Humanities

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    Language translation and translator | භාෂා පරිවර්තනය හා භාෂා පරිවර්තකයා
    (Department of Philosophy, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Anandakiththi, Rev. Kapugollawe
    Among the factors .that contributed towards the upliftment and improvement of the human society, translation occupies the highest place. All information regarding the physical or spiritual innovations and advancement came down through translation from time immemorial. This short article presents an account of translation process, the translator and a brief history of the translation.
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    Words from the ‘margins’: Exploring Sri Lankan English borrowings in the classroom
    (Kalyani: Journal of the University of Kelaniya, 2015) Fernando, Dinali
    The use of Sri Lankan English (SLE) vocabulary among Sri Lankans themselves has been the focus of some debate. While some studies have found that teachers of English tend to reject SLE vocabulary, particularly borrowings, in the classroom, other researchers observe that such avoidance is more prevalent among the so-called non- standard users of SLE. However, studies that focus on specific types of vocabulary, or on specific genres of writing, are rare in SLE studies. In particular, despite the current interest in the pedagogical implications of World Englishes, there are few studies that investigate SLE used in texts produced in the classroom. This study thus aims to investigate the use of SLE borrowings in written texts by learners of English who can be considered users of non-standard SLE. The study takes the theoretical position that the appropriate use of SLE vocabulary is part of the sociocultural competence, a significant learner competence, of the learner. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this exploratory study attempts to analyse the nature and the extent of SLE borrowings found in 27 informal written samples on a culture specific topic by a group that tends to be marginalized in SLE studies, the adult language learner of English. The findings of the study revealed an unexpected extent of usages and identified two strategies of uses, explication and exemplification, indicating that the so-called non-standard users display a sociocultural competence that has significant implications for classroom practice
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    Sri Lankan English or not? Lexical Choices and Negotiations in Postcolonial Women’s Writing in Sri Lanka
    (Colombo: Women’s Education and Research Centre (WERC), 2011) Fernando, Dinali
    Postcolonial studies as well as sociolinguists have long asserted the significance of language in postcolonial societies and the unquestionable power that language has in constructing reality. Both disciplines explore the complex and dynamic relationship between the English of the colonisers and the emerging World Englishes, and the process of adaptation and appropriation (Ashcroft et al. 1989, 1995, 2002) of the language which no longer belongs solely to what postcolonial studies refer to as the “Imperial centre” (Ashcroft et al. 1989, Boehmer 1995), or what World Englishes terms the “Inner Circle” or the “norm-providers” (Kachru 1982). Both disciplines have also acknowledged that the languages of postcolonial societies, whether it is their own indigenous languages or their adaptation of the coloniser’s language, offer postcolonial writers a much richer and more appropriate linguistic resource to express their own unique realities than the language of the imperial centre. (New 1978, Ashcroft et al 1995 and 2002, Boehmer 1995). Similarly, in World Englishes studies Kachru (1992) sees the positive and enriching effect of postcolonial adaptation of language which defines a new identity to the postcolonial writer:
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    “Kuppi”, “koku” and “kaakko”: an exploration of the linguistic and ideological significance of contemporary campus slang
    (University of Sri Jayawardenepura, 2016) Fernando, Dinali
    Universities and university students have long been a fertile source of slang, which can be defined as an informal variety of language comprising words and expressions used by a particular social group. Research in campus slang has a long history (see for example Mcphee 1927, Kannerstein 1967, Olesen and Whittaker 1968, Kutner and Brogan 1974, Hancock 1990, Murray 1991, Hummon 1994, Thorne 2005, Preece 2009, Adamo 2013). Many of these studies present word lists and linguistic analyses of these unique lexical items that reflect the academic, social, and personal experiences of student life. Studies of campus slang conducted in American and British universities also indicate several similarities as well as significant differences in the spread and functions of campus slang in Sri Lanka. This, along with the fact that the slang of Sri Lankan university students has not been the focus of much research, provided the rationale for the current study. Examples of slang were obtained from multiple participants at a university in the western province to develop an initial wordlist. A linguistic analysis of each term was then conducted by identifying their morphological features and semantic categories. Reflexive texts written by selected student participants were also obtained to analyse their experiences of encountering, learning and using campus slang. The analysis of this overall data was located in the theoretical framework of linguistic ideology, or the linguistic behaviours that not only characterise a particular social group but also language practices that aim to legitimise dominant political powers. The study concludes that there are significant ideological implications in the usage, function and spread of the slang of the sociopolitically complex discourse community of Sri Lankan university students.
