Undergraduate Research Conference on Linguistics (URCL)
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Item A Linguistic Study on the Impact of Facebook on the Sinhalese Language(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Samudra, D.W.B.One of the current trends in the modem society is the frequent use of Facebook and it is being used almost everywhere in the world. Using Facebook is very much popular among Sinhalese speakers as well. Being a popular social networking site, Facebook has a significant impact on all the languages of the world and Sinhalese is no exception. In this background, the present study is focused on discovering the impacts of Facebook on the Sinhalese language. It seems that no previous linguistics research has been carried out on this maller. Therefore, the objective of this research is to fulfillthis gap. Data were collected by analysing the Sinhalese languages used in Facebook posts and by interviewing Facebook user. Accordingly, it is discovered that Facebook has a considerable amount of impact on the Sinhalese language in morphological, syntactic, semantic and sociolinguistic aspects.Item Effectiveness of the Use of Dialects in Literary Translation (With Special Reference to the Sinhalese Translation of Earnest Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea")(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Shavoni, D.P.N.; de Alwis, K.K.L.Dialects play an indispensable role in an effective translation. A dialect is a form of a language unique to a particular region or a social group. These social dialects spawn according to the social boundaries like profession ethnicity, race, religion or even gender and age, whereas regional dialects occur in relation to the physical barriers like geographical boundaries. In Sri Lanka several regional and social dialects are found to be in existence. Being an island, Sri Lankan coastal communities withhold a unique form of fishermen dialect based upon their lifestyle in the coastal areas. To present a successful literary translation to the readership it is a necessary skill for any translator to have knowledge of the cultural background of both SL and TL. The purpose of this study is to identify the effectiveness of using such knowledge of fishermen dialect in Sri Lanka with reference to the Sinhalese translation of Ernest Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea". The terms related to the fishery industry were selected and analysed by comparing them to the terms in the original text. It was found that the use of fishermen dialect has contributed towards giving an authentic reading to the target readership. Further, this translation proved to be rather a remake of the original text than a word to word translation. Therefore, translators need an indepth knowledge of the cultural elements in both SL and TL. An understanding about dialects and their effective use will therefore be of utmost importance to the success of a literary translation.Item A Study on the Problems Occurred in Novel Translation(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Sanjaya, G.; Senaratne, T.; Thathsarani, U.Translation is the comprehension of the meaning of the text and the subsequent production on an equivalent text that communicates the same message in another language. In this translation process translators definitely face many problems. This study is on the problems of translation in both Sinhalese and English languages. The originals and translations of "Village in the Jungle", "Madol Doova" and An Historical Relation of Ceylon" have been used as primary resources. Problems in translation were classified as lexical, structural, ethical, and cultural and ambiguity problems. Also there are some solutions that can overcome these problems. Lexical problems appear in words, idioms, phrases, collocations. Translating grammar particles such as tenses, active and passive voice, articles and language structure include in structural problems. Culture is the most important and complicated problem that a translator should concentrate on as he has to make the readership understand the culture in the source text. Some cultural words may be deeply rooted in that given culture. Translators' ethical attitudes, personal values and beliefs should not cause any effect in the translation. If it happens the content of the source text will be distorted. When a translator is comprehensive about the language of the source text, ambiguity is not an issue. However the original ideas, attitudes of the author of the source text should be included in the translation. Accordingly translation is a difficult task, but it is not impossible if the translator has a better comprehension in source language, source culture, target language and target culture.Item A Study on Translating Idioms from English to Sinhalese(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Nanayakkara, A.; Nagodawithana, A.; Madhusanka, C.Every language has its peculiar turns of expression. The peculiar uses of particular words and phrases which have become stereotyped by usage are known as the idioms of a language. It is generally agreed that idiomatic phrases cannot be translated literally from one language to another without altering the meaning, if not making the expression completely meaningless. Hence many of the translators tend to omit idiomatic expressions while translating. This study is an examination on the translation of idioms from English to Sinhalese. In the