ICH 2016

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/14540

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Problems associated with the use of Communicative Language Teaching in teaching Chinese as a foreign language
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kariyawasam, K.B.G.W.S.
New language teachers have shifted to adopt the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach after noticing the failure of form focusing approach in developing learners' communicative ability in real life situations. CLT method has been identified as the functional approach. The rationale of the CLT approach is that the teacher should act as a facilitator to create a student-centered classroom and engage learners in authentic-like and meaningful communications with the goal to increase comprehensible language input for learners, expecting them to generate more output. If the target of foreign language teaching is to use the language, CLT seems to be an ideal teaching model. The aim of this study was to find out the difficulties faced by teachers in using CLT method in teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka (UOKSL). Data were collected from the Chinese language teachers at UOKSL by a using questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and class room observations. Results depict that indoor class room environment and a large number of students of the classes may lead to the failure of CLT. Awareness of these problems and the possible remedies such as small group classes, outdoor activities can be helpful for both CFL teachers and learners, providing them with insightful ideas about how to manage their teaching and learning activities for the successful implementation of this method.
A study of blessings (sethkam) composed to preserve water in Nuwarakalawiya
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Manewa, R.M.E.S.
The ‘Nuwarakalawiya’ (area bounded by Nuwara tank, Kala tank, and Padawiya tank) in Sri Lanka is widely popular for farming and argicultural activities. Those agricultural activities are mainly undertaken during the two rainy seasons, namely the ‘Yala’ and ‘Maha’. However, there is no certinity that sufficent rain water will be received during these seasons to enagge in their agri based livelihood. At times of such dry periods, they used to pray for preserving water and such mechanisms are known as ‘Sethkam’. This study was aimed at identifing four such mechanisms, methods of performing them and people’s beliefs related to them. Data was collected through a review of literature and interviews and analysed qualitatively. Twenty interviewees (Two bikkus, ten farmers, and eight female villages) with knowldge and experience in using such mechanisms were interviewed.The findlings reveal that there are four popular mechanisms (types of sethkam) used to pray for preserving water by the people in the Nuwarakalaviya. They are; Hunnakada mangallya (Puja Wedilla, Ayyanamune), Mutti mangallya, Mutti mangallya with procession held on royal tanks and Mutti mangallya held on village tanks. The four ‘Sethkam’, methods of performing them and people’s beliefs were identified.Moreover, it was identified that those mechanisms play a significant role in people’s lives of Nuwarakalawiya. However, there is a growing tendency to neglect those mechanisms by the younger generation in the region, hence there is an essential and urgent need is to protect those mechanisms, in order to preserve the indigenous features of the Sri Lankan culture and to ensure the sustainability of the comminity.
Similarities between the preachings of Lord Buddha & Saint Kabir's 'Doha'
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Abeysundara, A.
Kabir Das can be introduced as the most famous mystic poet among the Indian poets in 15 A.D. Kabir is known for his verbally composed poems called ‘Doha’. It is clear that both of them introduced social reforms through their preaching. The abridgment of the preaching made by Lord Buddha in 6 B.C. can be identified in Kabir’s ‘Doha’. Lord Buddha preached his sermons in Pali language, as well as Kabir composed ‘Doha’ in ‘Sadhukkadi’ language. This paper aims to examine the similarities between the preaching of Lord Buddha and Kabir's ‘Doha’.
A study on the records of meritorious deeds (Punya Lekhana) of the Kandyan era
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gunasinghe, E.W.A.H.C.
Records of Meritorious Deeds (Punya Lekhana) were composed to declare all the religious activities carried out by the members of the families of the higher strata of the Kandyan society. However, there were instances where these documents were prepared by people from lower levels of the social strata too. Although Punya Lekhana tradition emerged during the Kandyan era, there is much evidence to indicate that the background to the tradition of keeping records for religious purposes has a long history. This was done based on the different believes of the people on Karma. The aim of this paper is to discuss the uniqueness of the tradition of Records of Meritorious Deeds (Punya Lekhana) of the Kandyan era by examining the written sources. It is highlighted that all the people including the king used to keep written records on their religious activities. Punya Lekhana were kept in temples as palm leaf books and they can be categorized according to different purposes of writing them. This written tradition can be recognized as a historical source on religion, politics, economy and society of the Kandyan era which was not given due recognition by historians up to now.
Buddhist solutions for modern environmental issues
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kalurachchi, A.
