English

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The 1971 Insurgency in Sri Lankan Literature in English
(Modern Fiction Studies, 1993) Goonetilleke, D.C.R.A.
A Monograph on Honore de Balzac
(2011) Hewabowala, E.S.
A study of Sinhalizations in Sinhala-English Mixed Discourse
(Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2014) Senaratne, C.D.W.
Pronunciation plays a vital role in creating a language acceptable to all. This is also true in the case of Sri Lankan English (hereafter SLE). This study concentrates mainly on the phonological features of non-standard SLE, identified mainly by deviations in pronunciation of a few vowels and consonants. The objective of this paper is to analyze the terms characterized as non-standard by using Muysken?s theory on Code Mixing. The proposed analysis will categorize elements into insertion and congruent lexicalization strategies. The study will analyze recorded speech of 20 urban bilinguals to obtain data. Self-assessment questionnaires will be used to determine attitudes towards phonologically marked items. Results will reveal that terms which are phonologically marked as non-standard. These phonologically marked items identified as Sinhalizations show more affinity to Sinhala phonology and are based on the speaker?s first language. They are products of a grammaticalisation process.
A Study of the Correspondence of Gustave Flaubert as a Theoritical, Thematic, Textual and Biographical Survey in relation to his Principal Texts
(2001) Hewabowala, E.S.
A survey of English skills of new entrants to Sri Lankan universities in 2011?
(Humanities Journal: Issue 16. Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, 2011) Senaratne, C.D.W.
Abigail
(2003) Hewabowala, E.S.
Beyond Glass Ceilings and Brick Walls - Gender at the Workplace
(2006) Wickremasinghe, Maithree; Jayatilaka, Wijaya
Borrowings or code mixes: The presence of lone English nouns in mixed discourse
(Humanities Journal, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, 2013) Senaratne, C.D.W.
This paper proposes to analyze the presence of English nouns in the discourse of Sinhala-English bilingual speakers in Sri Lanka. In the present analysis, lone English nouns are categorized into code mixes or borrowings depending on the nature of integration into the borrower language. The analysis of single word and multi-word compound nouns in the Sinhala-English corpus is based on the empirical claims and observations made by Muysken (2000).The study will make use of English lexical items most commonly used by Sinhala-English bilinguals. The analysis to distinguish lexical items into borrowings and code mixes is based on Muysken?s (2000) Code mixing typology. Poplack?s (1998) theory of nonce borrowing is also used to distinguish mixes from borrowings. The theory presented by Muysken (2000) is applied to the lone lexical items present most prominently in the discourse of Sinhala- English bilinguals in Sri Lanka to identify code mixes and borrowings. As Code Mixing is an integral part of the contextualization process of English in Sri Lanka, the reasons for acculturation and nativization are also analyzed. The analysis will shed light on the much argued topic whether code mixes are borrowings or not.
Code mixing in advertisements
(Abstract published and presented.Research Symposium, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2004) Senaratne, C.D.W.
Colonial Neuroses: Kipling and Forster
(ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, 1974) Goonetilleke, D.C.R.A.
The (De) Construction of Gender Identity in Children’s Literature Written in English by Sri Lankan Authors
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2012) Niles, S.
This research paper is an exploration of the social constructions of gender identities portrayed in selected texts written in English for children by Sri Lankan authors. It draws from Mythil’s Secret by Prashani Rambukwella (2009), Paduma Meets the Sunbird by Nihal de Silva (2006) and Mona’s Mission Impossible by Razana Sameem (2009). The study is based on the premise that children’s literature produced in Sri Lanka by Sri Lankan authors would seek to explore the nuances of gender identities that are constructed within Sri Lanka. The goal of this paper is to deconstruct the social constructions of gender identities that are portrayed in the selected texts in an attempt to analyze the specific gender roles that are socially acquired by children. This study addresses the question of how gender identities of children, within a Sri Lankan society, are depicted in the selected texts, and evaluates the assignment and acquisition of gender roles therein. It limits itself to deconstructing the portrayal of gender identities, and also seeks to unearth the different forces of socialization that influence the molding of a child’s gender identity, while examining the process of socialization and other contributing factors relevant to the construction of gender identities within Sri Lanka. This paper addresses a gap in research in children’s literature produced in Sri Lanka in English, and takes an interdisciplinary approach utilizing feminist, psychoanalytic and sociological theories.
Disillusionment with more than India
(Towards a Transcultural Future, Literature & Society in a ‘Post’-Colonial World, 2005) Goonetilleke, D.C.R.A.
Embodying (dis)abilities: The Renegotiation of Pedagogical Practices by Women Undergraduates with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sri Lanka
(King's College London (KCL) University, 2022) Niles, Sabreena; Rathnayake, Isuru
This study explores the potential to renegotiate pedagogical practices in light of the unprecedented transformations necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, through centralising discourses surrounding the body in relation to women undergraduates with disabilities in Sri Lanka. While recent studies have engaged with the heightened sense of marginalisation experienced by individuals with disabilities during this immobilising pandemic, a significant lacuna exists in its involvement with the Sri Lankan higher education sector. Simultaneously, while research on gender responsive education during the Covid-19 pandemic in South Asia has dwelt on the impact of worsening economies and rising domestic abuse upon the education of women, there appears to be inadequate emphasis on the intersections of women and disabilities, particularly in Sri Lanka. The present study thus gathers data from semi-structured interviews conducted with an eclectic group of six women undergraduates with disabilities from three state universities, which is examined using theoretical and conceptual frameworks related to critical disability, feminist and pedagogical theories. While the study highlights the debilitating consequences of functioning in a culture that is disabling for women with disabilities, it dwells on the subversive potential of their bodies (which are constructed within normative discourses on (dis)ability and knowledge), to interrogate ideologies and practices that shape the education system. It further contends that such subversive bodies demand a critical engagement with encroaching neo-liberal values that define our pedagogical practices through laissez-faire economic policies, exposing in that process cracks that may otherwise remain invisible. The study identifies such embodied experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic as critical to rupturing assumptions of women undergraduates with disabilities. It further posits that their bodies may function as sites that dismantle the strict categorisation and hierarchisation of knowledge, thereby challenging and expanding disciplinary boundaries. The study, subsequently, reinterprets the Covid-19 pandemic as a critical point of departure for women undergraduates with disabilities and other marginalised social fractions in Sri Lanka.
