Sri Lankan Writers in English

“Lankan writers in English are making their own particular contribution to our critical awareness of Lankan reality…” Do you agree? A discussion in relation to three Sri Lankan English poets .

           Sri Lankan writers in English have a distinctive style of writing. As Ashley Halpe points out Sri Lankan writers in English make their own particular contribution to Lankan reality and to the exploration of human potentiality that is central to art of any importance. Their writings represented different situations that occurred during the eras they write. The speech patterns of Sinhala and Tamil influenced the writing style of Sri Lankan English. English literature is one variety of English in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan writers in English explore human potentiality through exposé of characters. These characters have distinctive characteristics that make them different from the characters of other literatures. Through their writing they make their audience aware of Sri Lankan history including the eras of colonialism and post colonialism and social issues like internal riots and ethnic conflicts of the country. Sri Lankan writers in English play a major role in performing the characteristics of Sri Lanka in the international arena. Among those writers the poets like Lakdasa Wikkramasinha, Yasmine Gooneratne and Patrick Fernando can be taken as Sri Lankan writers who addressed different perspective views of human beings as well as social issues.  

 

           In Lakdasa Wikkramasinha’s poetry he dealt with native problems of Sri Lanka. He is a distinctive character among good local poets. As Suresh Canagarajah indicates Lakdasa Wikkramasinha as a better example of a Lankan poet who succeeds in reconciling the discourses in his own terms. His stand point is clearly in the rural, folk, native cultural and literary traditions. In fact in being a poet of no mean stature in one of the indigenous languages (i.e., Sinhala) he is unique among Lankan English poets in his literary bilinguality. Besides, he is a relatively committed poet with a fairly clear and consistent socio-political stand point. [Canagarajah, 1995]

           As a poet he is essentially native. His use of language is essentially and outstanding colored by local idioms. For example the opening lines of the second stanza of the “From the life of the Folk Poet, Ysinno”,

            ‘He made his way to the Walauwa at Iddamalgoda

and to the Menike said ‘how poor he was.’

 

 

 Those native words emphasis the controlling local interpretations of the poem. The most important fact is this line shows something unusual in British English, but common and economical in the Lankan Standard English. By using such contrast he has managed to build up a simple and natural language that makes easy for Sri Lankans to understand. But at the same time we see his familiarity with British English through the words like ‘benison’, ‘fealities’. Through the poem he dramatizes the feudal relationship between the folk poet [Ysinno] and the mistress [Menike] of the house. We see the rudeness and egoism of Menike and poorness, loyalty and faithfulness of Ysinno.

‘So she said, wait for the yala

Harvest and take the straw.

                    Ysinno said, O the rains are coming near

                     my woman fretting, her kid will get wet’

But at the same time the poem ends by showing the generosity of the Menike. The poem is like a reminder of past where we remember the social inequalities that occurred due to feudalism. Furthermore his use of archaic words reminds us obsoleteness of this system. In addition to that “The strength of Wikkramasinha’s discourse then is that by fusing the two discourses, he is able to telescope both traditions to widen our perspective. While sympathetically evoking as an insider a mode of relationship still popular and legitimate in rural Sri Lanka, he also subtly detaches himself to warn us of its possible limitations. Thus his native and Western sensibilities are nicely balanced…” [Canagarajah, 1995]

           In his poem “The cobra” he talks about the mythical beliefs of rural Sri Lankans. There we see how those rural people get obsessed by the power of cobra without considering its deadly impact. The belief is based on fear that if a cobra was killed it will come to took the revenge. The poet is calm but bitter about the death of his woman. This death comes as a harshly irony contrast to the mythical veneration with which the other villagers hold the cobra.  This poem too we see his literary bilinguality through the terms like ‘dunkiriniya’, ‘my woman’, ‘lamp of my heart’.

           Suresh Canagarajah depicts Wikkramasinha as a politically committed and socially conscious poet in Sri Lankan English poetry. And he appears as an angry poet. For example in the poem “The Death of Ashanthi” he criticizes his own family members who belong to the local landed gentry for exploiting their home maids sexually and or else. [Canagarajah, 1995]

“… she was perhaps used

                 by my cousin:privert in the army,”

 There he criticizes his own class for reinforcing sexual exploitation and he identifies himself with the lower class.  

           Yasmine Gooneratne is an outstanding female poet of Sri Lanka who belongs to the Western educated minority. During the time she wrote the social patterns of Sri Lanka have changed from her childhood. At that time mother tongue oriented culture and education emerged in the country and that affected to the anglicized minority of the country. [Raheem and Fernando, 1978] So it is clearly evident the fact that this situation has an effect on Gooneratne’s poetry.

           In the poem “This Language, This woman” she depicts her ideas a defender of English language. As Suresh Canagarajah points out in this poem Yasmine Gooneratne protests against the nationalists in the country. She argues that the nationalists are simply jealous of not having English for their mistress even though they have a brief unsuccessful ‘flirtation’. [Canagarajah, 1995] the poet is using the metaphor of woman to depict the language. She is mounting a farced defense of the English language. Furthermore in detail she points out due to the accidental birth of Sinhala language those speakers do not know the value of English language.

                                         “Beware how you insult her

in your ignorance, accident of your birth.

      Goaded by the jealous fury of your own girl”

She draws a class distinction through the poem. English is characteristically in positive feminine term and the characterization of English show its capacity to regenerate, loyal, love and subtle. She has a very elite sort of vision and that shows how much she is colonized. She says that she is trying to defend the language by writing.  Through her poem we see how the Western educated minority in the country try to defend the English language and the negative attitudes that they have towards the English language.

           Yasmine Gooneratne’s “Peace Game” and “Post-Office Queue” are two poems that show the class distinction. There we see the upper class people’s attitude towards the working class people. And also she presents the snobbish and contemptuous qualities of the upper class people. In the poem “Post-Office Queue” the sister is a woman from a privileged class. It is like a conflictual exchange, only the upper class woman [the poet] speaks. And the lower class woman is not given a voice. She is presented through the narrator’s voice. The narrator is sort of anticipating the lower class woman and she is speaking for self defense. There is a sense of snobbery and content.

