Causes for the Sinhala Spelling Errors and Mistakes: A Study Based on the Students Reading Translation Methods at University of Kelaniya

Abstract

Spelling means the order of letters followed in writing a word. Every language has its own spelling patterns and it is of paramount importance to follow them in order to use the language accurately. This paper is an attempt to identify the main causes behind the Sinhala spelling errors and mistakes and the study is based on the students reading translation methods at University of Kelaniya. The Translation Methods subject read by the students of University of Kelaniya consists of three languages, namely Sinhala, English and Tamil. Therefore, the students necessarily deal with all these three languages and translating from English to Sinhala is one of their main tasks. The Sinhala translations written by the students have been utilized in this study as the material to gather data. The incorrect spellings in their writings were identified and pointed out in feedback and discussion sessions and they were questioned regarding the reasons behind using them. Based on their answers, causes for the spelling errors and mistakes have been identified. Accordingly, it has been discovered that the impact of the incorrect spellings and mutant words appearing in common usage, public media, dictionaries and the confusion resulted by the different spelling patterns practiced in different traditions and their complexity are among the main causes.