Browsing by Author "Lansakara, R.N."

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An analytical study of characteristics, which should be included in an ideal Online Hindi Learner’s Dictionary
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Lansakara, R.N.
This paper will explore problematic areas of Online Hindi Learner’s Dictionaries, which have been launched to assist online Hindi learners through advanced means and ways. Since the teacher is not always an option or a well-chosen dictionary, the dictionary has been played a vital role in language learning and teaching for decades. As we are engaging in the process of language learning and teaching with plenty of complex necessities, it is difficult to carry traditional paper dictionaries with us all the time. Thus electronic dictionaries, unlike traditional papers, have been opened-up interesting and advanced methodologies with regard to vocabulary acquisition. Online Hindi Learner’s Dictionaries present distinct ways as well as developed new ways of defining words and providing introduction of words and phrases. Most of students, who learn Hindi as a foreign language, often have difficulties in finding the correct meaning for unfamiliar words or phrases in their dictionaries. So an effective Hindi Online Learner’s Dictionary should be included these characteristics - to make it easier for learners to identify and recognize the words' meanings; the language described is the usual, everyday variety preference is given to the quality of the treatment of words rather than to the quantity of words particular care is taken in the treatment of the more frequent words; the provision of information on the Grammar of words; the learner's dictionary should supply information about the contexts and environments in which words tend to appear most regularly. They give an account of what is typical, rather than describing what is simply possible; pronunciation is indicated by means of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet); Pictorial representation of words; Culture and domain-specific words, inflected forms and discourse markers; requires knowledge of the conventional contexts and collocations surrounding a word. This paper makes an attempt to point-out the importance of using an Online Hindi learner’s Dictionaries for foreign students. Moreover, it will also give a possible idea about developing an ideal model of Online Hindi Learner’s Dictionary.
A Method to Familiarize Students with The Grammatical Gender of Hindi Inanimate Nounds by Drawing On Parallels with The Grammatical Structure of Gender in The German Language
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Lansakara, R.N.
Hindi poses a challenge to beginners when it comes to the grammatical gender of non-living things (inanimate nouns) as, unlike English, Hindi has grammatical gender for them as well. Moreover, there are no articles before nouns which can provide students a hint of the gender of the object, unlike in some languages i.e. der (for masculine groups), die (for feminine groups), das (for neuter groups) in German language. The identification of the grammatical gender of nouns for non-living things must be learned by heart as they are needed for noun declension in the Hindi language. Most learners of Hindi are confused by this complex grammatical situation. In Hindi, the genitive case is usually created by using the following inflectional affixes: का /ka:/ (for the singular form of masculine nouns), के /ke:/ (for the plural form of masculine nouns), की /ki:/ (for plural and singular forms of feminine nouns) before nouns. As noted earlier, in the German language, nouns usually make their gender known by means of articles and adjectives in front of nouns. Thus, when teachers give a new word to a student for the very first time, s/he could use a pattern similar to the German. The article would familiarize the grammatical gender of inanimate Hindi nouns for Hindi learners, if the inflectional affixes mentioned above (का /ka:/, के /ke:/, की /ki:/), which indicate genitive cases, are used before inanimate nouns. For example: का नमक /ka: nəmək/ (salt), की हवा /ki: həwa:/(wind). As a matter of fact, it has been identified that the interest of beginners towards the Hindi language has begun to decrease gradually because the grammatical gender of non-living things (inanimate nouns), is quiet difficult to understand. Therefore, this study draws attention to how both students and teachers can address the problems associated with learning and teaching the grammatical gender of nonliving things (inanimate nouns) in the Hindi Language.
The proper usage of synonyms in the Hindi Language
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Lansakara, R.N.
This research draws upon the proper usage of synonyms in the Hindi language. A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language. As the Hindi language is rich with a vast vocabulary, often we can see plenty of synonyms for a single word. As a matter of fact, no synonyms have exactly the same meaning (in all contexts or social levels of languages) because etymology, orthography, phonic qualities, ambiguous meanings, usage etc. make them unique. Thus, each and every synonym cannot be replaced the related word or phrase in the same environment. Synonyms can be any part of speech [such as nouns – pа:ni:/ʝəl (water), verbs - de:khan:/ta:kna: (to see), adjectives - bəɤa:/wiʃa:l (big), adverbs – te:z/ʃi:ghrə (quickly) or prepositions - pər/u:pər (on)] as long as both words belong to the same part of speech. Different words that are similar meaning usually differ for a reason. ʝəl is more formal than pа:ni:, bəɤa: and wiʃa:l are only synonyms in one usage and not in others (for an example the word bəɤa: bha:i: ‘big brother’ is not same as wiʃa:l bha:i: ‘vast brother’). Trough showing that all synonyms which stand for one word or phrase cannot be used in the same environment, this research highlights the importance of the proper usage of synonyms in Hindi language and how synonyms are meant differently in different environments. Moreover, the study will show what impact can be made of the incorrect usage of synonyms on communication in the Hindi language, and it will allow for more consideration on teaching process in enhancing vocabulary of students.