Most of the people in the present world have faced many environmental problems due to modernization and face problems due to natural disasters. Although, they have lost a proper place to dwell, human beings are not able to leave the world. Many environmental problems, such as earthquakes, floods, drought, tsunami, and wild-fire, have risen due to the unlimited usage of environment. These issues should be solved as soon as possible and in fact, findings solutions for such problems is a public responsibility. All the disasters have sprung up due to the influence of human activities. In investigating solutions for the above mentioned crises, some specified teachings of the Buddha can be suggested as solutions. According to Buddhist teachings, many positive attitudes and principles on the environment can be pointed out, such as use of natural recourses with responsibility and practice of loving kindness. When we go through the above points, it is possible to change the attitudes of the people to generate more awareness towards environment. Though Buddhism is not going to recommend environmental solutions, it is clear that the basic teachings in Buddhism indirectly stress the way to protect the environment. The intention of this paper is to reveal that predominant elements in Buddhism can be applied to solve the modern environmental issues.
A study on the dichotomy between translation and adaptation
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) de Silva, J.
The dichotomy between translation and adaptation is one of the major classifications of translation methods related to literary translation. Though these two terms stand for two distinguishable methods, their boundaries appear to have blurred to a certain extent and differentiating each method has become a confusing matter. This study is an attempt to make a clear boundary between the two methods, taking into account definitions and standpoints, etymologies of the terms and the manner that literary translation is conducted. There is a common standpoint that translation means converting the source text into a different language without changing its content whereas adaptation means converting the source text into a different language with changes done according to the preference of the translator. Nevertheless, since aesthetic experience is the expected outcome and the translator is expected to produce on his reader an impression similar to that produced by the original, direct translation is not always adequate for literary translation. Thus, it should be noted that a literary translator necessarily deserves the freedom to add, omit and replace certain elements of the source text during the translation process. Therefore, the method identified as ‘translation’ in literary translation has a wide range which expands from direct translation to free translation. However, due to the changes made to the source work, some translations are misinterpreted as adaptations. In this respect, etymology is a helpful factor in a differentiating adaptation from translation. Accordingly, adaptation can be defined as the process of change in which a work of literature finds a way to suit to its target environment. Thus, it should be noted that only the works of literature which are completely modified to fit the target audience, so that it appears to have emerged from that particular background can be identified as adaptations.
Promoting Cave Tourism in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Rathnayake, S.
Cave tourism is an environmental based tourism product. It means exploring natural caves and tunnels. It is also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom. Speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment. Cave tourism can be named as a part of sport and adventure tourism. There are many caves in Sri Lanka which have pre-historical and natural values. Pahiyangala, Batadombalena, Belilena, Waulpane, Rawana Ella are some examples. Though there are many caves in Sri Lanka, promoting these caves for tourism is at a very low level. But many countries such as Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, promote cave tourism for tourist industry. The main objective of this study was to identify the potential for promoting cave tourism in Sri Lanka. Research was based on both primary sources including interviews while secondary sources included web sites, books and those qualitative data were analyzed to arrive at the conclusions. Inclusion of cave tourism for tour packages of travel agencies, developing hotel promotions of caving, government and private sector involvement, raising awareness of heritage managers, developing visitor related facilities and introducing proper management plan are the recommendations for promoting cave tourism in Sri Lanka in future.
Natural environmental features depicted in Hindi folk songs
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Rubesinghe, T.U.
Folk literature, as well as expert literature, is evident in every society. The composition of folk literature is inspired by the first-hand experiences of a villager. The category of folk songs, being significant in folk literature reveals the wishes, aspirations, beliefs, troubles and delights of the villagers. Inspired by the everyday experiences of the villager, the stories and events articulated in the folk songs are often devoid of fictitious, artificial and misleading content. These folk songs and poetry greatly aided the hardworking villager in finding rest at the end of a hard day's work. There are such innumerable folk poems/songs composed within the zone of the Hindi-speaking community. Almost all Hindi folk poems, having the common characteristic of the universal folk literature of referring to the environment and its context, allow the recognition of environment and its characteristics of India. Further, these literary work portrays the consequences and difficulties arising from defying the natural environmental systems, which ultimately conveys the message of the importance of safeguarding the environment. The aim of this research is to elaborate the presence of the natural environment in folk songs/poetry in India, then to describe the experience of the natural environment, thoughts and attitudes related to that, how events in this environment is perceived and applied to their day-to-day lives and ultimately to show the intimate bond that existed between the villager and nature. The methodology of this research includes interviews conducted with experts of folk literature (Local and Indian), analysis of published and multimedia work on the subject.