           As Lilamani de Silva points out “this poem reinforces class mythology. The upper class narrator is an absolute snob, and is viciously self –defensive in acknowledging her separation from the ‘other’ in terms of the class and language.” [Silva, 1995]

“There is not very much that we share,

      Sister, although I know you are standing

                                              …that your life lacks salt.”

In a way the narrator constitutes herself. And we see both classes are been insular and narrow minded. The poem is about an everyday incident. But as it represents through the upper class character we see only one side of the story. Moreover the poet shows the impossibility of crossing the class barriers though both of them are women.

“I suppose you know you really stand to win

                                         And I know who is going to be hurt.”

We see that both women have their insular virtues.  Likewise the poem can be considered as an amazing, snobbish and callous piece of writing. Addressing to a lower class woman standing next to the poet in a post office queue and the poem ends with the conclusion

“But to ask in English for a stamp is not yet a moral sin;

                                Your insular virtue need not make me dirt.”

The poem demonstrates defiantly upper class attitude which misses entirely the point and pathos of social barriers. [Raheem and Fernando, 1978]

The poem is such a subtle criticism where a high class woman sees her own differences comparing to the privileged.

           Again we see the same situation in the poem ‘Peace Game’. The poem is a mildly suggestive satire on war. She satirizes the inequality of the sides playing the peace game, or the inequality of the sides fighting for war. Here also the poet presents class distinction and there we see two side ‘Odds’ and ‘Evens’. ‘Evens’ belong to the upper class people who were ‘swell’, ‘upright’, ‘regular guys’ and poet represents them. And like the earlier poem here also ‘Odds’ who represent the lower class who were ‘little, patched and scrawny’ were not given a voice.

“We Evens were a well-fed lot

           and tough, so that the little patched

                and scrawny Odds would never dare.”

           On more universal term the meaning of the poem seems to be that wars are not fought on equal terms. It is one party, the more powerful that chooses the ground and makes the rules and plays the game, not for war but for peace. As Lilamani de Silva indicates, “the thesis is that since the ‘Evens’ have the edge over the ‘Odds’ in terms of class power even at the outset, the contest has a predictable end in the game as in life. But the poor are always victims in the race.”  [Silva, 1995] Nevertheless in both poems the poetess objectifies the lower class people and in a certain way her writings affected to draw a class distinction in the country.

           Patrick Fernando is another famous Lankan poet whose writings contributed to display Lankan reality and to the exploration of human potentiality. He wrote with a certain confidence. We see a vivid imagination working through his poems. That has a peculiar originality of its own. In point of actual achievement Patrick Fernando is one of the most talented poets belonging to the period after 1956. He is not exclusively Sri Lankan or Western. His poems can be read by anyone anywhere as they have a universal appeal. Suresh Canagarajah introduces Patrick Fernando’s poetry represent the dominant ethos of Sri Lankan English poetry. [Canagarajah, 1995] He is a native writer and he deals with themes typically native in the West coast of Sri Lanka.

           In his poem ‘Fisherman Mourned by His Wife’ he deals with the theme of love and marriage between a young fisherman and his wife. The fisherman is dead and the wife in her grief analyses the various stages of their relationship. Through images the poet draws a realistic picture of the hardships of their lives. Most of his imageries are drawn from the sea.  

“…not yet tanned…you in old boat brown”

The line shows how fisherman is conditioned by the life he leads. Next the narrator analyses the nature of their marriage. It is a union arranged by their elders. She recalls the first days of their marriage and its consummation while his chastity and inexperience in sex are revealed. Their love blossomed forth after marriage.  The relationship portrayed reflects the typical native ethos. And also both fisherman and his wife’s characters represent folk culture of Sri Lanka. Moreover Suresh Canagarajah depicts his ideas about their relationship as follows;

“Fernando succeeds to a great extent in capturing the specificity of the relationship of the fisherman and his wife as a conservative arranged marriage. However he goes beyond simple stereotypes to show how the relationship blossoms into deep understanding- and love. He also evokes the psychological complexities in the emotions and attitudes of the partners which depict the relationship as humanity alive.” [Canagarajah, 1995]

            Patrick Fernando expresses a different theme in his poem ‘Life and Death of a Hawk.’ It is the enigmatic nature of the highly elevated life and the pathetic death of the hawk that form the subject of the poem. Patrick Fernando shows his own bafflement at the enigmatic nature of the great men ending in meanness. The poet uses the image of a hawk that often can be seen in the Sri Lankan sky. But the theme is universal as it can be applied to any society.  The whole poem carries the theme of however majesty, however powerful this is the common end of all living creatures. The poem is a symbolic of destruction of things beautiful and splendid by violent and incongruous forces.

            Though there can be seen slight differences among the above mentioned Sri Lankan writers in English all of them have taken a certain effort to explore human potentiality. With direct and indirect messages they portray characters. The characters that they portray and social, economical and political issues that they brought out are more familiar to the Sri Lankan audience rather than Western literature.  The clash between native and alien discourse is an unavoidable factor for those writers. Suresh Canagarajah points out how Sri Lankan poets face to the clash of native and alien discourse. According to hi Patrick Fernando ‘ignores and overlooks the clash; Yasmine Gooneratne consciously manipulates the clash to justify her standard. … Lakdasa Wikkramasinha integrates the discourses effectively with a solid grounding in the native cultural traditions and social context.’

            However Sri Lankan writers in English have a distinct style and with their writing they create a separate variety of English literature in Sri Lanka. And those writings affect to Sri Lankan audience as well as to the Western audience to widen their critical awareness of Lankan reality.

      

Bibliography

Canagarajah, S. “Reconsidering the Question of Language in Sri Lanka.” From Essays on Poetry of Sri Lanka. English Association of Sri Lanka, 1995

De Mel, N. (ed) Selective Readings from the poetry of Yasmine Gooneratne. English Association of Sri Lanka, 1995.

Raheem, S and Fernando, S. Women writers in English. Volume 17, 1978.

