URCL 2016

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/16546

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Institutional Language Planning Situation of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya: A Case Study
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Samaraweera, O.G.E.N.T.
Language planning is the deliberate, systematic and theory-based attempt to solve the communication problems of a community by selecting an official language and standardising its structure. Even though language planning is generally a national programme undertaken by a government, observations have been made of institutional language planning situations concerned with the internal language policy of individual institutes. This study intends to examine the nature of the institutional language planning situation of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya. Out of the six faculties of the university three faculties, namely Medicine, Science and Cornmerce & Management Studies employ English as the sole medium of instruction. The other three faculties, namely Humanities, Social Sciences and Graduate Studies employ a bilingual policy of both Sinhalese and English languages as media of instruction. The Faculty of Humanities, which is the subject of investigation of the present study, is consist of ten departments. The Department of Buddhist and Pali Studies conducts lectures in both Sinhalese and English. The Department of English, conducts lectures only in English, while the English Teaching Unit conducts lectures in both Sinhalese and English. Yet, it is mandatory for students to offer exams in English. Five other departments, namely the Department of Sinhala, the Department of Sanskrit, the Department of Linguistics, the Department of Western Classical Culture, and the Department of Fine Arts conduct lectures only in Sinhalese. The Department of Hindi keeps to a trilingual policy conducting lectures in Sinhalese, English and Hindi. The Department of Modem Languages conducts lectures mostly in the respective languages taught, but the Sinhalese and English languages are also employed where necessary. All these departments except the Department of Sinhala allow undergraduates offer exams in English on request. From this brief study it is evident that the language policy of.the faculty is not uniform and depends vehemently on the subjects taught in each of the departments.
Translation as a Method of Teaching and Learning a Foreign Language
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kankanange, S.; de Silva, M.; Jayaweera, A.
Translation is considered as a traditional methodology of teaching and learning a foreign language as a second language. It encourages the L2 learner to think in one language and transform into another by acting as a mediator. This fundamental process of teaching and learning a foreign language (L2) which enables the L2 learner to understand similarities and differences between two languages was initiated to learn classical languages such as Latin and Greek. This research focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of using Translation as a method of learning & teaching a foreign language (L2). Translation has been traditionally used to teach grammar. It allows the teacher to depict equivalent and non-equivalent structures between the first language (L1) and the foreign language (L2). Many practical benefits could be gained through the process of translation that improves the new language (L2) ability. Through this method, L2 learner's language skills could be developed by applying the classroom gained knowledge such as grammar, composition, and interpretation of texts in a practical manner. This is one of the most prevalent beliefs among language learners (L2 learners) and language teachers as well. However as any other method, there are positive aspects as well as negative aspects of using translation in language teaching and learning (L2) since it's a process that handles two different languages (Ll and L2) which represent two different socio-cultural identities. In conclusion, this research proves that translation is an accepted, widely used, successful method in teaching and learning a foreign language (L2).
A Comparative Study on the Lexicon of 'The Village in the Jungle' and its Sinhalese Translation 'Beddegama'
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Waththegedaral, P.T.S.S.; Karunathilaka, T.S.; Muthumali, H.P.
Translation is not just a translation of words but it is a creative act of translating the whole idea of source language into target language. The aim of this research is to compare the lexical meanings of Leonard Woolt's 'The Village in the Jungle' which is based on Sinhalese folk life and 'Beddegama' which is translated by A. P. Gunarathna. 'The Village in the Jungle' is also an influential work of Sri Lankan Literature. Data were collected by comparing a selected chapter of the translation with the corresponding chapter of the source text. Dialects, registers, styles, cultural words, discriminative words and slangs are focused on examining the lexical meanings. Through the analysis of the data collected, it can be proved that the colonial administration had been affected to the Sri Lankans who lived in that period and it can be seen through the lexical meanings. The story of the novel "Village in the Jungle" is full of acrimony. Thus, a soothing, delicate lexicon from both the books cannot be expected. Further, semi-civilised villagers and the differences of their attitudes are also affected to the lexical meanings of the books. By this research, it is discovered that the social background of the composed season of these books is immensely affected to the lexical meanings.
