Browsing by Author "Rajapaksha, U.D."

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Filtration of literary texts in the case of an intermediate language: A study based upon French literary works translated into Sinhalese
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Rajapaksha, U.D.
Each year, thousands of literary works are being translated into Sinhalese, due to the popular demand. The Sri Lankan demand for world literature has grown to such an extent that there is a trend of literary works of renowned authors being translated into Sinhalese. This is not restricted to English literature, but also other world literatures like Russian, French, Spanish, German, Chinese etc. However, not all these works are directly translated from the source language to the target language. Most of the time, English acts as an intermediate language. Hypothetically, a literary text which has been translated through an intermediate language has a higher risk of filtration and losing its original flavour, in comparison to a direct translation. This filtration could be twofold: linguistic and cultural. The content of the original text could be filtered, altered due to linguistic or cultural differences between the source and the target language. In the case of an intermediate language, this could lead to incomprehensibility or misinterpretation of the original text. The researcher intends to identify the linguistic and cultural factors which may lead to filtration of the original text and to determine the reasons for these factors. It is possible that the filtration may occur due to cultural or linguistic ignorance of the first translator, the second translator or, it could be voluntary. The researcher intends to follow a qualitative approach for the research, which includes a detailed analysis and a comparison between original text and the translated text. Only literary translations will be analysed as they are more challenging due to their linguistic ambiguity. For this purpose, a selection of Sinhalese translations ( එමා බ ෝවාරි - සිරිල් සී බෙබේරා, සිටුවර බමොන්ත l%sස්බතෝ - බේ.ජී කරුණාතිලක, බෙම් ර මිතුරා - ෙසන් බකොඩිකාර, බෙන්ගුවින් දිවයින - ටී.අන්ødදි , සාරා - අශානි රණසිිංහ) of the works of selected French authors (Madame Bovary- Gustave Flaubert, Le comte de Monte Christo – Alexendre Dumas, Bel Ami – Guy de Maupassant, L‘ile de penguins – Anatol France, Elle s‘appellait Sarah – Tatiana de Rosnay) would be selected and analysed, followed by interviews with the translators.
Problems Encountered by Students in French in Learning Grammar and the Possibility of a Student Oriented Approach into Teaching of Grammar
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Rajapaksha, U.D.
The principal objective of learning a language is to express ideas or sentiments among humans. Whether the communication is oral or written, knowledge of grammar plays an important role when it comes to language learning.The students in French at the University of Kelaniya have been learning French since Grade 12 at school for Advanced Level, sometimes even at a younger age; before entering the university level. Thus, they are expected to demonstrate a high competency in French. The focus is on determining whether the students in French as a Foreign Language at University of Kelaniya, find it difficult to communicate in grammatically correct French. In the case of affirmative, the researcher intends to explore the possible reasons and secondly suggest a possible solution for the situation.The researcher plans to carry out the research by first identifying one grammar area which is considered difficult. Secondly, the researcher will study their reasons for declaring so and thirdly provide suggestions to improve the level of grammar of the students. The primary objective is to identify the presence of a difficulty in expressing oneself in communicating in French. In case of a lack of knowledge or competency in grammar, the researcher intends to evaluate what reasons are behind this communication failure and intends to provide possible suggestions to them. The research is based upon interviews and sample writings collected from students. The lecturers in French at the University of Kelaniya will be interviewed with open and closed questions, thus adding both quantitative and qualitative value to the study. Finally, I hope to present a sample lesson of a selected difficult grammar part in the suggested approach.The findings of the research would serve both students and teachers in French, in improving the quality of Teaching French as a Foreign Language.
Teaching of foreign languages in the face of modern technology: New possibilities and shortcomings
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Rajapaksha, U.D.; Kulathungaarachchi, M.S.
The teaching of foreign languages has undergone dramatic changes since its initial stage: the method of translation. 21st century foreign language teaching goes hand in hand with the Communicative Approach or the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method. Instead of rote learning, they are encouraged to communicate in the target language within the classroom. For the Sri Lankan foreign language student, living the language outside the classroom poses a question of feasibility, unless aided by the latest technology. These advanced technologies, especially in the field of information communication technology has opened a multitude of opportunities to language teachers and students. While the language teachers make use of the technology from lesson preparations to oral activities in class, the students equipped with the latest technologies have the capacity to interact using the language, without their actual presence in that culture. They are given the opportunity to interact with native speakers via chat rooms, friend networks; stay updated with current trends, news, popular culture, music and enhance their knowledge via online tutorials, etc. The role played by the University of Kelaniya, by providing foreign language learning opportunities is of immense significance within the whole university system. The objective of this paper is to analyse the practicality and the availability of modern technology within the university and its impact upon the pedagogy of foreign language teaching. The data were gathered using quantative and a qualitative methods, with feedback collected through questionnaires, and detailed interviews with the lecturers and sectional heads of the Departments of Modern Languages and Hindi.
Theatre or anti-theatre: An analysis of characteristics in absurd theatre and its classification as theatre
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Rajapaksha, U.D.
Absurdism or Absurd theory is a prominent offspring of the Second World War. The genre explores the futile and existentialist nature of human life, the breaking down of all logic and communication in a godless universe. Many European authors were influenced by this experimental movement during the post war era, thus resulting in an absurdist fiction. Eugene Ionesco and Samuel Beckettbrought this movement into the limelight. All these authorstook great care to distance themselves from all conventional forms of theatre.The characteristics of absurd theatre differ from conventional theatre to such an extent, that the playwrights themselves referred to their works as “anti-theatre”. These works are considered to be anti-thematic, anti-ideologic and anti-realist. Thus, the focus of the research is to explore the anti-theatrical characteristics in Ionesco’s “Cantatrice Chauve” (The Bold Soprano) in comparison to conventional theatre, and the possibility of it being justified as an actualform of theatre. This study seeks to answer three major questions; What defines conventional theatre? What defines absurd theatre? Can absurd theatre be considered as “theatre”?Thus the research intends to identify the characteristics of the conventional theatre and those of the absurd theatre in order to make a comparison. Furthermore, the research will ascertain the possibility of absurd theatre being categorized as real theatre. Hypothetically speaking, absurd theatre, with its anti-theatrical characteristics, cannot be considered as “theatre”.Initially, in a qualitative approach, the researcher will identify the characteristics of both conventional and absurd theatre. The title, theme, characters, events, action, stage settings, stage directions and structure of the two forms will be closely observed and analyzed. Secondly, the research will include a detailed analysis of Eugene Ionesco’s “Bold Soprano” (La Cantatrice Chauve). Absurdist literature has appealed to the researcher’s interest due to its novel and refreshing nature. This new school of thought represents a shift in the European ideologies. Thus the research would be an exploration of the collision between these old and new ideologies.