NATION-STATE

1.      DEFINE “NATION-STATE.”

The idea of the “nation-state” is a vague idea and it is difficult to define. Though there were not secular states there were civilizations and there were relations among the countries in the pre 1648 century. For example there were civilizations in the countries like Egypt, Greek, Persian etc. The term “nation-state” was not used at that time. The concept of nation-state is a new idea which is only about four hundred years old. If we divide the concept nation- state into two different factors, the nation can be scene as an unclear or a fuzzy idea and state as a concrete idea. Many critics have defined the idea of nation-state in different ways.

Joseph Stalin defines nation under different factors and those factors are interconnected. If it loses one thing it affect to the full meaning. First element that he points out is a definite stable community. A nation should have a “historically constituted community” [Nationalism, 18] Furthermore he emphasized that the nation is not constitute with one ethnicity. For that he gave out some examples too, “The modern Italian nation was formed from Romans, Teutons, Etruscans, Greeks, Arabs and so forth. French nation was formed from Gauls, Romans, Britons, Teutons, and so on…” [Nationalism, 18] Next he points out; though a nation contains a stable community every stable community does not constitute a nation. There he gave out the countries like Russia, Austria as examples.

Then he moves on to the second factor by saying that there cannot be a nation without a common language and therefore the fact that a stable community would not be enough to have a nation. But here he emphasizes the fact that “There is no nation which at one and the same time speaks several languages, but this does not mean that there cannot be two nations speaking the same language” [Nationalism, 18] He points out America and Britain as examples. Because though Englishmen and Americans speak one language they do not constitute one nation.  Next he develops the same argument and brings out another factor which is needed to have a nation. That is though Englishmen and Americans use the same language they do not live together generation after generation. “A nation is formed only as a result of lengthy and systematic intercourse, as a result of people living together generation after generation” [Nationalism 19] And also he says this cannot be done if they do not have a common territory. Different territories lead to have different nations.

Furthermore he developed his argument and said the above factors too would not be enough to have a nation. A nation requires a common economic life because all the people in a same nation should share a common economic life. As an example he says that Georgia has a common language, a common territory but does not constitute one nation because they do not share a common economic life.

Finally he mentions the fact that spiritual complexion which is needed to complete the idea of a nation. “Nations differ not only from their conditions of life, but also in spiritual complexion, which manifests itself in peculiarity of national culture.” [Nationalism, 20] Here he emphasizes the idea that “national character” is difficult to study. But it makes a culture which is common to all. So it cannot be ignored when considering nation as a concept. In detail he says that though it may have changes due to the conditions of life it exists all the time and its features may have an impact on the idea of nation.

 If we take Joseph Stalin’s view on nation as a summary for him a nation is “a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.”[Nationalism, 21] So according to him when all these above mentioned characteristics are presented there can be a nation. Therefore Stalin’s idea of nation can suggest the fact that a “nation-state” can also be a fallacy because it needs to complete all the requirements. In brief if we take a small example to understand Stalin’s idea, for him all the above factors are needed to have a nation, so for as an example if we think his idea of nation as a delicious cake, the factors that he mentioned are like ingredients that we add for that because if we are unable to add a single ingredient it would affect the taste of the cake. 

            Max Weber is another critic who defined nation-state according to his point of view. For him nation is “a community of sentiment which would adequately manifest itself in a state of its own; hence, a nation is a community which normally tends to produce a state of its own.” [Nationalism, 25]

 He starts his definition by saying that “nation cannot be identical by the people of a state but with the membership of a given polity”. [Nationalism, 22] According to him a nation can contain homogeneous groups of people. For him the facts like common language, common culture and common religion are not important to have a nation. He believes the fact that a common language is not so necessary to have a nation. The use of a common language may or may not help to have a “national solidarity”. He points out that there may have “national solidarity” with a “common political destiny.” It means that there is a possibility that different ethnic groups in a certain country may fight or may join with the things such as revolutions and due to that there can have certain cohesion towards that country. But he further indicates that the idea of nation is somewhat different. That “national solidarity” which comes through a “common political destiny” cannot make a nation. “But a sentiment of ethnic solidarity does not by itself make a nation.” [Nationalism, 23] For that he points out an example by saying that the Alsatians in France; they speak the German language and they have the political unity with France as they were participated for the French Revolution, but they do not belong to neither French “nation” or to the German “nation.” And also he talks about the Negros in America. Though the Negros consider that they themselves belong to American “nation” the white people in America almost do not consider that the Negros belong to their “nation.”

So Weber emphasizes the fact that people can achieve a quality of a nation under certain circumstances. His argument is that a group of people may represent a certain nation or may join with a certain nation through the relationship of loyalty to the associations that they build up with that nation. But in further he says that may not provide the conditions to have the idea of ‘nation.’ He shows it through example “The German Americans … would fight against Germany, not gladly… The Poles in the German state would fight readily with a Russian Polish army but hardly against an autonomous Polish army…” [Nationalism, 24]

When considering the ideas on nation mentioned by both critics, there can be seen subtle differences on the facts mentioned by the critics for their argument. Because the factors that Stalin decided as requirements which need to have a nation are not considered as requirements by Weber to have a nation. So on the surfaces both arguments look at different facets of ‘nation’, but in depth both critics stop their arguments at the same point.  Through both arguments, it is clearly evident the fact that the idea of the nation-state is a fallacy. According to both arguments though there can be seen the use of the word ‘nation’, ‘nation-state’ today, those do not have the requirements that should have to have for a ‘nation’. So it is clearly evident that this is a vague and fuzzy idea. But in the present society and the world most of states identify themselves as ‘nation-states’.  However it still lacks and it still need to have number of requirements which need to have to fulfill the idea of ‘nation-state’.

2.      EXAMINE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF “PEACE OF WESTPHALIA” IN FURTHERING THIS “NATION-STATE” IDEAL.

The ‘Peace of Westphalia’ in 1648 can be considered as one of the important historical event which separate the Middle Ages from the modern world. In further it can be identified as a historical benchmark. Before this peace treaty the obligations among the countries were taken by the kings. During this time the royalty or the monarchy was widely accepted. So the ‘Peace of Westphalia’ is like a turning point in the history of international relations and there is no need to argue on that. Here the argumentative fact is that whether this Peace treaty has an influence on the idea of ‘nation-state’ and whether it is significant to make the idea of ‘nation-state’ more perfect in the present world. To find about that we have to move on to the principalities mentioned in the ‘Peace Treaty of Westphalia.’ Many critics have different views on the significance of this Treaty in relation to the modern world.

