Sri Lankan English

Sri Lankan words that were borrowed by the English and are used in the language are recorded in A Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies. Such words often relate to flora and fauna:

• anaconda[10]
• betel
• rattan
• wanderoo

Having taken root in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1796, Sri Lankan English has gone through over two centuries of development. In terms of its socio-cultural setting, Sri Lankan English can be explored largely in terms of different stages of the country's class and racial tension, economy, social disparity as well as post-war rehabilitation and reconciliation.[11] For instance, the country witnessed a general lowering in the standard of English following the Sinhala Only Act that was introduced in 1956. English as a medium of education in schools were dropped and the Act also prompted the emigration of the predominantly English-speaking Burgher community of Sri Lanka. However, while this resulted in the Sinhalese language gaining more prominence in all domains of Sri Lanka, its influence on Sri Lankan English also increased. In fact, the merging of the two languages resulted in a so-called “Singlish” which remains a significant feature of Sri Lankan English.[12]

This period was followed by the 1970s revival of an open-market economy, increased exposure to foreign media and the internet, rising expatriate community as well as the growth of English-medium “international schools.” The government also recognized the importance of English, not just as a life skill needed to maintain contact with the outside world but also as a necessary link language in a country that is home to several cultures and ethnicities.[12]

Just like the other languages spoken in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan English has also come to have its own classifications of both regional and class dialects. According to one study, it was found that colloquial features and pronunciations that distinguish Sri Lankan English from the standard form is highly influenced by the country's mother tongue. One such example is the notably large number of Sinhalese loanwords used in SLE. Apart from Sinhalese, SLE also consists of a relative number of loanwords borrowed from Tamil, Malay, Arabic, Hindi, Dutch and Portuguese languages.[13]

Moreover, it is hard to point out an exact number of Sri Lankan English speakers. A relatively small portion of Sri Lankans – namely the Colombo elite, consider English their first language. This community arguably makes up a prominent part of Sri Lanka's social, cultural, political and commercial circles.[13]

Additionally, just like any other language, SLE is constantly evolving with the new generation. This is particularly noticeable when one compares the English used by older generations who spoke a more ‘colonial’ English that was highly influenced by the British during and after independence. Despite such changes, the question of what constitutes a standard form of Sri Lankan English remains unanswered. Within certain social circles, the term ‘Sri Lankan English’ is closely referred to a form of ‘broken’ English, one that is not spoken fluently. However, others disagree with this notion and acknowledges that SLE is a valid form.[12]

In spite of its wide usage, many English users do not acknowledge the existence of the Sri Lankan variety of English. In terms of class distinctions, the so-called Colombo elite of the “Colombo 07” families of Sri Lanka consider English to be their first language and the variety of English spoken by them is considered to be closer to the international standard of English. However, the further one goes away from the main areas of Colombo, there is a greater influence of Sinhalese and Tamil on the English spoken there, with varying degrees of bilingualism.[12]

Colloquialisms have emerged in SLE. Some involve vocabulary. Others involve grammar (such as tense and plurals), syntax and intonation. Some may be common to Indian English.

Words and tags may be added, subtracted, overused, or changed in order and tense in SLE.

Speakers of Sri Lankan English may have varying ability in producing some sounds. Again, the sound of /ɑː/ in "father" and /ʌ/ in "luck"are absent in Sinhala and so are variably difficult for people from Sri Lanka to pronounce in SLE.

Metathesis occur, as they do in many languages. For instance, "exercise" may be pronounced as "ex-cise".

Additionally, some differences in pronunciation may relate to socioeconomic background and level of education. For example, a word like "note" is pronounced with a diphthong, /noʊt/ in standard English. In SLE, it is pronounced /noːt/ with the monophthong; /oː/ and is accepted as normal in Sri Lanka. However, pronouncing a word like "hall" (/hɔːl/) as */‍hoːl/ is not accepted. The non-standard variety "Not Pot English" is formed based on this variant pronunciations of /o/ and /ɔ/ sounds by the Sri Lankan speakers. The confusion between full and half /o/ sounds is noted as a class marker;the label "Not Pot" itself reflects this mispronunciation. Mostly confused words by Sri Lankan speakers include; hall and hole, ball and bowl,and phone and call. Examples of some other words pronounced with a monophthong include, take and made/ cake and rake/ go and no.

Those unfamiliar with English may add an involuntary /i-/ prior to words like "skill" and "smell". However, this is not standard in SLE.

The speaker of SLE may not use contractions as readily as English. For example, "What is the matter?" would be used over "What's the matter?"

Some elided syllables in English are pronounced in SLE. For example, "different" would be pronounced "diff-er-ent" (/ˈɖifərənʈ/). Also, some syllables normally unstressed and sounded as /ə/ may be sounded as /a(ː)/ (or, /o/, /u/, /e/ or /i/). For example, the word "camera" (/ˈkæmərə/) may become /ˈkæməra(ː)/.

In SLE, the first syllable may be emphasised rather than the usual second or third. Examples include, "address", "cassette", "dessert", "museum", "hotel" and "gazette". One may also see differences in the allocation of primary and secondary syllable stresses.

• The Postcolonial Identity of Sri Lankan English by Manique Gunesekera[14]
• A Dictionary of Sri Lankan English by Michael Meyler[15]

• Regional accents of English speakers

• Hussein P. Dictionary of Sri Lankan English. Self-published and sold at Mirisgala website. Accessed 30 January 2014.
• A brief history of Sri Lankan English Newsletter article at (archived) Oxford English Dictionary website.
• An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies Project Gutenberg.
• A review of Knox's Words Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka. 15 August 2004.
• Knox's Words. Ondaatje website.
• Our British heritage Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka. 3 February 2002.
• Sri Lankan English (SLE) Vocabulary: A New Vocabulary in a New Variety of English. Article in a journal on OUSL website.