Browsing by Author "De Silva, J."

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Concealing Eḷu Terms with Sanskrit Borrowings: A Respond to the Conflict between Sense and Style in Translating Classics.
(International Conference on Sanskrit Studies, 2017 Department of Sanskrit, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) De Silva, J.
Among the basic requirements of translation, transferring the content and the sense of the source text is of paramount importance. On the other hand, being faithful to the style of the source text is equally important. Compromising between these two extents is a delicate matter, which is one of the challenges encountered in the translation of classical literary work. The aim of this study has been to examine this conflict with reference to Guruḷugomi’s /ama: waturə/ and its English translation, ‘Amavatura (The Flood of Nectar)’ by Udaya Prasanta Meddegama. Here, the focus has been on the Eḷu (pure Sinhalese) terms used affluently in /ama: waturə/, marking a significant character of Guruḷugomi’s writing style. Data were compiled through a comparison between the two texts and the manner that Eḷu terms have been dealt with was enquired. Accordingly, it was identified that a considerable number of Eḷu terms of the source text have been replaced by their Sanskrit equivalents in the translation, as a result of which, the said character of Guruḷugomi’s writing style writing style has been concealed. Here, though the preservation of Eḷu terms would have marked faithfulness to the style of the source text, direct transfer of such terms would have resulted obscurity, since they are not familiar to the target readers of the translation. On the other hand, the concealment of Eḷu terms by replacing them with their Sanskrit equivalents has marked unfaithfulness to the style. However, this measure has paved the way for the maintenance of sense, since many Sanskrit terms denoting Buddhist religious concepts are anglicised and have become comprehensible to English readers. Accordingly, the conclusion is made here that the translator has responded in favour of the sense at the conflict between sense and style, and the concealment of Eḷu terms with Sanskrit equivalents is a measure taken to make the translation more comprehensible to the target readers.
Development and validation of a cardiovascular risk prediction model for Sri Lankans using machine learning.
(Public Library of Science, 2024-10) Mettananda, C.; Sanjeewa, I.; Arachchi, T.B.; Wijesooriya, A.; Chandrasena, C.; Weerasinghe, T.; Solangaarachchige, M.; Ranasinghe, A.; Elpitiya, I.; Sammandapperuma, R.; Kurukulasooriya, S.; Ranawaka, U.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Kasturiratne, A.; Kato, N.; Wickramasinghe, R.; Haddela, P.; De Silva, J.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Sri Lankans do not have a specific cardiovascular (CV) risk prediction model and therefore, World Health Organization(WHO) risk charts developed for the Southeast Asia Region are being used. We aimed to develop a CV risk prediction model specific for Sri Lankans using machine learning (ML) of data of a population-based, randomly selected cohort of Sri Lankans followed up for 10 years and to validate it in an external cohort.MATERIAL AND METHODS The cohort consisted of 2596 individuals between 40-65 years of age in 2007, who were followed up for 10 years. Of them, 179 developed hard CV diseases (CVD) by 2017. We developed three CV risk prediction models named model 1, 2 and 3 using ML. We compared predictive performances between models and the WHO risk charts using receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC). The most predictive and practical model for use in primary care, model 3 was named "SLCVD score" which used age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total cholesterol level in the calculation. We developed an online platform to calculate the SLCVD score. Predictions of SLCVD score were validated in an external hospital-based cohort.RESULTS Model 1, 2, SLCVD score and the WHO risk charts predicted 173, 162, 169 and 10 of 179 observed events and the area under the ROC (AUC) were 0.98, 0.98, 0.98 and 0.52 respectively. During external validation, the SLCVD score and WHO risk charts predicted 56 and 18 respectively of 119 total events and AUCs were 0.64 and 0.54 respectively.CONCLUSIONS SLCVD score is the first and only CV risk prediction model specific for Sri Lankans. It predicts the 10-year risk of developing a hard CVD in Sri Lankans. SLCVD score was more effective in predicting Sri Lankans at high CV risk than WHO risk charts.
The Extent of Cultural Transposition for Contrastive Cultural Identity.
(2017) De Silva, J.