      According to the ideas mentioned in the Encyclopedia BETA it presented four basic principles in relation to this Treaty. Those are;  

       1. The principle of the sovereignty of nation-states and the concomitant fundamental right of

           political self-determination.               

2. The principle of (legal) equality between nation-states.

3. The principle of internationally binding treaties between states.

4. The principle of non-intervention of one state in the internal affairs of other states.     

                                                                                              [www.newworldencyclopedia.org]

The principles which are indicated here are essential to build up the concept of ‘nation-state.’ Therefore to find out the fact that whether the ‘Peace of Westphalia’ is significant to broaden the idea of ‘nation-state’, we should get to know, whether these principalities exist in the modern world or among the modern states.  

Through ‘Peace of Westphalia’ the idea of sovereignty was brought to the states. With that it brought a respect towards territorial integrity of the state and also the concepts like nationalism. It can be seen clearly through the article VI of the Westphalia treaty;

“According to this foundation of reciprocal Amity, and a general Amnesty, all and every one of the Electors of the sacred Roman Empire, the Princes and States (therein comprehending the Nobility, which depend immediately on the Empire) their Vassals, Subjects, Citizens, Inhabitants (to whom on the account of the Bohemian or German Troubles or Alliances, contracted here and…” [http:marx.org/history/capitalism/index.htm]

  Sovereignty is a right or an authority that a nation has to be without any interaction of other states. It is the ability that a state has to make independent decisions. To be sovereign means to posses a government able to issue its own orders to its armed forces. According to Hans Morgenthau; “Westphalia thus initiated a long-term trend towards the sovereignty of nation-states.” And in further he argued on the fact that with these ideas people began to have connections with their states. [http:findarticles.com] Another critic Daniel Philpot proposes three features of sovereignty emerged after the period of 1648. Those are the “creation of diplomatic offices, standards of interstate recognition, and non-intervention as a means of economic self-preservation.” [http:findarticles.com] Though the idea of sovereignty of each state became an outshined facet during the period after the Peace of Westphalia it is argumentative whether this idea exists among the world. However ,it is clearly evident the fact that, through this peace treaty there came the idea of sovereignty. But when considering the situation which occurred after the period of 1648, in the modern period most of the states do not have their sovereignty. Lynn H. Miller shows this situation in his book “Global Order” as follows; “This new impermeability of the territorially based state was and has remained a relative. During the modern period, some states have been overrun and a lesser number destroyed. Boundaries have shifted as a result of coercion” [Miller, 23]

As firstly mentioned, sovereignty is the ability that a state has to take decisions independently. But when considering the situation of the states most of the states are unable to take decisions by themselves. Most of the time states get the help of some other states when they have to face a problematic situation. And also most of the time sovereignty of certain weak states is threatened by some other powerful states. That is what happens in the real world.

Except the sovereignty, the other principality which brought out by the Peace of Westphalia was the equality among the ‘nation-states’. The treaty of Westphalia points up this fact in the article number LXIV as follows;

“And to prevent for the future any Differences arising in the Politick State, all and every one of the Electors, Princes and States of the Roman Empire, are so establish’d and confirm’d in their ancient Rights, Prerogatives, Libertys, Privileges, free exercise of Territorial Right, as well Ecclesiastick, as Politick Lordships, Regales, by virtue of this present Transaction: that they never can or ought to be molested therein by any whomsoever upon any manner of pretence.”      

                                                                        [http:marx.org/history/capitalism/index.htm]

So secondly, we can have a view on what type of equality existed among the states in different eras under the evolution of international system. During the recent period, especially after 1648, the international system was basically Euro-centric and there was a multi-polar balance of power system. States like France, Russia, Britain, Spain and Austria were considered as powerful. Consequently there was no equality among them. Then later countries like America, Soviet Union and Japan emerged as powerful states. And during the cold war period there was a balance of power in between the two super powers of USA and USSR. It was a bi-polar balance of power.

Yet, in the contemporary period, there is no sense of equality among the states as represented in the treaty of Westphalia. In the modern world, this change in equality has occurred due to many reasons that were not formed during the Westphalia era. It may be due to economic reasons like globalization, transnational organizations and multinational organizations. Under this new situation in the international system, some states would be economically less powerful than other states. Therefore the dominant states can have their influence on relatively weaker states. This not only alters the equality among nation-states, but also the doctrine of non-intervention. This can be seen through the problem of Israel and Palestine. Here Israel always gets the support of United State and similarly, Palestine from Muslim states.

This illustrates another factor mentioned in the Peace of Westphalia, which is the principality of non-intervention for the internal affairs of the states. It shows in the article number II of the Westphalia treaty as follows;

“That there shall be on the one side and the other a perpetual Oblivion, Amnesty, or Pardon of all that has been committed since the beginning of these Troubles, in what place, or what manner soever the Hostilitys have been practis’d, in such a manner, that no body, under any pretext whatsoever, shall practice any Acts of Hostility, entertain any Enmity, or cause any Trouble to each other; neither as to Persons, Effects and Securitys, neither of themselves or by others, neither privately nor openly, neither directly nor indirectly, neither under the colour of Right, nor by the way of Deed, either within or without the extent of the Empire, notwithstanding all Covenants made before to the contrary…”                                                                          

                                                                          [http:marx.org/history/capitalism/index.htm]

            According to this idea, no state can intervene for the internal affairs of any other state. But the reality is most of the time the powerful states intervene the internal affairs of the weak states. However situation too happens in relation to the above mentioned economical factors.

            After considering all above cited factors there can come to a conclusion that when broadening the idea of nation-state, the peace treaty of Westphalia is neither significant nor insignificant. Because there are issues which can be considered as requirements to form a nation-state are mentioned in the peace treaty. But the argumentative fact is that whether these requirements exist among the states. However it is obvious that the Westphalia issues can form ideal and perfect nation-states. But due to the existing economic dilemma it is not practical. So in brief we can come up with a conclusion that the peace treaty of Westphalia is an attempt to make nation-states ideal.