The use of scaffolding to support an EAL (English as an Additional Language) student in the UK
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Rajamuni, D.P.
The purpose of this small scale action research was to find out how to support a newly arrived student in the UK with English as an Additional Language (EAL). The EAL support accelerates the speed of those students to make themselves prepared to follow the national curriculum. The subject of the research was a 13 year old Afghan Muslim girl who arrived in the UK without experiencing any form of formal education due to the political situation in Afghanistan. When investigating how to support the subject who represented many other newly arrived students whose first language is not English, scaffolding played a major part. The research was completed in seven cycles and each cycle “composed of four stage procedure such as the planning stage, the acting stage, the developing stage and the reflecting stage”( Mertler & Charles cited in Mertler, (2006:11). “Scaffolding is the instructional support that helps learners to accomplish tasks that might otherwise be too challenging” (Williams, 2005:59). The trial lessons were tailored according to a task-based approach. The support provided to the subject was considered as “contingent teaching “(Wood, 1988:81) because at the beginning of each task the subject was given the full support with a gradual removal of scaffolding towards the end of the task. The research proved that continuous support extended to the subject made her feel relaxed at the beginning of the tasks and a strong urge to continue the tasks even when the scaffolding was removed. Data was collected through observation, field notes and pupil’s responses. Data was analysed using “inductive process” (Mertler, 2006:124). Through the research, the importance of scaffolding and how the demands and the support could be balanced were perceived.
The De-Facto status of the implementation of the official languages policy in police stations of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wickramasinghe, D.D.
The police in any given country are the guardian of the law and trust who is vested with the responsibility of maintaining public peace. Thus, they are expected to deal with the public more often than any another government official in their day today duties. The communication between the concerned parties and the police personnel is of pivotal importance in this regard – as such meditations are always interrelated with the factors pertaining to offences, law, and justice. Thus the need to be accountable, transparency is essentially woven in the language that is being used to converse with the concerned parties. Sri Lanka as a multi-lingual state declared its bilingual official languages status in its 13 th amendment to the constitution granting the equal parity for both Sinhala and Tamil languages after many contentious struggles over the years. Today, the state intuitions thus abide to offer their service to the public in the respective official languages – especially in the bilingual zones designated by the government taking into account the demographic census. It is in this light the current study concentrates on the implementation of the official languages policy in the Sri Lankan Police stations which play a crucial role in the process of the reconciliation in the post-war Sri Lanka. The study takes into account the linguistic landscape of Sri Lanka where the police stations are randomly selected out of the cluster sample of 72 bilingual divisional secretariats of the country (41 Gazetted & 31 recommended to be gazetted based upon the 20% of minority or more living in the respective divisional secretariats). The data for the study was obtained through the primary unprocessed data accumulated by the Official Languages Commission of Sri Lanka through official language physical audits that include onsite observations. The findings reveal that the implementation of the official languages policy in Sri Lankan Police Stations in the designated linguistic landscape (bilingual divisional secretariats) is ineffective in terms of the visibility and ambience and service delivery to the public due to the reasons stemming out from the lack of awareness/disregard of the official language policy and the related circulars, dearth of the police officers competent in the other official language, lack of in-station facilities to comply with the policy and the absence of a proper institutional mechanism to implement the official language policy.
Buddhist theory of unravelling hindrances
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Ariyawansa Thero, Yodhakandiye
Buddhism has its own identity to describe the ultimate reality. Buddha has expounded the causal law (Pali: Paṭiccasamupāda) by using two methods. Those two methods can be identified as the theory of knowledge in Buddhism. Knowledge means understanding of or information about a subject which a person gets by experience or study, and which is either in a person’s mind or known by people generally. In the Early Buddhist literature mentions that two methods of knowledge of Buddhism such as; 1) Synthesis (saṃgahānaya) and 2) Analysis (bhedhanaya). According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the term ‘synthesis’ means the act of combining separate ideas, beliefs, and styles. On the other hand, the inter-relatedness between the cause and effect is explicated according to this procedure. ‘Analysis’ means the detailed study or examination in order to understand more about somethings. In other words, it is the classification. These two methods are helped to the great realization of this ‘central philosophy of Buddhism’ which causes to impede or stop the endless saṃsāra; it is the final purification of the individual which is known as the nibbāna. The theory of cause and effect explains the nature of the beings and world (psyche and physio world). It makes response for the whole philosophical concepts such as beings, consciousness, world and elements etc. In this sense, root cause of modern society as well as conceptual issues of individuals easily can be recognized through these two theories of knowledge. Therefore, objectives of this inquiry are to illuminate the Buddhist theory of knowledge and how it is applicable to unravelling hindrances of individuals and society.