“Enhancing TESL in Sri Lankan Universities through the use of Sri Lankan Literature Written in English”
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Niles, S.
This research study is an attempt to explore the possibilities of using English literary work by Sri Lankan authors to enhance the experience of learning English as a Second Language (ESL) in local Universities in Sri Lanka. This research bases itself on the premise that literature produced by Sri Lankans within a local context would enable students to gain a better understanding of the practical usage of the English language. Though the usage of literature has often been limited, the role of literature has been re-assessed and it is possible to view literary texts as providing rich linguistic input and effective stimuli for students to express themselves while acting as a potential source for learner motivation. Therefore this paper wishes to delve into the manner in which Sri Lankan literature (mainly poems), which is culturally appropriate, can be used to enhance English language teaching to the University undergraduates. In addition to the expected outcome of the study, it is also assumed that a number of other objectives would be met through this research. The use of English literature within the ESL classroom would enhance the oral skills and reading habits of undergraduates, facilitate critical thinking and develop awareness and sensitivity among students. The research will be conducted through classroom-based experiments and observation. This study will also seek to inform the production of teaching/learning materials that can be used effectively to ensure that the teaching/learning capacity within the ESL classrooms in Sri Lankan universities is enhanced through the use of Sri Lankan literature written in English.
An epistemology of gender - An aspect of being as a way of knowing
(Elsevier Ltd, 2006) Wickremasinghe, Maithree
In this article, I examine the concept of gender as applied in Sri Lankan Women's/Gender Studies, and discuss the methodological assumptions behind the usages of the concept. It is based on theoretical understandings of contemporary currents in non/post-positivist methodologies, feminist theory and epistemologies, as well as postmodernism and postcolonialism. I argue for the conceptualisation of gender as ontology in local feminist research/writing by referring to the multiple conceptual constructions of gender as aspects of ‘being’-spanning gendered identities to societal systems. I then focus on gender as epistemology with regard to the ways in which Sri Lankan feminists use gender as political aspirations, theoretical constructs, analytical categories and methodologies. I argue that politicized experiences of gender are at the crux of conceptualising realities in formal knowledge. And conversely, that the gender realities conceptualized in knowledge also mediate in the actual enactments of realities; that gender epistemology (or a way of knowing) is also ontology (or a sense of being). This can be summed up with the convoluted statement that gender ontology as epistemology is gender epistemology as ontology.
Feminist research methodology: Making meanings of meaning-making
(Routledge, 2010) Wickremasinghe, Maithree
Mentioning the word ‘methodology’ in conversation often elicits passive disinterest at the least, and vocal disdain at the most. For those practising development, the term can conjure up images of flow charts, log frames and data sets, while for those in academia, dry lectures on regression analysis may come to mind. Despite the consideration given to the subject of methodology in various fields, however, very little has been written linking feminist methodologies to development practice (one exception being Volume 15, Issue 2 of this journal, to which the author of this review contributed), and there is an even greater gap in such literature published from the perspective of feminist researchers working in the global South, although there is likely much work published locally that has escaped the attention of Northern audiences. Sri Lankan academic and self-described feminist researcher, Maithree Wickramasinghe, sets out to address these gaps in her book, Feminist Methodology: Making Meanings of Meaning-making, published by Routledge as the second book in its Research on Gender in Asia series.
Gender dimensions in disaster management: a guide for South Asia
(Zubaan, 2005) Ariyabandu, M.M.; Wickremasinghe, Maithree
This book aims to address the dearth of specific information on the subject of'gender issues in disaster', particularly in the South Asian countries. Targeted at policy makers and development practitioners in South Asia, it argues that the risk posed by natural hazards is a variable, which has direct implications on development in general, and livelihoods in particular. The specific vulnerabilities and capacities of men and women, and the gender/social dynamics of disaster situations are often not obviously visible, but it is vital ...
Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Rushdie's Partial/Plural Identity
(World Literature Written in English, 2008) Goonetilleke, D.C.R.A.
Imagining the Future of English Studies in Sri Lanka
(Postcolonial Text, 2008) Wickremasinghe, Maithree
The submission is a speech made at the launch of Arbiters of a National Imaginary: Essays on Sri Lanka - a Festschrift for Professor Ashley Halpé edited by Chelva Kanaganayakam. The speech begins with a tribute to Professor Ashley Halpé, followed by a methodological perspective when examining the festschrift. While it does not technically review the articles in the book, it however discusses their significance for contemporary disciplinary practices of English Studies in Sri Lanka. The objective of the speech, therefore, is to argue for a paradigm shift in English Studies when engaging with the specificities of the Sri Lankan context, which would necessarily involve a consideration of the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary directions of English, as well as the political and ethical needs of the local situation.
The Interface of Language, Literature and Politics in Sri Lanka: A Paradigm for Ex-colonies of Britain
(The Politics of English as a World Language, 2003) Goonetilleke, D.C.R.A.