The issue of equality in Sri Lankan English

Abstract

Sri Lankan English, the variety of English spoken by Sri Lankans including many bilinguals, deviates from Standard British English. ?Gatekeepers� of Sri Lankan English, a fraction of Sri Lankan academic populace recognize a variety of Sri Lankan English as the ?standard dialect� and disdain other variations as inferior ?non-standard dialects�. Absurdly, they argue about the number of dialects in Sri Lankan English regardless of the fact that SLE as it is a non-native variety of English language could not possess dialects. The criteria they follow in setting the ?standards� are vague and unjust. In fact, they tend to overlook the most common practices as deviations, label them as ?not-pot English� and ironically ignore the deviations in SSLE from SBE so that their social prestige may prolong and make a dramatic plea for international recognition for the variety of English they promote.