Female labor force participation in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Adikari, A.M.P.
Women’s access to employment and resources increase human capital and capabilities in a household as well as in an economy. According to the annual report of Sri Lanka Labor Force Survey in 2014, labor force participation 15years and over was 74.6 for male and 34.7 for female. The relatively low female labor force participation rate in Sri Lanka can be viewed as a puzzle given that the country enjoys high levels of female schooling. But, female labor force participation has not changed much in recent decades and remained stagnant at a rate around 30 to 35 percent of the working age group. Therefore, this study aims to explore why female labour force participation is low in Sri Lanka. Study explains the trends in the labour force participation and educational achievements of females in Sri Lanka and explores the factors behind the low female labour force participation rate, despite having high female education level during last decade. The study mainly utilized secondary data published in the annual and quarterly labour force surveys conducted by Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. Determinants contributed for the low female participation were examined from a descriptive manner utilizing these secondary data. A number of factors might have contributed to the low female labour force participation despite having high female education in Sri Lanka during the study period. Issues in the education system, higher level of female unemployment, narrowed choices of females in the labour market, wage discriminations and unavailability of child caring facilities are the main reasons behind the low female labour force participation. As a conclusion, it is essential to say that the women’s labour remains a vastly disregarded area and a great deal of more research needs to be done at the national level to provide the necessary information to determine the factors influencing women’s labour supply decision and policy makers should develop appropriate policies to enhance the female participation in the Sri Lankan labour market.
Beauty cultural evidence found in Sandesha Kavya: Special reference to the Kotte Period
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wimalasara Thero, Pitathalawe; Sirisudhamma Thero, Aparekke
Beauty is defined as a combination of shape, color or form that pleases the aesthetic senses. Beauty or good look is divided into two parts as internal beauty and external beauty. Healthy body parts and decorating those by using various things belong to external beauty. Maintaining good health is defined as internal beauty. This research is to find out how people kept beauty in Kotte era. The research is mainly based on literary sources. So, using Paravi Sandesaya, Hansa Sandesaya, Gira Sandesaya, Salalihini Sandesaya and Kokila Sandesaya as primary sources data is collected. And also secondary sources such as scholars’ views and judgments are followed where necessary. Finally, data is analyzed with the help of qualitative methods. Sinhala literature was limited to Buddhist themes up to the Gampola Period. But this trend changed with the Sandesa kavya. Kotte is the golden era of Sandesa history. Five Sandesa have been written in this era. Having examined these books much beauty-cultural evidence can be found. Those can be categorized as follows: Clothes Jewelry Perfume Unguents Benares Silk (Kasīsaḷu) Meuldama Lathudiya Kokkuma Silk cloth (Patasaḷu) Jewelry used in foot (Pādābharana) Perfume made from Sandal Sandal Fine cloth Wrist-band Frill (Neriya) Pearl String Flower decorations People have worn various clothes as mentioned above to make their appearance good. But most of those clothes have been worn by rich people. Women used to wear jewelry made by gold, gem, and pearl, in their lap, anklet, jingling, hands, neck. And also they have used a different kind of flower decoration, perfume and unguents in their body. Finally, in conclusion, it can be mentioned that people of Kotte era have kept their beauty in a standard way and have used different kinds of clothes, jewelry, perfume and unguents made by solid material such gem, pearl, diamond, gold, and silver as well as natural material to maintain their beauty.
Personal pronouns of Hindi and Sinhala languages
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Senevirathna, W.N.S.
Sinhala and Hindi are two languages that have originated from Sanskrit which belong to Indo-Aryan languages. Pronouns are a common category of these two languages. The pronoun does a great task in keeping the coordination in the language itself. Simultaneously it is very significant in keeping the boredom away. Pronouns used in a particular language can be used to identify the composition of that society. Hence, the primary objective of this research is to do a comparative study by identifying the similarities and differences of personal pronouns used in these languages. Up to now, no research has been done in relation to this topic. Therefore, this research is timely and important. The qualitative method is used in this study. The study revealed that while similarities can be seen in the classification of personal pronouns in both Hindi and Sinhala Languages, various dissimilar characteristics are shown when they are used. These dissimilar characteristics create problematic conditions for the students who study Hindi and Sinhala Languages. In fact, a proper understanding of these problems helps to improve language competency.