Language Planning in Senegal: A Study Based on the Position of 'Wolof' as a National Language
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kekulawalal, S.; Samankumari, P.G.
Language planning refers to deliberate and systematic attempts taken to solve the language problems of the speech community. Government authority gives a prior contribution when planning a language through legislation, court decisions, executive action or other means to determine the use of language in public contexts. Senegal is a multi-ethnic country where there are around twenty communities speaking twenty five languages and gives a prior contribution from the Senegal government to a better language planning. In Senegal, 'Wolof is the main national language used by Senegalese and plays a major role in the language planning. However, still, it could not have reach to the state of official language. This paper examines the language planning in Senegal while mainly focusing to the national language problem of'Wolof. The language planning in Senegal is that, French is the official language. The language of 'formal' schooling, the media, commerce and the government, although only 10% of the Senegalese population speaks French, and it is spoken primarily in the larger cities (e.g. Dakar). One of the most striking problem in Senegal is that it does not have a proper national language policy, have 28 different languages co-exist, 6 of which are named as national languages spoken by 86% of the citizen. When considering current language situation in Senegal, the attitudes of the Senegalese people towards the Wolof language, the Wolof culture and the duality between the Wolof language and the other local languages is high. Therefore attention towards the local languages (mainly Wolot) can be seen everywhere in the country. Data for this research are collected by using Google website articles and written books. What learned from the study is that, with a great sociolinguistics and demographic domination there is a huge attention towards Wolof language as a national language.
Issues of Subtitling Faced by the Translator and the Audience
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jayasinghe, S.; Egodage, W.
Subtitling is a prevalent method used to translate foreign dialogues of a movie or television program to be usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. Viewers are generally well motivated to understand what is shown and said on television and cinema. Subtitled television programs seem to constitute a rich context for foreign language acquisition and it can raise awareness and provide motivation for language learning, in both formal and informal contexts, and consequently contributes to creating an environment that encourages multilingual ism. However, language and culture are closely interrelated. In subtitling, as in all forms of interlingual transfer, this may cause problems in rendering culturespecific or language-specific elements. This research provides a descriptive analysis of the issues of subtitling based on three questions: What are the problematic circumstances faced by children, old viewers and the deaf? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this method? Which skills do viewers acquire by the use of this adaptation method? The information was collected by referring to web articles. The responses made to these questions are based on the results of this research on the issues of subtitling. The results listed down by former researches on these issues of subtitling are its fast pace of subtitles as complained by young and old viewers, continuous integration with regards to its limited processing capacity, and the issues related to the part of the screen of which the subtitles are placed. Moreover, further investigations have not been done to figure out the problems encountered by viewers, but this seems likely because they apparently do not grasp to the fullest from the information provided in the subtitles. There would be an increase in the number of co-productions of television programmes and the future introduction of digital television broadcasts with globalisation. Consequently, the use of language adaptation, specifically subtitling, will therefore undoubtedly improve gradually. Abundant opportunities would be provided for those engaged in the field as a result.
A Linguistic Analysis on Deixis of Catholic Religious Functions in Sri Lanka
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Samaraweeral, M.
"Deixis" are the words or phrases such as this, that, these, those, now, and then that point to time, place or situations in which a speaker is speaking. There are many deixis used in Sinhalese speaking society in Sri Lanka. Meanings of these can be traced directly to features of the act of utterance, when and where it takes place and who is involved as speaker and as addressee. So this research is a linguistic analysis of deixis used in Catholic Religious functions in Sri Lanka. Sinhalese speakers belong to different religious groups and Roman Catholic group is one of them. Roman Catholic religion is one of the largest Christian groups in the world with more than one billion adherents. So this research aims to identify the deixis used in Roman Catholic Religious functions in Sri Lanka and how meaningful they are in each environment. Data were collected from Catholic functions, Clergy and Catholic books. Data were analysed depending on categories as personal references, place references and time references. These terms of deixis refer to expressions where interpretation is relative to the extra linguistic context of the utterances such as who is speaking, the time or place of speaking, the gestures of the speaker or the current location in the discourse. Finally, it was expected that the findings of this research will support the development of deixis in the Sinhalese language in Sri Lanka.
