Sri Lankan English


Sri Lankan English or Ceylonese English is the English language as it is used in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka it is colloquially known as Singlish, a term dating from 1972. Sri Lankan English is principally categorised as the Standard Variety and the Non-standard Variety, which is called as "Not Pot English".The classification of SLE as a separate dialect of English is controversial. English in Sri Lanka is spoken by approximately 23.8% of the population, and widely used for official and commercial purposes. Sri Lankan English being the native language of approximately 5400 people thus challenges Braj Kachru's placement of it in the Outer Circle. Furthermore it is taught as a compulsory second language in local schools from grade one to thirteen and Sri Lankans pay special attention on learning English both as children and adults. It is considered even today that access and exposure to English from one's childhood in Sri Lanka is to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth.
The British colonial presence in South Asia led to the introduction of English to Sri Lanka. Since 1681, some words have been borrowed from the Sinhala and Tamil language by English. In 1948, Sri Lanka gained independence from the United Kingdom and English was no longer the only official language. In subsequent years, inequality in access to education, and national conflict have confounded the development and use of SLE, particularly in Sri Lankan literature. SLE varies from British or American English in elements such as colloquialisms, vocabulary, syntax, pronunciation and emphasis of syllables.

Sri Lankan words in 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:
Having taken root in Sri Lanka 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Colloquialisms

s have emerged in SLE. Some involve vocabulary. Others involve grammar, syntax and intonation. Some may be common to Indian English.

Vocabulary

Grammar

Words and tags may be added, subtracted, overused, or changed in order and tense in SLE.
SLE phraseMechanismNotes and examples
"isn't it?" and "no?"tag added to a questionFor example, "He's here, no?"
"He went to different different places"Doubling adjectives for emphasisMeaning, "He went to many different places."
"Don't worry about small small things."Doubling adjectives for emphasisMeaning, "Don't worry about inconsequential things."
"Different different worries."Doubling adjectives to imply number/ Duplication"Various worries."
"Let's go to city."Omission of definite articleMeaning, "Let's go to the city."
"Go to home"Addition of directional prepositionMeaning, "Go home"
"The driver is new. He is driving fast also."Use of "also" instead of "and" or "both"Meaning, "The driver is new and he drives fast."
"uncle", "aunty"Added suffixA form of address to show respect to an older person.
"even"added at end of sentenceFor example, "He didn't call even" meaning "he didn't even call" and not "He even, didn't call" or "Even he didn't call."
"only"Changed word order"Yesterday only they came" meaning "It was only yesterday that they came."
"Why they are here?"Changed word order in questions"Why are they here?"
"If you came here yesterday, you could meet her".Changed use of tenseFor example, "If you had come here yesterday, you could have met her."

Pronunciation

Speakers of Sri Lankan English may have varying ability in producing some sounds. Again, the sound of in "father" and 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, in standard English. In SLE, it is pronounced with the monophthong; and is accepted as normal in Sri Lanka. However, pronouncing a word like "hall" as * 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.
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ExampleRPGASri Lankan English
"e" in "net"
"i" in "lid"
"oo" in "book"
"oo" in "boot"
"o" in "ok"

ExampleEnglishAmericanSri Lankan EnglishNotes
"t" in "cat"
"d" in "lad"
"p" in "pull"the same applies to "t" and "k" at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable.
"th" in "this"
"th" in "thin"
"sh" in "ship"
"ch" in "chin"
"s" in "vision" is uncommon in Sinhala.
"z" in "zip" is uncommon in Sinhala.
"w" and "v", ,

Other features

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". Also, some syllables normally unstressed and sounded as /ə/ may be sounded as /a/. For example, the word "camera" may become.
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.
ExampleEnglishAmericanSri Lankan EnglishNotes
"a" in "villa"/ˈvɪlə//ˈvɪlə//ˈʋila/
"w" in "welcome"/ˈwɛlkəm//ˈwɛlkəm//ˈʋelkam/
"wholesome"/ˈhəʊlsəm//ˈhoʊlsəm//ˈhoːlsam/
"polite"/pəˈlaɪt//pəˈlaɪt//poˈlaɪʈ/
"promote"/prəˈməʊt//prəˈmoʊt//proˈmoːʈ/
"today"/təˈdeɪ//təˈdeɪ//ʈuˈɖeː/
"together"/təˈgɛðə//təˈgɛðə//ʈuˈged̪ə/
"commentary"/ˈkɒməntri//ˈkɒmənˌteri//ˈkɒmenʈri/
"compensate"/ˈkɒmpənˌseɪt//ˈkɒmpənˌseɪt//ˈkɒmpenˌseːʈ/
"pencil"/ˈpɛnsəl//ˈpɛnsəl//ˈpensil/
"council "/ˈkaʊnsəl//ˈkaʊnsəl//ˈkaʊnsil/
"quarter"/ˈkwɔːtə//ˈkwɔrtər//ˈkʋaːʈə/
"s" in "cabs"/kæbz//kæbz//kæbs/the "s" of at the end of plurals is pronounced with an "s" sound rather than the usual "z" sound. Other examples are, "rings", "clothes", "mangoes", "discos". The same applies to "is", "nose" and "houses".
"es" in "masses"/ˈmæsɪz//ˈmæsɪz/–Where a plural ends in "es", "/-ɪz/" tends to be used. Other examples include, "wishes" and "judges".
"ed" in "knocked"/nɒkt//nɒkt//nɒkɖ/Similar change is heard with "passed", "finished", "wanted" and "landed".
"ed" in "landed"/ˈlændɪd//ˈlændɪd//lænɖəɖ/the same may apply after "t", "s", "g" and "n".
"et" in "pocket"/ˈpɒkɪt//ˈpɒkɪt//ˈpɒkəʈ/Other examples where "et" is unstressed and pronounced in this way include, "market" and "biscuit".
"th" in "healthy"/ˈhɛlθi//ˈhɛlθi//ˈhelði/Also, "wealthy".
"r" in "care"/kɛə//kɛər//kea/Also, "air", "fare", "pear" and so on.
"w" in "power"/ˈpaʊə//ˈpaʊə//ˈpaʋə/Also, "tower" and "flower"
"w" in "twist"/twɪst//twɪst//ʈʋisʈ/Applies also to "quick".
"a" in "damage"/ˈdæmɪdʒ//ˈdæmɪdʒ//ˈɖæmeːdʒ/Other examples include "marriage", "manager", "village" and "college".
"a" in "delicate"/ˈdɛlɪkɪt//ˈdɛlɪkɪt//ˈɖelikeːʈ/Other examples include "accurate", "examine", "example" and "enamel".
"i" in "video"/ˈvɪdiˌəʊ//ˈvɪdiˌoʊ//ˈʋiːɖiˌoː/Other examples include "competition" and "electrician".
"of"/əv//əv//ɒf/
"vehicle"/ˈviːɪkəl//ˈviːɪkəl//ˈʋehikəl/
"husband"/ˈhʌzbənd//ˈhʌzbənd//ˈhasbənɖ/
"tuition"/tjuˈɪʃən//tuˈɪʃən//ˈʈjuːɕən/
"poem"/ˈpəʊɪm//ˈpoʊəm//ˈpojəm/and, "poet"

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