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    Sri Lankan English in the classroom
    (University of Limerick, 2019) Fernando, Dinali
    Sri Lankan English (SLE) was adopted as the model for teaching and learning English by a state programme of teacher training and ELT development in the country, the English as a Life Skill (ELS) project, in 2009. With the slogan 'speak English our way', the programme aimed to develop a team of skilled teacher trainers selected from among the non-elite speakers of English, and to train teachers to teach the much-neglected speaking skills to all school children in Sri Lanka (Kahandawaarachchi 2009). In this project, Standard SLE was identified as the linguistically and ideologically most appropriate model for the classroom, a decision that was lauded and criticised in almost equal measure in the country. Despite its acceptance as a valid variety of English in Sri Lanka by researchers (Mendis & Rambukwella, 2010) and its promotion by many local academics as the most appropriate pedagogical model for English education in Sri Lankan schools (Gunesekera, Parakrama, & Ratwatte, 2001), teachers of English are generally uncertain about the ‘correctness’ of SLE in the classroom. A decade after the launch of the programme, little is known about its outcome in the local schools. In particular, no study has attempted to find out if the views of teachers and trainers with regard to SLE since the programme was launched, reflecting what David Hayes (2005) calls the silence of non- native English educators’ voices in ELT research. This paper thus explores the views and experiences of three trainers from the ELS project on SLE as a pedagogical model for the Sri Lankan classroom through semi-structured interviews. The accounts of the participants reveal their training experiences, their own development as teacher trainers and as speakers of SLE, as well as their views on adopting SLE as a model for teaching. The participants’ views suggest possibilities as well as challenges faced when a local variety is promoted as a pedagogical norm within the current context of English education in a multilingual country like Sri Lanka. The paper concludes with some implications of promoting a World English as a pedagogical model.
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    Towards an inclusive standard Sri Lankan English for ELT in Sri Lanka: Identifying and validating phonological features of Sri Lankan English of Tamil speakers
    (Sri Lanka English Language Teachers' Association, 2014) Fernando, Dinali; Sivaji, Karuna
    This paper reports on a study that investigates the views of teachers of English in the Northern Province on the unique phonological features of Jaffna English, a variety of Sri Lankan English (SLE) that has its own unique syntactic, morphological as well as phonological features (Selvadurai 1983, Saravanapava Iyer 2001, Sivapalan, Ramanan and Thiruvarangan 2010). The main research area of this paper is World Englishes in the context of English language teaching (ELT), focusing on variation within SLE phonology.
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    A Comparative Analysis of Epistemology in Samkhya and Buddhist Philosophy for Wellbeing of Human Society
    (New Frontiers in Sanskrit & Indic Knowledge (NFSI 2019), 2019) Gnanasena Thero, Rev. Walapane
    India is a country where multiple views of philosophy existed. Pertaining to Buddhist Literature (Digh p.80) there were sixty two schools of philosophical notions in India, except Buddhism. The six systems, viz Nydya, Vaisheshika, Sdmkhya, Mim6nsd. and, Vedanta are prominent between and among them. These philosophical concepts, except Sdmkhya are besed on Vedic teachings. SEmkhya system is different from those others, because of accepting dualism. The duality in SEmkhya is the first cause ( Prakryti) and soul (Purusha), Both in Buddhism and Sdmkhya contain useful and valuable data according to all the four main branches of Philosophy namely Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics and Cosmology. Buddhism is entirely distinct doctrine not only from Sdmkhya but also from the other canons in all over the world. Buddhist and Sdmkhya philosophy focus on emancipation themselves. In accordance with these two concepts, the followers who wish the weilbeing of the society and to attain salvation should gain the knowledge for their mindfulness. Absence of knowledge the person will not be able to develop his mind. A person failing to build mind up becomes danger to society. Human beings must, therefore, grasp the knowledge for their mindfulness, for wellbeing of the society. Both Buddhism and Sdmkhya have a specific path for acquiring knowledge. Buddhism recommends two fold activities such as perception and inference for grasping the knowledge. The S6mkhya accept these two fold activities referred to in Buddhism itself and in addition to that the revelation or suiptural testimony. (S.K.a) Thus the two of these philosophical concepts led their followers to make a peaceful society and an attempt to discover the liberation by gaining knowledge through these two or three fold activities. Various similarities and differences can be. seen in connection with theory of knowledge predicted in these two doctrines. I propose to examine them in this research.