Bibliography

Jason Farr “Point: the Westphalia legacy and the modern nation-state”. International Social Science Review. FindArticles.com. 02 Jul, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi%20moIMR/is%203-480/ai%20n27864045/

CODE SWITCHING

 Record and transcribe [using IPA symbols] a passage containing code-switching of about 20-30 sentences. Analysis the different types of code-switching/code-mixing that are found in the recording, suggesting and examining reasons that could trigger these occurrences. Your recording should be authentic to the Sri Lankan context. 

    Code-switching and code-mixing are well-known traits in the speech pattern of the average bilingual in any human society the world over. This occurs when bilinguals use their ability to use more than one language during the conversation. According to Gumperz code-switching is “the juxtaposition within the same speech exchange of passages of speech belonging to two different grammatical systems or subsystems.” [Romain, 1994] the same idea is defined by some other researchers under subtle differences as follows. Di Ptetre (1977) defines it as “the use of more than one language by communicants in the execution of a speech act.” Valdes Fallis (1976) refers to it simply as “the alteration of two languages,” and Scotton an Ury (1977) propose that “code-switching [is] the use of two or more linguistic varieties in the same conversation or interaction.” [Grosjean, 145] Furthermore Hudson defines the purpose of code-mixing as follows, “…to symbolize a somewhat ambiguous situation for which neither language on its own would be quite right. To get the right effect the speakers balance the two languages against each other as a kind of linguistic cocktail. [Hudson, 53] However with the combination of two languages together speakers create a separate language and a distinct style of using language. Moreover this has become a common phenomenon in bilingual society. Language experts across the globe have investigated in their experiments causes, functions, characteristics and effects of code-switching and code-mixing.

People have positive as well as negative attitudes towards code-switching and code-mixing. Code-switching and mixing has given critical names like Franglais, the mixture of English and French, Singlish, the mixture of English and Sinhala, Tex-Mex, the mixture of English and Spanish etc. As it affects to the attrition of the mother tongue of a country some people try to avoid from this. Because they think that it wipes out the identity of the mother tongue. Furthermore they consider it as an impure use of language and with that the language becomes complicated. But at the same time some people look at it in a positive way. They consider it as a relaxing way of using language because they can express their ideas more precisely with code-switching and mixing. Grosjean considers code-switching not only as a filling of momentary linguistic need but also as a very useful communication resource. [Grosjean, 148]

There can be seen numerous reasons for code-switching and mixing. Bilinguals most of the time think that they lack facility in one language when they are talking about a particular subject. Therefore to find the most suitable word for the subject that they are talking they switch codes. For example if we take a look at into the Sri Lankan context, Sinhala speaking community, most of them are bilinguals as they learn English as their second language. So for example when they talk on a subject matter like English literature it is difficult to find some appropriate words from Sinhala language and then they shift to English language. Li Wei also talk about the same situation “…bilingual speakers code-switch because they cannot express themselves adequately in one language.”[Wei, 15] Gumperz (1970) too defines this situation and according to him “code-switching is a communicative resource that builds on the anticipants’ perception of two contrasting languages.” [Grosjean, 152] In addition to that people shift codes to give a language familiarity and to enhance the meaning. For example while using English language people use tags like [among Sinhala speakers] “ne:də,” “ane:” etc. it is because though they can find similar linguistic features in English language the use of Sinhala words like that can enhance the meaning. And also as Li Wei pointed out “some bilinguals regularly change their speech productions from one language to another in their professional life. Interpreters and translators, for example, switch between languages as a routine part of their jobs” [Wei,15]   Except to the above mentioned reasons code- switching and mixing can be taken as a stylistic way of using language especially among youth.

Sociolinguists have observed different types and degrees of code-switching and code-mixing according to the way of using it under different circumstances. Poplack (1980) identified three major types like tag-switching, inter-sentential and intra-sentential. “Tag-switching involves the insertion of a tag from one language into an utterance which is otherwise entirely in the other language”. Since tags are subject to minimal syntactic restrictions, they may be easily inserted at a number of points in a monolingual utterance without violating syntactic rules. [Romain, 122] For example Sinhala/English bilingual community use Sinhala tags like “ne:də”, “me:”, “ane:’, “aijo:”etc and English tags like “here”, “isn’t it”, “right”, “ok” etc.

Eg:  Ane: you are going tomorrow ne:də? [Sinhala tags]

       Here, mamə hetə ennŋ ok. [English tags]

Inter-sentencial switching involves a switch at a clause or sentence is in one language or another. Most of the time it occurs outside the sentence or the sentence boundary. Sometimes this includes one sentence in one language and the rest of the sentence in another language. In this type of switching there should be a fluency in both languages. [Romain, 123]  An example from Sinhala/ English discourse; You have to be there ude: pa:ndərə[early in the morning]. I don’t know dear, matə enna bæ: ne [I can’t come].

According to Poplack under intra-sentential switching different types of switching occurs within clause or sentence boundary. This sort of switching involves the greatest syntactic risk. And this may be avoided by the most fluent bilingual. [Romain, 123] An example from Sinhala/English discourse; ane: baba: e:kə matə [oh baby for me it’s] very difficult know.

                 There’s nothing oja boru kijanne. I’m going.

But this type of code-switching is very ragged and awkward.

However all the above mentioned types of code-switching can be found in one discourse. Another important factor that needs to discuss is the major two variations of code-switching. One is situational code-switching where situations decide which language is the best and the other is metaphorical code-switching where the situations are not clear or ambiguous and the speaker decides to ignore the situation. [Hudson, 52]  Here situational code-switching controls by the setting, participants, domain etc bet metaphorical code-switching as Gumperz [1982] put it ‘Rather than claiming that speakers use language in response to a fixed, predetermined set of perceptions, it seems more reasonable to assume that they build on their own and their audience’s abstract understanding of situational norms, to communicate metaphoric information about how they intend their words to be understood.’ [Romain, 161]

            Code-switching contains discourse functions. According Gumperz functions of code- switching are quotations, addressee specification, interjections, reiteration, message qualification, personalization versus objectivization. Furthermore he explains on it in detail. According to him quotations contain where ‘code switched passages are clearly identifiable either direct quotations or as reported speech.’[Gumperz,75-81] An example from Sinhala/English discourse; Shakespear kijənəva ‘whole the world is a stage’ kijəla’ 

Gumperz looks at the function of addressee specification as the ‘switch serves to direct the message to one of several possible addressees’. Most of the time this takes place when a speaker turned to someone aside from the conversation. An example from Sinhala/English discourse,

A          B: you have to come on Monday

B         A: ah I got the news from Raja.

