entered SLE
- Sinhalas influence on English, as it was the sole official language → Singlish
Sri Lanka: Language
Sri Lankan English, Linguistic aspectsSome phonological features:
→ the replacement of diphthongs [eɪ] and [aʊ] in British English
with the long vowels [e ] and [o ]
→ The replacement of interdental fricatives [ð] [θ] with dental plosives [d̪] [t̪]
→ The replacement of the labiovelar approximant [w] and [v] with the
labiodental approximant [ʋ]
→ Confusing [o] and [ɔ] hall/hole
→ Confusing [f] and [p] fan/pan
→ Use of [s] in place of [z] zoo, zip
Sri Lanka: Language
Some syntactic features:
Examples of ellipsis: 1) “I just came home. [There is] Not enough time to
shower.”
2) “Most of the people have migrated. [There is] Just a
handful here.”
Topicalization: 3) “All beautiful arranged it was.”
4) “Very busy they are.”
5) “A really nice person she is.”
Sri Lanka: Language
Some syntactic features:
Verb deletion in question: 6) “From where to get the money?”
Use of tags: 7) “They used to have a black car, isn´t it?”
8) “Raining no, how to come?”
Use of [s] in place of [z]: 9) “Let´s go to the zoo.”
Sri Lanka: Language
The associative plural marked by and them: „Sunil and them didn’t come.“
Certain uncountable nouns are pluralised: lands
The definite article is frequently dropped: gone to office, going to temple
The indefinite article is dropped: couple of times, lot of problems, little more rice
Sri Lanka: Language
Conclusion:
- confusion whether English is an official language or not
- notable increase of the use of English especially for young people
- Sinhalese and Tamil influence in English in Phonology and Syntax
Literatur
Gunesekera, Manique (ed). 2005. “The Postcolonial Identity of Sri Lankan
English.” Maharagama: Tharanjee Prints.
Mendis, Dushyanthi /Rambukwella, Harshana. 2010. “Sri Lankan Englishes.” In: Andy Kirkpatrick (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes. New York: Routledge, 181- 196
Meyler, Michael. 2004. “Sri Lankan English”. In: Bernd Kortmann (ed.). A handbook of varieties of English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 540 – 547
References in the internet
Government of Sri Lanka: https://www.gov.lk/index.php
SVE: Studying Varieties of English: https://www.uni-due.de/SVE/index.html
Tsunami Disaster in Sri Lanka: http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/HELGESTJ/
Wordaltas: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/lk.htm