Humanity and the environment: Exploring religious resources for partnering anew
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gnanapragasam, P.
Living in an age of anthropocene, we become immensely and acutely aware that we are in an environment, created and maintained by us, human beings. In ‘creating and maintaining’ the environment, it has been our ability of techne - the trait of the homo faber, that has been predominantly at work during the modern era. Unfortunately, it has made us so objectivise and instrumentalise the environment that we have ended up with utilizing it for our immediate narrower ends, losing sight of the broader and future horizons of the environment; our impulse for utility progressively is taking us to a dark tunnel, apparently with a dead end. How do we re-orient ourselves so that our utility impulse can be transformed into attitudes and behaviours of congeniality with the natural environment, to result in ‘just, participatory, and sustainable’ partnership? It is here the fields of knowledge and wisdom need to come together, as attempted in ‘environmental humanities’, to help reorient ourselves. They need to synergise our sensitivities of sociality, aesthetics, poetry, rituals, religion, etc in relating with the natural environment. In this background, the author would like to explore, in this paper, how religious studies, being an important field of knowledge and wisdom, can make an effective contribution. Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim [Daedalus, 2001, vol. 130, no. 4] speak about three ways in which religious resources can be explored in this regard: retrieve, evaluate and reconstruct the religious resources of humanity in order to re-orient our relationship to the natural environment. The author wishes to undertake to read reconstructively selected texts from Christian biblical psalms and Vedic hymns which relate themselves to human religious engagement with nature; by so doing, an attempt is made to contribute to inter-religious public conversations on new relationship with nature, characterised by aspects of transcendence rather than immediate utility.
A study of instrumental, integrative and personal motivation levels of Telecommunication Engineering students learning English as a Second Language
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Embogama, S.
Motivation is a crucial variable that constitutes to the development of a second language (L2). Hence, it is a prerequisite for the successful acquisition of a target language under almost all circumstances. The need to acquire an L2 in the context of an academic environment by virtue of the fact that it is the medium of instruction leaves students with no option but to develop proficiency in the target language. This study evaluated a group of telecommunication Engineering students’ motivation and attitudes towards learning the English language using the three motivational constructs proposed by Gardner: instrumental, integrative and personal in order to identify which category of motivation is the most crucial one for this particular set of undergraduates. The sample population consisted of a group of seventy-five first-year undergraduates at the Sri Lanka Technological Campus (SLTC). The primary source of data collection was done through the adaptation of Gardner’s motivation questionnaire named the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and the findings revealed that the main reason why these learners wanted to acquire the English language was instrumental since they had to use the target language for academic purposes. The highest scoring was obtained for the assertion that learning the English language is a means of ensuring that they are in a position to use it to become successful in the study programme being followed. Therefore, the findings of the study stressed the importance of engaging in teaching activities that would target this particular need of the particular sample student population whose requirements for learning it are mostly for academic purposes rather than for cultural acculturation with that of the community of target language speakers. The research concludes by divulging certain pedagogical factors that could be used in similar academic environments as means of identifying, developing and sustaining high levels of motivation among adult L2 learners.
Tracing lineage of mentorship of Tämpita Vihāras of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Dissanayaka, G.R.
The structures built on a wooden platform resting on short granite pillars or stumps are a unique type of image houses from the 17th to 19th centuries called TämpitaVihāras. Recorded history has revealed the close association of these buildings with the mid 18thcentury Revival Movement by Ven. Velivita Saranankara. This type of single room very small image house emerges in the early Kandyan era. It has a wooden superstructure. The murals in the inner room or sanctum have a very rigid spatial arrangement. The side wooden walls and ceiling have almost similar picture programs. Over 174 structures have been visited by the Samkathana Research team and documented them on the web site. The team has already mapped TämpitaVihāras in six clusters located in the close geographical vicinity: Two in Kurunagala, one in Kegalle and two in Kandy Districts and one in the entire Southern province. Based on this primary research the team has observed the following: There seems to be an unequal distribution of these unique 18th century structures on the island. Sponsor ship has been provided by the King of Kandy, Adigars (Chief Ministers) and Disawes. The clusters mentioned above even today reveal affiliations with the Malvatte Chapter or the Asgiriya Chapter which is also reflected in the design of the Tämpita Vihāras architecture. Therefore the paper ties to question if there are any close association of these buildings with the mid 18thcentury revival movement by Ven. Velivita Sri Saranankara? If so, what evidence can be used to classify building activity under three generations of mentorship?