A         C: api sandudatə ennə o:nəlu.

 And interjection he defines as‘sentence filler.’ Furthermore it marks an exclamation. For example; “aijo: deύijəne: [oh God] what you did?” Reiteration is to ‘repeat the message in other code, either literary or in somewhat modified form.’ This can be used to clarify the message and to emphasize the idea. For example; “What are you doing? ane: ennako, come will you.”   Message qualification is to ‘qualify contractions such as sentence and verb compliments or predicates following a copula.’ [Gumperz, 78-81] For example from Sinhala/English discourse, ‘She is my eldest daughter hetə anidda campus eken out ύenəύa.’  The switch from one language to the other qualifies the previous sentence.

            Borrowing is another feature that occurs when different languages mixed up. Hudson defines borrowings as follows. “Code-switching and code-mixing involved mixing languages in speech; borrowing involves mixing the systems themselves, because an item is ‘borrowed’ from one language to become part of the other language. Everyday examples abound- words for foods, plants, institutions, music and so on.” [Hudson, 55] In Sinhala language too we have borrowings, the words like bus, car, fan, note, TV etc. Though we have Sinhala words for these words we do not use them and we are more familiar with English word than Sinhala word. Nowadays with the rapid development of science and technology and with the effects of globalization we get more familiar with borrowing words.

The following is a transcription of a Sri Lankan TV programme that contains Sinhala-English code-switching and mixing.

                                                                    Ruveththi with Rozane

                                                                    Tv Derana 21^st Feb 2010 [18.00am]

                                                                    http://www.derana.lk/ 

A [Rozane]: Hello how are you?  (01)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
B [Shamali]: I am ok and how are you Rozane?  (02)                                                                                         

A: Shamali maŋ Capello saloon ekata a:ύe mata a:raŋtѕijak a:ύa alut therapy ekak læbila tijenəύa kijəla. mokəkdə me: alut therapy ekə? [I came to Capello saloon I got to know that there is a new therapy] (03)                                                                                                                                           

B: It’s a Swedish body massage and e:kə Australia and Sweden ύələ hæmə tænəmə tijenə ekak. (04)

 hari prəsiddə ekak hæbæi e:kə dæn lanka:ύtə  æύilla Capello saloon eke: api e:ken classes patangannəύa. [it’s a famous body massage and now famous in Sri Lanka. In our saloon we have started classes on it] (05)

 and e:kedi api ugannanaύa, [there we teach] practicals as well as theory. (06)

 i:təpasse cause eka ma:sa dekai api e:gollanta certificate ekak denəύa. [then two months course and we give a certificate after that] (07)

A:hari, man hitanne api ύædi ύistərə katakərəmu therapy eka kərənə   ύela:ύemə. api ehenam Manishkage therapy ekakata jan. [We’ll talk more in detail when the therapy is going on. We’ll go for a therapy with Manishka] (08)

 and Shalini client kenek oja: langətə a:ύəmə kohomədə eja: therapy ekətə su:da:nəm kəranne. [How do you prepare a client for a therapy?] (09)

B: api client ύ arəgenə eja:ge ædum a:barənə galaύəla towel ekak andəύəla, mokədə nætinam      tuύalaύenna puluύŋ. [We remove the clothes and jewelry and dress a towel otherwise the jewelry make him injured during the therapy] (10)

A: Right palamuύenmə api mokakdə kəranne? [What we do first?](11)

B: palamuύenmə eja andəύla ædətə da:la tuύa: ύlin ύhala api ejage socks indəla tissue ekak danaύa kakula langətə. [First we dress him and put him on a bed and covered him with a towel and put a tissue from his socks] (12)

 tissue ekə da:la api spray ekak spray kəranna o:nə kakulə langətə mokadə dadijə  ehemə tijenə nisa nætinam therapisttə ama:rui. api ængili okkomə massage kərannə o:nə right. [Then we put a sray to dry his sweat otherwise it would be difficult for the client. We have to massage his fingers] (13)

i:tə passe kijənəύa client ta relax ύenna kijəla [Then we ask the client to be relaxed] mokədə me:kə [because this is] most hæmə ύele:mə [always] it’s a relaxing therapy.(14)

 i:təpasse Aroma therapy itipandam pattukərəla light music soft music ekak da:nnə o:nə. [Next we light Aroma therapy candles and play a light music] (15)

It’s our Swedish body massage.  (16)

A: e:kətamai environment ekat a:ύamə tamai taύat relax ύenne. [Yea there should be a good environment to make him relax] (17)

api monəύə pa:ύtstsikərənə oil dзati [What types of oil that we can use?] (18)

B: apitə market eke: tijenə o:nəmə oil ύargəjak gannə puluύan. Client kæməti [we can get any type of oil in the market as the client wish] (19)

A: api tel sa:ma:nəjen heat kərənəύadə? [Do we heat the oil] (20)

   

            According to the above transcription the first two lines of the dialogue both A and B communicates in English language. In the third line A [Rozane] switches to Sinhala where she does code-mixing. For example she uses the word saloon and therapy. Here the word therapy can be taken as a borrowing as it is difficult to find an exact word for that to give the idea of therapy. Though there are certain words those words don’t give the sense that the word therapy gives. Line number three is an example for inter-sentential code-switching. Moreover it implies that B [Shamali] is fluent in both languages. Next is a line with code-mixing. Line number six begins with a tag. It indicates that she is more familiar with English language than Sinhala because she uses the word ‘and’ which is from English language. And the line continues with an intra-sentential code-switching.