Cultural Issues Regarding the Translation of Dramatic Texts
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Bandara, W.A.A.I.; Ranasinghe, J.K.D.P.; de Silva, T.P.M.
A drama is a composition in verse or phrase intended to portray life or character or to tell a story usually involving conflicts and emotions through actions and dialogues. A drama is typically designed for theoretical performances. The written version of a drama is known as the script or the dramatic text and converting this text into a different language is known as the translation of dramatic texts. The objective of this research is to find out the manner that culture influences the translation of dramatic texts and the strategies that can be used to overcome the challenges that rise during the process. "The Caucassian Chalk Circle" by Bertolt Bretcht and its Sinhalese translation "Hunu Vataye kathawa" by Henry Jayasena are used as primary sources and data were collected by comparing the two texts. The cultural data of the source text and its translation were categorised according to several topics namely religious terms, political views, class distinction, food and beverages, life style, parlance, and clothing items. Accordingly, it was discovered that cultural words appearing in the source text can be entirely different from those of the target culture. Therefore, having sufficient knowledge regarding both cultural backgrounds are vital in order to overcome the problems encountered in translating. Further, it was identified that methods such as borrowing, use of cultural equivalents creation, reconstruction are among the methods used by dramatic text translators in addition to direct translation method. Thus, for a successful dramatic text translation in which the target readers are allowed to ascertain an unknown culture effectively, having adequate knowledge in both source language and target language along with their respective cultures is important for a translator. Both primary and secondary data were collected by referring to subject related books and Google websites.
Issues Faced by the Third Year Undergraduate Students in Practicing Interpretation for Translation Methods
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Keerthiwansha, N.W.B.S.
Interpretation is the process of converting an expression delivered in source language into a comparable meaning in a target language either simultaneously in real time or consecutively when the speaker pauses after completing one or two sentences. "Interpretation" is a compulsory subject unit for the third year undergraduates who are reading translation methods in university of Kelaniya Sri Lanka. The unit is being taught for two semesters and the skill of interpretation is tested by a practical session. It covers Sinhalese to English interpretation and vice versa, and the lecture hours cover the theory components and conduct practice sessions by interpreting the Hansard reports. By this study, it was expected to find out the most prominent issues encountered by the undergraduates practicing interpretation. Therefore, a questionnaire was provided to the third year undergraduates who are currently studying interpretation to make a list of issues according to the responses recorded on the questionnaire. Meanwhile, five undergraduate students studying interpretation were interviewed to record their individual issues and they were given few sentences to interpret to identify the issues they face when interpreting these particular sentences. The results indicated that for many undergraduate students, it is difficult to interpret a long and complex statement with speed, while, some have expressed certain difficulties in interpreting technical words, and several students have mentioned difficulty in memorising complex sentences. Significantly, the different sentence structure between Sinhalese and English has created several confusions when interpreting complex sentences. Moreover, homonyms seem to confuse them when a sentence with the same word with different contextual meanings is given to interpret. As a consequence, students tend to have a lesser interest in choosing interpretation as their career path. Thus, possible suggestions were made for the identified issues to assist the students to practice interpretation more effectively and increase the number of students who are interested in becoming interpreters in the futUre.
Presenting Sinhalese Cultural Words in English: A Study Based on Leonard Woolfs "The Village in the Jungle"
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Darshika, K.M.H.; Uthurawala, D.W.