A study on the regression of the logo design industry of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Amarakoon, A.
Since the advent of the computer technology in the graphic design industry in Sri Lanka, there is a considerable decrease in the visual and aesthetic quality of the logos designed by commercial logo designers, which implies the application of the low level of skills in both conceptualization and execution. These logos are mostly derivative work, if not complete rip offs of logos that can be found on the internet. Lack of originality, the use of over-used shapes or motifs, lack of pragmatic concerns are the most apparent drawbacks of the currently prevailing logo designs. The particular trend reflects the discontinuance of the fluid way and creative thinking of the Sri Lankan visual artists and the designers (of the pre-digital era) who have created unique and memorable logo concepts for both state and commercial entities which evoke the desired feelings in the target audience. The significance of this conceptualization is the attention and the enthusiasm paid by the artist by means of maintaining a well-established Sri Lankan identity in the design industry. The aim of the present study is therefore to examine the problems which affect the visual and aesthetic quality of the logo design industry within the context of Sri Lanka. The study will focus to conduct an empirical inquiry which relies on personal experience as a graphic designer and on the online presence of commercial logo designers based in Sri Lanka. Three main factors affecting the visual and aesthetic quality of the logo designs in question, namely the client’s perception of his own requirement, the restrictive nature of the digital tools in the design process, and the fact that the logo design is treated as a subordinate element equally by the clients and many commercial logo designers in Sri Lanka, can be identified.
Kalidasa's approach towards the environment and his depiction of the power of nature
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kularathna, A.K.
The celebrated and much distinguished Indian poet Kalidasa is generally accepted as the kavi kula guru or the Cardinal poet. His profound and far reaching inspiration are clearly visible on latter writers as well as critics. It is generally believed that Kalidasa was a poet who laboured to capture the beauty, eminence and sublimity of nature in a language that was vibrating with topological power. In his work Rithu samhara he depicts the six seasons and their characteristic with remarkable exuberance. The poet perceives human beings and nature interacting in a sensualized discursive space. To secure his intention he anthropomorphized nature. Kalidasa’s Nature poetry bears the distinct zeal of his faith, his adoration of Lord Shiva and it is dedicated to eulogize the mightiness of the Shiva. The poet’s perception of the omnipresence of Lord Shiva in a phenomenal word is the core of his nature poetry. The study aims to explore the unique ways the environment or nature is represented in Kalidasa’s Ritu samhara and how his attitudes towards nature differs from the approaches adopted by the Chinese and Japanese nature poets.
The characterization of “Have” in the English writing of second language learners in an Interlanguage framework
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Godage, J.L.W.
The grammatical structures and meanings in English writing of second language learners (ESL) are often viewed as “errors” in a negative light when they do not comply with the rules of the target language (TL). However, the learners’ use of language; often a hybrid of linguistic features of English and their first language (L1), and thus referred to as “interlanguage”, indicates significantly about the students’ developmental stage in the learning process. Hence, the focus of this study is to critically analyze the use of the verb “have” in the writing of undergraduates whose L1 is Sinhalese, with a view to facilitating student centered learning. Ninety writing samples, written in a time span of eight weeks, by thirty undergraduates who have an intermediate level of competency in English were descriptively analyzed. In the analysis, rules of L1 and target language in relation to form, for example, inflections (number, tense), negative formation and, meaning were used to interpret the learners’ use of “have” both as an auxiliary and a main verb. In identifying patterns in the use of language, those that consistently appear in all writing samples were taken into account excluding patterns that are not regular which can be performance errors. Concerning meaning, use of “have” to simulate the governing meaning; /tɪyenəvʌ/ in Sinhalese not only for possessions but also for concepts and ideas; e. g - “I have self-control”, were prominent. In terms of the use of “have” as an auxiliary verb, the common difficulty students have encountered in inflecting the verb according to the number of the subject, seemed to have roots in the influence of Sinhalese which is devoid of clearly identifiable auxiliaries compared to English.