ICLSL 2016

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/14246

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    Future Tense in Spoken Tamil and Spoken Sinhalese: A Comparative Analysis
    (Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Subramaniam, A.
    Syntax differs from language to language. The second language learners find it hard to understand the syntax of the language they learn when it differs from the syntax of their mother tongue. Thus the similarities and differences of Tamil and Sinhalese languages in the future tense are being analysed through this study. One of the main similarities found out through this comparative study is that both Tamil and Sinhalese languages have a similar subdivision in Future tense: they are the „will‟ future, future perfect and future Continuous. On the other hand in Tamil, particles are being used to differentiate the future tense, where as verb suffixes and affixes are used in Sinhalese and further the present form is often used to refer to Future tense in Sinhalese. In Tamil, the Future verbs will take various forms as per to Case, Gender, Number and person. Nevertheless in Sinhalese a common verb form is used irrespective of the case, gender and number. The knowledge in the future function of these languages will give a clear idea to the learners and teachers of these languages and it will ease the teaching and learning process of these languages. The research area is limited to the tenses which are being used in the spoken context of the Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhalese. The data for this study were obtained from books, articles, websites, and discussions.
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    Using Sinhalese in Teaching German as a Foreign Language for the Undergraduates of the University of Kelaniya
    (Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Lansakara, L.H.M.D.S.
    The study focuses on the controversy, revolving around the teachers‟ use of the mother tongue (MT) in foreign language (FL) teaching. Specifically, this report concentrates on the examination of German teachers‟ and learners‟ attitudes and methods of employing Sinhalese in teaching German language. Theoretical studies highlight that the MT should be fused by teachers in FL classrooms in resulting a productivity in acquiring a second language or a foreign language. The current study was conducted among the German language teachers and thirty randomly selected students who follow German language as a main subject, representing the three specific course levels of BA degree program conducted by the University of Kelaniya. The research tools were two particular questionnaires designed specifically for the purpose of the study, aiming the German teachers and the students selected. Additionally, the efficiency and the productivity of using Sinhalese in teaching German in the classrooms were examined through keen observations of the students‟ level of understanding and progress in acquiring the language as required. Hence, it becomes a qualitative data analysis. The findings reveal that the teachers‟ as well as the students‟ overall attitude towards the use of Sinhalese in German language classrooms is positive, however with limits; the teachers report that they use Sinhalese for teaching as well as for the classroom management while the students convey that the explanations in Sinhalese support them in understanding the German grammar and language facts better. This understanding will be followed by a comparison between the two particular languages (MT and FL) as well. The findings of this study will be useful in enhancing the quality of the acquisition of foreign languages with a base of using mother tongue and it will open up to approach the theories of applied linguistics in second language acquisition.
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    The Reasons behind Japanese – Sinhalese Cultural Translation Errors
    (Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Balasooriya, B.A.D.N.
    Quality language translation aims to share the knowledge and bridge the communication with world. Recently the language translation has become one of the most in- demand job opportunities for foreign language learning students. Responding those job opportunities, Japanese Language section in the University of Kelaniya added Japanese Language translation method unit for the special degree program from 2013. Though it has passed nearly 3 years, students make many errors in their translations and still they are not competent enough to do a successful Japanese-Sinhalese translation. Especially most of the errors can be seen in Japanese - Sinhalese cultural translations. Therefore there is an urgent need to clear the common errors made in Japanese - Sinhalese cultural translations. Thus, this study aims to identify the common errors made by the Japanese learning students in their cultural translations. The main focus will be on the errors based on the meaning of cultural word translations. Data were collected by reviewing cultural translations of the first year students reading special degree in Japanese language at the University of Kelaniya. Mainly the errors can be categorised as, source language writing errors, target language understanding errors and transmitting errors from the source language to the target language. The findings highlight the fact that, transmitting errors from the source language to the target language are the vastly found and the target language understanding errors are the second. The particular study is effective in the field of Japanese - Sinhalese and Sinhalese - Japanese translation methods to make the Japanese learning students more aware of the field of translation.