The students of literary translation as well as the writers who are interested in writing about alien cultures in their native language, encounter problems in presenting cultural words of that particular community. As the elements in one culture might be absent in another culture, cultural words in one language might not be in another language as well. The aim of this study is to ascertain the methodology used by Leonard Woolf in his novel, "The Village in the Jungle" in replacing the cultural terms appeared in Sinhalese into English. In order to collect data, ten cultural words from the text have been selected and was observed the way that these terms have been presented and explained. The findings highlight the way how Leonard Woolf has employed several methods to present the terms in his novel that are unique to Sinhalese. Among them, inserting the Sinhalese pronunciation in English letters in the paragraph and explaining the meaning of the particular term in the paragraph itself or at the bottom of the page using footnotes are prominent. Apart from that, applying Sinhalese terms in English alphabet, without any explanation was also observed. In conclusion, this research will guide the students of literary translation and the authors who are interested in writing unfamiliar culture related texts in their own mother tongue, to understand the methods of translating and presenting cultural words, to be used in their future writings.
A Comparative Study on the Novel "Giraya" by Punyakante Wijenaike and its Sinhalese Translation by Ceryl C. Perera
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Dissanayake, R.; Gunasinghe, M.P.D.
Translation is the process of reproducing the source text in another language. Translations can be mainly categorised as technical and non-technical translations. The Translation of literary texts which belong to the category of non-technical translations, are basically identified as a challenging task mainly because of the difficulties in handling the language. Mostly, these issues arise when translating a text which belongs to a different cultural context. Translating the cultural terms is indeed a challenging task. Nonetheless, if the translation is done in the very same context of the source text, the task of the translator becomes much easier. The aim of the study is to analyse the way that language has been used in the two texts Giraya by Punyakanthe wijenaike and its translation by Cyril C. Perera. Data were collected from the two books Giraya and its translation. Here, the author of the source text has used the original cultural terms which appear in Sinhalese, without translating them into English. Thus, translating the particular source text is easier as the cultural background, cultural terms and the characters belong to the same local context of the target language. Though the translators encounter several complications due to both language and cultural barriers, translations within the same cultural context are less intricate than translations within two different backgrounds.
Weaknesses of Google Translation; A Study Based on Sinhalese and English Languages
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wijesinghe, A.; Kaluarachchi, S.S.; Weerangani, S.
The process of translating words or text from one language into another is known as translation. It communicates the meaning of a source language text into a target language. It is used for legal, official, literary works ... etc. Nowadays there is a popular systematic service for translation called "Google Translation". Being an easier and quicker method than manual translation, Google Translation plays a major role in the translation field. It is a multilingual statistical machine translation service provided by Google to translate texts or speeches from one language to another. The aim of this study is to identifY the problems that can be seen in this translation service and the study is based on translating from Sinhalese to English and vice versa. Data were collected by analysing a set of Sinhalese and English sentences translated using the service. When translating trom Sinhalese into English, errors are seen in sentence structures, major reason for which is the structural differences between the two languages. The syntactic structure of the Sinhalese language is SOY, whereas the structure of English is SVO. It is apparent that this structural difference cannot always be properly comprehended by this program. Furthermore, it is identified that synonyms, homonyms and homophones used in the Sinhalese language cannot be properly translated using this service. The diglossic characters of the Sinhalcse language is yet another aspect which creates problems in "Google Translate". Translating a complex sentence with a main clause and a subordinate clause also appears problematic since identifYing the subordinate clause is not easy for the program. Accordingly, this study points out that in order to provide a better service, these issues have to be properly addressed.
The Impact of Sinhalese on Muslim Tamil: A Study Based on the Muslims of Atulugama Area
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Hettihewa, A.S.
