Morphological Processes of Sri Lankan English in English newspapers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

One of the main devices used to express different feelings and concepts of the users of a new variety of a language is new vocabulary. Sri Lankan English which is identified as a distinct variety of English has a rich vocabulary which resulted from English coming into contact with other languages in Sri Lanka. One of the key aspects of the study of derivational morphology is to identify processes involved in the creation of new words. Sri Lankan English vocabulary has been enriched by the continuous addition of new words formed through a number of morphological processes. The contribution of print media in providing space for the creative use of language is remarkable. The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of the morphological processes of Sri Lankan English in the production of articles in English newspapers in Sri Lanka thereby expanding the Sri Lankan English vocabulary. Furthermore, this study investigates the use of different morphological processes of Sri Lankan English used in fourteen English newspapers which consist of two varieties of daily English newspapers and two weekend English newspapers, collected within one week. The findings of the study are presented qualitatively after a careful textual analysis. This study reveals morphological processes such as borrowing, compounding, semantic creations, loan translations in addition to other identified morphological processes. The results of the study further reveal that borrowing is the most commonly used morphological process, and hence selected English newspapers in Sri Lanka have proved borrowing as a productive morphological process along with other creative strategies of generating new words. The results lend ideas for further research in identifying the contribution made by print media to develop and expand the vocabulary of a new variety of English such as Sri Lankan English.