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    Wes Anderson‟s expressions of an entity through Colors
    (Proceedings of the Undergraduate Research Symposium (HUG 2019), Department of Drama And Theatre And Image Arts Unit, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Jayasinghe, J.Y.
    Wes Anderson is a well-known and highly discussed filmmaker in modern-day cinema. Especially his use of film language is unique and highly critiqued as he uses iconic compositions and complex colors to strongly express the narrative story. This study is focused to explore and find out about how Anderson has used iconic colors, in the sense of expressing the entity. The entity is the feeling of sadness, happiness, depression, etc. This means that Wes Anderson's films have shown the use of color to express the entity. To explore, the study has used three different viewpoints as to how he has used colors to indicate the moment, the place and the character. The first one is “What are the Expressions of Entity” Usually, any person experiences feelings of sadness, happiness, depression, etc. So, Wes Anderson has used colors in his films to show these emotions. He also uses colors to represent the occasions. The second one is “What is the reason to do this study”. Because Wes Anderson's films focus on the colors of the scene‟s backgrounds, the colors of the actors' clothes, and the colors of the vehicles and Props used, etc. So, He was able to convey emotions using the colors. The third one is “To whom this study will affect”. This study will affect film critiques, cinematographers and academics. The outcome of this study is This study can guide the viewers. And the main fact is the film enthusiasts to understand the importance of colour composition and the way of using it to make the moods. Moreover, this study shows how colors are used to stimulate emotions. This abstract includes how Wes Anderson used colors in his Films to express the emotions.
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    Various Uses Of Language To Fulfil The Task Of Advertising
    (Proceedings of the Undergraduate Research Symposium (HUG 2019), Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Thotagamuwa, T.J.
    With the current competition inthe world of business, advertising has been the best way of reaching customers and communicating with them. Language has a great influence on people and their behaviours. Due to this reason, language has been a widely used and important component in conveying specific messages through advertising. This research attempts to investigate the various types of language used to fulfil the task of advertising. In advertising, the most considered fact is the emotive power of words. The language of advertising normally provides the positive sides of a product. Data for this research is collected analysing the different types of advertisements used by different branded companies in the market. The principal task of language in advertising is conveying the messages about a product that helps the buyers to decide whether to purchase or refrain from buying the product. Different aspects of language are utilized in advertising in order to promote the products among consumers. Among them, euphemisms, simple vocabulary, syntactic parallelism, repetition, and alliteration can be identified as more common linguistic techniques used in advertising. For instance, it is more eye-catching to mention “fresh as a mountain stream” rather than using the word just “fresh” in an advertisement. Almost all the advertisements try to win over the edge in the business world. Hence, language acts as a major transmitter of messages to make the products popular among consumers. Finally, it is well-known that language is the art of communication used in advertising in the present world of business.
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    Using Kahoot as a tool for teaching Prepositions for Tertiary Level ESL learners
    (Proceedings of the Undergraduate Research Symposium (HUG 2019), Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Wasana, W.P.N.
    The current generation prefers more technology than traditional teaching techniques. This research aims to investigate the use of the kahoot online platform as a tool for teaching and learning Prepositions for ESL learners at tertiary level. This method is discovered to have a beneficial effect on the motivation of learners. For this purpose, the quantitative method was used to gather information. In this study, 40 participants who study first-year English for the Humanities course at the University of Kelaniya participated in lessons on prepositions for four weeks. These participants were divided into two groups as the controlled group and the experimental group and each group consisted of 20 participants. After each lesson on prepositions, an assessment was conducted by using kahoot for the experimental group and the Controlled group was given paper-based assessments after each lesson. A pre-test was conducted in the first week to measure the participant's current knowledge on prepositions and a post-test was conducted in the fourth week to investigate the impact of using kahoot in giving knowledge on prepositions. After the study, a questionnaire was given to examine the perceptions of students about incorporating kahoot to the pedagogical process. After that quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS. The Likert scale was used to analyze data in the questionnaire and a one-way ANOVA was run, followed by Tukey's HSD test, to observe whether there are significant differences in the performance of these groups. The results showed that using Kahoot online games was more effective than the other method of teaching preposition on ESL learners at the University of Kelaniya.Therefore, the students can be taught by using this kind of innovative teaching technique interactively and effectively in ESL contexts. The findings may be shared with teachers to inform how Kahoot online game application impacts the learning of Sri Lankan ESL learners.