Language mixing is a common linguistic phenomenon practiced in bilingual or multilingual contexts. People who live in a bilingual or multilingual communication environment usually have a tendency to use two or more codes while communicating with each other. Most of the Sri Lankan Muslims are native speakers of Tamil Language. This study explores the way of using Sinhalese and Tamil mixed codes by Muslims and the sociolinguistic factors in relation to the cause. The selected sample, to carry out this empirical research was collected from Muslims in Atulugama area. The data presented in this paper were collected through observations, questionnaires, personal interviews, recordings and analysed descriptively. These people use Sinhalese words and word phrases even when equivalents exist in Tamit. They tend to borrow lexical items from Sinhalese when speaking in their mother tongue. For example: prehiccd kata: solld Wdna:m, ahamdQ. maldgeddrd PO:lJgd, na:n mahageddrdkku po:rdn. So the structure of their own language has changed. It is obvious that there is an impact of the Sinhalese Language on Muslim Tamit. The study provides insight into the mixing strategies used by Muslims, and this research will be benefited to sociolinguists, and for further research on language studies.
Colonial Period Language Planning in Sri Lanka
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Perera, A.
In linguistically heterogeneous societies, language planning constitutes core institutional practice for maintaining social cohesion as well as unique cultural identities. This study intends to examine the Colonial Period Language Planning in Sri Lanka. The data were collected through official documents, books, journals and thesis such as Colbrooke Cameron Papers, Language Planning by Robert. B. Kaplan etc. The first Europeans to visit Sri Lanka in modem times were the Portuguese who arrived in 1505 and the Dutch who captured Ceylon in 1656. Then the British presence in Sri Lanka began in 1796. The arrival of Europeans was a novel influence on our languages. During those periods Portuguese, Dutch and English were introduced as their official languages and Greek, Latin and Hebrew were included as the languages under the education planning. The colonisation brought European style of education to Sri Lanka, especially to prepare students for positions in the colonial administrations. All official domains were conducted in their official languages. Accordingly, those language policies were introduced to our educational system and to Sinhalese and Tamil languages. As a result, only few people could obtain a proper education and most of the people remained uneducated. Therefore, those language policies caused several social issues. Moreover, Mr. J. R. Jayawardhana introduced a new language planning proposal to change the colonial language planning in 1944. However, that proposal could not be implemented properly. This was a reason for the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka that took place after the independence.
Language Planning Situations in Sri Lanka and Singapore: A Comparative Study
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kamali, R.D.
Language planning can be defined as a deliberate attempt to change the linguistics behaviour of a speech community for a particular reason. It is often associated with the government planning. It can be initiated to push a certain language towards a stipulated goal. The recognition of two or more official languages can largely be attributed to a scenario stemming out of a socio-political dilemma. Therefore, decisions on language policy and planning are made around the globe every day to create the much needed harmony within their countries. Especially, in multilingual countries, it is becoming more and more essential to have a well-planned language policy. To date, around 200 countries in the world recognise two or more official languages. This study focuses on the language policy in Sri Lanka and Singapore with particulars emphasis on the historical, political and social changes in language policy decisions and the present situation of their language policies as multi-lingual countries in the Asian region. After a general account of the language profile of Sri Lanka and Singapore, this research examines the status planning in both countries since they became independent countries. Finally, it discusses some important recent developments in language planning in both countries and how they constructed the ethnic harmony through language planning and is their language planning, a success or a failure. As the methodology both primary and secondary data were collected by referring official documents, constitution of both countries and other subject related sources. This study demonstrates the linguistic, political and ethnic characters of language planning in two multi-lingual countries.
The Uplifting of Native Language of Kenya under the Influence of Colonial Language Planning
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Sooriyaarachchil, S.A.S.T.; Senadheera, R.H.