            Next line by using the words such as cause, certificate B uses code-mixing. Here the word cause can be taken as a borrowing because nowadays among Sri Lankans this word is familiar than the Sinhala word. Line number eight A switches to English language with the borrowing word therapy. Line after that starts with a tag-switching by using the word and. And the use of the word client is an example for code-mixing. In the next line too the speaker mixes codes with the words client and towel. Next line begins with the tag, right and continues with Sinhala language. Code-mixing can be seen in line number twelve with the words socks and tissue.  In line thirteen the speaker uses code-mixing as well as tag- switching. Code-mixing can be seen through the words such as spray, massage. And tag-switching can be seen with the word right. In the next line the speaker uses code-mixing with inter-sentential code-switching. Because the sentence starts in Sinhala language with code-mixing but it ends with English language. There we see a reiteration word also.  The English word ‘most’ and the Sinhala word ‘hæmə ύele:mə’ give the same meaning. In the dialogue to highlight what she says she uses these similar words from both languages. Line fifteen contains inter-sentential code switching and a borrowing, Aroma therapy. Next line can be taken as a part of the above line and it is an example for intra-sentential code-switching. Next the dialogue continues with code-mixing by using the words like environment, relax, oil etc.   

            As Spolsky states, “the selection of a language by a bilingual, especially when speaking to another bilingual, carries a wealth of social meaning. Each language becomes a virtual guise for the bilingual speaker, who can change identity as easily as changing a hat, and can use language choice as a way of negotiating social relations with an interlocutor.” [Spolsky, 50] During this process the factors like code-switching, mixing and borrowing occur. Therefore it is a natural process.  As Eastman points out ‘we must free ourselves of the need to categorize any instance of seemingly non-native material in language as a borrowing or a switch.’ [Romaine, 180]  Though it contains good aspects as well as bad aspects, according to my point of view code-switching, mixing and borrowing are common factors that bilinguals are using when they communicate with another bilingual. Nowadays with the factors like globalization people get familiar with more than one language. And as a result of that most of native languages are under the influence of foreign languages. Therefore it is difficult to get rid of a phenomenon like code-switching. 

Bibliography

    

Susan, R (1994). Bilingualism, 2nd ed, Blackwell,

Gumperz, J.J (1982). Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hudson

Francoise Grosjean Life with two languages: An Introduction to bilingualism.

Wei, L Dimensions of Bilingualism   

Spolsky, B (1998). Sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press. New York.

SRI LANKAN STUDIES

DISCUSS PROBLEMS OF DIFFERENCIATIONFOR SRI LANKANS BETWEEN THE SOUND [S]&[Z]

SUGGEST RULES OR STRATEGIES TO TEACH LEARNERS TO RECOGNISE AND ARTICULATE THIS DIFFERENTIATION.

·       INTRODUCTION

/s/ and /z/ sounds can be taken as two problematic sounds that Sri Lankans have when they get familiar with Standard English. If we take these sounds separately it is clearly evident the fact that these two sounds have different value.

 According to Charles Kenneth Thomas’ description in his book on the phonetics of American English he describes the sound /s/ as “a voiceless alveolar fricative which requires a delicate adjustment of the speech mechanism.”[pg55] Next he scientifically explains what exactly happens when pronouncing the /s/ sound. “First the sides of the tongue must be raised enough to force the air through a narrow groove along the mid line of the tongue. Then the air must be directed against the cutting edges of the lower teeth the velar valve must be closed, and the jaw must be high enough to bring the teeth together or almost together. The tip of the tongue must not come in contact with either the upper teeth or the upper gums.”[pg55]

And also he defines the sound /z/ as “a voiced alveolar fricative formed with substantially the same tongue position as /s/ but with the vocal bands vibrating and with slightly less breath force” [pg57]

The sound /s/ “occurs in initial position in the words like sit /sit/, same /se:m/. Medial position in the words like essay /ese: /. Final position in the words like chess /t∫  es/, bus /bΛs/, hiss /his/. In word initial cluster snake /sne:k/, smoke /smo:k/, slow /slo:/. And also it occur in the words final cluster tents /tents/, lips /lips/, texts /teksts/”.[Gimson 185]  

“/s/ occurs with variety of spellings, for example s in the words like see, ss in pass, sc in scent, sch in schism, c in race and z in waltz. The letter x represents /ks/ in box. The letter s, on the other hand represents a variety of other sounds as in sure, rose and measure. It is silent in a few words, such as island.” [Thomas 56]

The sound /z/ “occurs in initial position in the words like zoo /zu:/, zest /zest/. Medial position in the words like absorb /  bz  b/, president /pr  zid  nt/. Final position in the words like is /i:z/, was /w  z/. Word final cluster ribs /ribz/, films /filmz/.” [Gimson 186]

“It also occurs with variety of spelling, z in the words like zone, zz in the words like dizzy, s gives the /z/ sound in the words like rose and ss in the words like dissolve. Sometimes x represents the sound z in the words like exist.” [Thomas 57]

To identify the differentiation between these two sounds there have some rules.

Daniel Jones introduces some rules in his outline of English phonetics to identify the differentiation of these two sounds. According to him “The s denoting the plural nouns or third person singular of verbs is pronounced s when the preceding sound is a voiceless consonant. E.g. cats kæts, takes  teiks, laughs la:fs”[pg 187]

And also he pointed out the fact that “Final s is preceded by one of the letters a, i, o, u or y is pronounced s. (when not mute) e.g. gas gæ:s, atlas   ætl  s, this   ðis, basis be:sis, chaos kei  s. us   Λs or   s, genius d i:nj  s, precious pre∫ s, Gladys glædis. The only exceptions are the influenced forms of nouns and verbs (e.g. plays pleiz, was w  z or w  z,)and the single words his hiz (weak form iz) as    æ:z (weak form   z) whereas wε  ræz. [pg 187]  

And also when the morpheme /-s/ is affixed to a sibilant consonant then the morpheme /-s/ is pronounced /ez/ in Sri Lankan English and /iz/ in Standard English. For example the words like buses / bΛs  z/, matches / mæt∫  z/ , boxes /b  ks  z/

Sometimes when the morpheme /-s/ is affixed to a voiced consonant or a vowel it is pronounced /z/. The words like cars /ka:z/, pianos /piano:z/, buys /baiz/.