In translation theory, the term „cultural transposition‟ stands for the various extents of departure from literal translation in the process of transferring the contents of a source text into the context of a target culture. Deviating from literal translation is required in instances where differences in cultural identity between the original author, his readers, and the readers of the translation exist. The aim of this study is to identify the extent of cultural transposition appropriate for instances denoting contrastive cultural identity, i.e., the figures interpreted differently in different cultures. The analysis is carried out with regards to two geographical figures, namely Śrī Pādaya in Sri Lanka and Kerepakupai-Merú in Venezuela, and one historical figure, Thotagamuwe Sri Rāhula thero, whose dead body is placed in Goa, India. The model of cultural transposition extents proposed by Hervey and Higgins (1992) is followed here, in order to figure out the appropriate translation procedure. Despite representing the same figure, each term is attributed with different interpretations in different cultures and the languages centre to them, denoting zero equivalence, making cultural transplantation inapplicable. In such instances, the choice of term made by an author stands for his cultural identity and it needs to be preserved in translation unless an adaptation is intended. Any attempt of maintaining translation equivalence by replacing the source term with the one held in the culture of the target language only distorts the author‟s cultural identity and the spirit of the source work. Accordingly, cultural borrowing, where the source term is transferred verbatim into the target language, along with measures taken to make its meaning clear to the target readers, is identified as the appropriate extent of cultural transposition.
Quality of Machine Translation and the Role of Post-Editing
(In: Proceedings of the International Postgraduate Research Conference 2017 (IPRC – 2017), Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) De Silva, J.
Among various extents that computer technology contributes towards translation, Machine Translation (MT) is the most convenient procedure possible, where a text can be automatically translated using a computer programme. However, despite research and experiments expanding over half a century, Machine Translation has not reached the expectations and work is still going on to make it more reliable and to make its applicability wider. The aim of this study has been evaluating the quality of machine translation output and the role of post-editing. The study was conducted taking an informative text in English as the source text, Sinhalese as the target language, and Google Translate as the Machine Translation system. A group of twenty students reading Translation Studies for their degree at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka involved in the study. Their task was to engage in post-editing of the translation output produced by Google Translate, if required. Further, they were requested to note whether a complete Human Translation (HT) of the text is required. According to their response, the target text contained both translation and language blemishes, which need to be eluded by post-editing assigned to a translator. However, no one was of the opinion that the text needs to be retranslated by a human. A few instances had been identified where the programme had failed to grasp the underlying meaning of the source language terms. With regard to the language, errors related to spelling, concord, and word division had been identified. The response was different from student to student, suggesting that the competence level of the post-editor is also of importance. Accordingly, the conclusion is made here that post-editing has a significant role in improving the quality of Machine Translation output.
Tackling Metalinguistic Lacunas and the Choice of Loans: A Study Based on the Compilation of a Sinhalese Treatise on Indian Folk Dance
(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) De Silva, J.; Seuwandi, W.M.
In order to fill a metalinguistic lacuna, i.e., the non-existence of a term to describe some new object or practice, the necessity to adopt a word from a different language with little or no modification arises. Known as borrowing, this phenomenon occurs with a need filling motive, with new words, along with new concepts being transferred from one language known as the donor to another known as the borrowing language. The aim of the present study has been to examine the choice of loans under this need-filing motive, with regard to the compilation of a Sinhalese treatise on Indian folk dance, by the researchers themselves. In compiling the treatise, a geographical classification of Indian folk dance was considered. Accordingly, expositions on folk dance based on central, northern, eastern, northeastern, southern, western, and south western regions were presented in Sinhalese. The measures taken in transferring new concepts related to them into Sinhalese were differentiated based on their forms. Accordingly, Loanwords, Loans with Annotations, Loanblends, and Loanshifts were identified as types of loans followed in the said task. The findings of the study reveal that in filling metalinguistic lacunas, a number of types of loans need to be followed in order to make the output efficacious for the receptors. The practical requirements raise the use of several types of loans in addition to most conspicuous strategy of loanword and their choice in this regard is a delicate matter which needs to be made taking factors such as knowledge of receptors and cultural differences between the related backgrounds into consideration