Language is one of the prominent resources that should be planned for the sociopolitical wellbeing of a multi-lingual and multi-ethnic country. This research focuses on the language planning of Kenya, a country in Africa. Kenya is a multilingual country which is influenced by the colonialism for a long period of time. The language policy which is followed by Kenya shows and introduction between the native language; Swahili and English. English is the language which is used by the British during pre-coloniallanguage planning of Kenya. The data for the research were gathered through the web site articles about Kenyan language planning and through some research papers of university academic of Kenya. This paper presents the official language planning of Kenya during the pre and post-colonial periods. At present Kenya has two official languages as Swahili and English. As a multilingual and multi ethnic country Kenya has more than sixty two tribal languages like Kikuyu, Luhuyu, and Kalanji. During the pre-colonial time English dominated the language planning of Kenya. [t was used as the medium of education and parliamentary affairs. After the independence native politicians took necessary steps to uplift Swahi[i throughout the country. The first native president of Kenya had introduced Swahili uplifting programs even ordered people to speak Swahili instead of English. Finally Swahili becomes and one of the official languages of Kenya through the constitution of [974. At present Swahili be expanded and intensified throughout the educational system up to university level. Nevertheless the influence of English is remain until today in the status planning of Kenya. Because the making of Swahi[i and English compulsory examination subjects and the use of English in the media with and exception of Swahili. In conclusion, the complexity of Kenya's situation cannot be ignored and it is necessary to continue the uplifting ofSwahili in the status planning of Kenya.
A Linguistic Analysis on the Lexical and Language Change of the Two Films "Pravegaya" and "Kolamba Sanniya"
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Karunathilake, P.M.A.U.
The main target of this research is exploring the evaluation of lexicon and language of two films respectively "Kolamba Sanniya" and "Pravegaya". The research question was finding out how the language has been changed within generations. Other than watching the two films, in order to get more information, talked with the particular societies. The film "Pravegaya" depicts the colloquial Sinhalese language. On behalf of getting more information, studies on colloquial lexicon, helped very much. Furthermore, data were collected by referring relevant books. The main reason is both films were based on Colombo city for the selection of these two particular films. "Kolamba Sanniya" was released in 1976 and "Pravegaya" was released in 2015. The main aim is showing, how the Colombo city and its language have changed within a period of 39 years. When examine these two films, many words in the film "Kolamba Sanniya" replaced in the film "Pravegaya". For example, words like "Dumbarabage","Kakul Kadittuwa","Elibahinawa","Badawatiya" have replaced in the film "Pravegaya" as "Patta","Padiri","Jathi","Sira","Athal" ... etc. These can be introduced as regional dialects. Linguistically affected fields such as translation method, dialectology variations, linguistically applied to the methodology. Thus the movie "Pravegaya" shows, how open economy affected Colombo city. Some subcultures occurred, such as drug dealing and heroine. Coined words emerged gradually in the city of Colombo. Thus, by studying these two films, it can be evaluate that from generations to generations it is important to be aware of these coined words. It will be useful for first language, second language and foreign language learners. It is a normal process of adding new words to the language. By examining old films and new films, it is clear that how vocabulary changes in particular societies and addition of new dialects occur during a particular period of time.
The Impact of Tamil Lexicon on the Sinhalese Language
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Bandara, H.M.S.M.; Pathmasiri, P.S.S.; de Silva, Y.G.H.S.
Sinhalese and Tamillanguages are used as official languages in Sri Lanka. It is apparent that both these languages have had a great amount of influence on each other. Linguistics borrowing into both languages can be identified as a phoneme for this constant influence. This research discusses the usage ofTamilloan words in Sinhalese language. Data were compiled by observing the speech of Sinhalese native speakers and written documents. According to the findings of this study, it was found out that some of these Tamil loan words have replaced their corresponding Sinhalese words. Further, it is pointed out that in addition to be borrowed, some Tamil words have come to Sinhalese as derived words. According to it is discovered that a great number of Tamil borrowings are used in the Sinhalese language and their origin may not be apparent.
A Comparative Analysis on Cases in Sinhalese and Tamil Languages
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Hearth, H.M.N.D.; Ranathunga, R.A.U.M.; Amarasooriya, Y.W.S.N.