In the stems where the letter c is used it is often pronounced /s/ and never /z/. The words like peace /pi:s/, face /fe:s/, mice /mais/

/se/ is sometimes pronounced /s/ in word final position. For example the words like noose /nu:s/, loose (N) /lu:s/

/s/ is pronounced /z/ between voiced sounds. The words like cosmetic /k  zm  tik/, president /pr  zid  nt/.

/se/ is sometimes pronounced /z/ in word final position. The words like phrase /fre:z/, nose /no:z/ [Lecture notes]

Problems that Sri Lankans have regarding to these two sounds.

When considering the problems of differentiation that Sri Lankans have on the sound /s/ and /z/, the most evident problem is that Sri Lankans are not familiar with the sound /z/. Sinhala and Tamil speakers have only /s/ sound. So most of the time when there should use the sound /z/ they use the sound /s/. According to H.A Passé “there is no “voice correlation” for /s/ in Sinhalese and Tamils. The function of English z has.”[pg302] To show this he has given some examples comparing Received Pronunciation and Ceylon pronunciation.

RP:                                  CP

Zoo        /zu/                  /su:/

Noise    /n  iz/               /n  is/

Senses  /sensiz/           /sens  s/ [pg302]

Another important problem that Sri Lankans have is when /s/ occurs in word initial cluster they have some difficulty of pronouncing it. For example the words like school, sprite, snake, skirt, stamp etc they use the pronunciations like /isku:l/, /isprait/, /isne:k/, /isk t/, /istæ:mp/. This is also a common problem that can be seen in Ceylon pronunciation. And sometimes people go to overcorrect their pronunciation to avoid of this mispronunciation and end up with mispronouncing the word again. T.Kandiah gives some examples for this: “sees /zi:z/, kisses /kiz:  z/, mixed /migz/, dressed /drezd/”.[pg160 ]

And  H.A Passé also shows another factor in the same problem, “ In effort to use /z/ correctly these speakers sometimes fall into the error of substituting /z/ for English /s/, as in peace pronouncing peas and peace alike as /pi:z/ [302]

And also most of the time they follow the spelling of the word and compare the pronunciation, words with similar pronunciation, because there is no rule that can be followed to identify this differentiation.  According to H.A Passé “there is no rule governing the distribution of the sounds /s/ and /z/, to where /s/ occurs in the spelling. The pronunciation has to be learnt from other speakers or from a dictionary for each word individually” [pg303]

We have number of reasons for this situation. Main reason is that Sri Lankans are not having a symbol for sound /z/. Therefore they are not familiar with /z/ sound. Though there are people who are aware of the correct pronunciation they don’t use it because the society is not ready to accept such different pronunciation.  This happens due to the education system that Sri Lankans have. Though English is Sri Lankans’ second language and though they learn English from the primary education, there is not a proper way of teaching English pronunciation. Sometimes students when they cannot remember the pronunciation use to write down the English pronunciation by using Sinhala or Tamil words. Then they don’t see any differentiation in English pronunciation. But after the primary and secondary education, in the university level if they study English as a subject then they get a chance to learn proper pronunciation. But at that time it is difficult to change the way of pronouncing that once practiced from the childhood. Another important factor is that most of English teachers in the country are not aware of proper pronunciation. So the pronunciation of students depends on the teachers who teach English as a subject.

It is not easy to avoid a situation like this. When we learn another language there should need a proper system to teach it. English is the second language of Sri Lanka. So when learn the language it is important to give the priority to its pronunciation. The most important thing that can be done is to give a good training to the English teachers especially to the primary teachers. And it is important to teach phonetics from the childhood. Listening is also an important factor. It is because people easily get familiar with what they hear. So it is important to do listening activities for children. There should have proper books in the country to identify the differentiation of Ceylon pronunciation with standard pronunciation. Sue F. Miller gives out some examples in his book Targeting Pronunciation as follows to identify the two different sounds /s/ and /z/.

 A [voiceless final constituents]                                         B [voiced final constituent]               

       Bus   -  I can see the bus.                                             1. Buzz –  I can hear the buzz.

       Price -  what is the price?                                            2. Prize –  I won the prize.

       Peace – let’s hope for peace.                                       3. Peas  –  They are   eating peas                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       [pg122]

H. Prator and B.W Robinett gave out a fine solution in Manual of American English Pronunciation, to avoid the problems that occur when pronouncing the words with /s/ in initial cluster. “A particularly difficult consonant cluster is one which begins with an initial s followed by another consonant (/st-/ stop)or by a consonant plus an /r/ or /l/ (/str-/ string, /spl-/ splash). Students whose mother tongue does not permit such sequences are tempted to precede these clusters with a vowel sound: state is pronounced as /esteyt/, spirit as /espirit/, scrap as /eskræp/. This type of mispronunciation can usually be avoided by concentrating on the /s/- sound and consciously lengthening it: /s—teyt/, /s—pirit/, /s—kræp/.” [pg151]  So the same way can be used in Sri Lankan Pronunciation. And by having this type of solutions we can avoid most of pronunciation problems that we have.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

<!Grimson A.C, An Introduction to the pronunciation of English, The English Language book society and Edward Arnold (publishers) Ltd, London. (1970)

<!ones, Daniel. An outline of English Phonetics (9^th ed), W. Heffer & Sons Ltd, Cambridge. (1969)

<!Kandiah. T, The teaching of Problems in Ceylon, Volume xv (pg160)

<!Thomas, Kenneth. An Introduction to “The Phonetics of American English”,(2^nd ed), The Roland Press Company, New York. (1950)

<!Miller S.F, Targeting Pronunciation, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York. (2000)

<!Passé H.A, The English Language of Ceylon, chapter 6, Unpublished Dissertation, University of London, (1948) (pg 223-360)

<!Prator C.H, Robinett B.W, Manual of American English Pronunciation (3^rd ed) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. United States, (1951)