The Sinhalese language which belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family and the Tamil language which belongs to the Dravidian language family have been co-existing and interacting in different social situations and contexts for a long time. As pointed out by linguists, a large number of differences as well as similarities can be seen between the two languages. The purpose of this study is to comprehensively analyse the differences in cases between the two languages. Primary data were collected through self-observation and analysing a given set of sentences translated from Sinhalese into Tamil by students reading translation studies at the University of Kelaniya. The books 'Pe:chchuth Thamilukku Arimuham' and 'Pe:chhuth Thamilum Eluththuth Thamilum' by S. J. Yogaraja and online lessons were used as secondary resources. A case is a form of a noun, adjective or pronoun that expresses a semantic relation of a word to the other words in a sentence. In this study it was observed that the Sinhalese speakers who do not have clear knowledge on the case inflection of the Tamil language find it difficult to write or speak fluently in Tami!. On the other hand, since one case suffix in Tamil represents several suffixes of Sinhalese, various problems occur in translation. Therefore, the failure to identify the differences in cases can result in defective translations. According to above findings, a number of dissimilarities regarding cases can be identified between both languages. Further, it is noteworthy that they cause difficulties in learning Tamil as a second language and translation.
Dubbing: Responses of the Sri Lankan Audience to Dubbing Foreign Movies! TV Series! Cartoons into Sinhalese
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Keerthiwansha, N.W.B.S.; Alwis, N.
It is generally believed that dubbing foreign movies into Sinhalese helps to bring the audience closer to enjoy stories that are not very familiar to the Sri Lankan background. It is considered as the most suitable method of translating foreign. language programmes into the audience's language. When dubbing is conducted from one language to another language, several changes may occur. For instance, changes of character names, place names and style oflanguage may occur, while expressions familiar to that particular community may be added to the dubbing to make the programme more appealing to the audience. In addition, language style may change depending on the age of the target audience. However, there are certain individuals who do not prefer Sinhalese dubbed programs. Meanwhile, there are some cases that several individuals prefer the Sinhalese dubbed version of the original programme after watching it, whereas, some individuals still prefer the original version over the Sinhalese dubbed version. Thus, the research in particular, attempts to record the responses to dubbing from the Sri Lankan audience, who have watched both the original version and the Sinhalese dubbed version of the particular programmes. The original and the Sinhalese dubbed versions of several programmes are to be studied and the differences between the two are to be recorded. In addition, a questionnaire is to be distributed to record their attitudes regarding dubbing programs into Sinhalese and the differences they have noted between the original version and the Sinhalese dubbed version. The questionnaire also records their personal preferences along with reasons for their choice. Moreover, the questionnaire focuses on the differences the participants saw when they watched both original and the Sinhalese dubbed version. Several suggestions to improve the quality of dubbing are to be made depending on the responses of the participants. This will allow the dubbing industry to conduct more effective dubbing process to produce Sinhalese dubbed programs which are more appealing to the target audience.
A Study on Translating Idioms from English to Sinhalese
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Nanayakkara, A.; Nagodawithana, A.; Madhusanka, C.
Every language has its peculiar turns of expression. The peculiar uses of particular words and phrases which have become stereotyped by usage are known as the idioms of a language. It is generally agreed that idiomatic phrases cannot be translated literally from one language to another without altering the meaning, if not making the expression completely meaningless. Hence many of the translators tend to omit idiomatic expressions while translating. This study is an examination on the translation of idioms from English to Sinhalese. In the course, publications on idioms were evaluated as the primary source. The knowledge garnered have been further analysed by questionnaires given to students reading Translation Studies at the University of Kelaniya. After analysing the data gathered, it could be perceived that idioms could be classified in to several groups. Immense is the influence of environment and culture of a palticular linguistic race or nation in the above classification of idioms. Hence this phenomenon can be attributed to intercultural and inter-linguistic relationship in human activity. Accordingly idioms could be classified in to three prominent categories. The first category of idioms could be translated directly while retaining the sense of the original whereas the second category of idioms could be translated with a parallel idiom; most telling equivalents. Absence of a parallel idiom was identified as the third category where the only possible solution is to explain the general idea conveyed by the original expression. Thus, if the idioms are inapplicable to first and second categories, advancing ahead with paraphrasing, slanguage, simplified words and phrases is rather befitting in translation and is regarded as the most comprehensive strategy.