course, publications on idioms were evaluated as the primary source. The knowledge garnered have been further analysed by questionnaires given to students reading Translation Studies at the University of Kelaniya. After analysing the data gathered, it could be perceived that idioms could be classified in to several groups. Immense is the influence of environment and culture of a palticular linguistic race or nation in the above classification of idioms. Hence this phenomenon can be attributed to intercultural and inter-linguistic relationship in human activity. Accordingly idioms could be classified in to three prominent categories. The first category of idioms could be translated directly while retaining the sense of the original whereas the second category of idioms could be translated with a parallel idiom; most telling equivalents. Absence of a parallel idiom was identified as the third category where the only possible solution is to explain the general idea conveyed by the original expression. Thus, if the idioms are inapplicable to first and second categories, advancing ahead with paraphrasing, slanguage, simplified words and phrases is rather befitting in translation and is regarded as the most comprehensive strategy.Item Issues of Subtitling Faced by the Translator and the Audience(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jayasinghe, S.; Egodage, W.Subtitling is a prevalent method used to translate foreign dialogues of a movie or television program to be usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. Viewers are generally well motivated to understand what is shown and said on television and cinema. Subtitled television programs seem to constitute a rich context for foreign language acquisition and it can raise awareness and provide motivation for language learning, in both formal and informal contexts, and consequently contributes to creating an environment that encourages multilingual ism. However, language and culture are closely interrelated. In subtitling, as in all forms of interlingual transfer, this may cause problems in rendering culturespecific or language-specific elements. This research provides a descriptive analysis of the issues of subtitling based on three questions: What are the problematic circumstances faced by children, old viewers and the deaf? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this method? Which skills do viewers acquire by the use of this adaptation method? The information was collected by referring to web articles. The responses made to these questions are based on the results of this research on the issues of subtitling. The results listed down by former researches on these issues of subtitling are its fast pace of subtitles as complained by young and old viewers, continuous integration with regards to its limited processing capacity, and the issues related to the part of the screen of which the subtitles are placed. Moreover, further investigations have not been done to figure out the problems encountered by viewers, but this seems likely because they apparently do not grasp to the fullest from the information provided in the subtitles. There would be an increase in the number of co-productions of television programmes and the future introduction of digital television broadcasts with globalisation. Consequently, the use of language adaptation, specifically subtitling, will therefore undoubtedly improve gradually. Abundant opportunities would be provided for those engaged in the field as a result.Item Cultural Issues Regarding the Translation of Dramatic Texts(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Bandara, W.A.A.I.; Ranasinghe, J.K.D.P.; de Silva, T.P.M.A drama is a composition in verse or phrase intended to portray life or character or to tell a story usually involving conflicts and emotions through actions and dialogues. A drama is typically designed for theoretical performances. The written version of a drama is known as the script or the dramatic text and converting this text into a different language is known as the translation of dramatic texts. The objective of this research is to find out the manner that culture influences the translation of dramatic texts and the strategies that can be used to overcome the challenges that rise during the process. "The Caucassian Chalk Circle" by Bertolt Bretcht and its Sinhalese translation "Hunu Vataye kathawa" by Henry Jayasena are used as primary sources and data were collected by comparing the two texts. The cultural data of the source text and its translation were categorised according to several topics namely religious terms, political views, class distinction, food and beverages, life style, parlance, and clothing items. Accordingly, it was discovered that cultural words appearing in the source text can be entirely different from those of the target culture. Therefore, having sufficient knowledge regarding both cultural backgrounds are vital in order to overcome the problems encountered in translating. Further, it was identified that methods such as borrowing, use of cultural equivalents creation, reconstruction are among the methods used by dramatic text translators in addition to direct translation method. Thus, for a successful dramatic text translation in which the target readers are allowed to ascertain an unknown culture effectively, having adequate knowledge in both source language and target language along with their respective cultures is important for a translator. Both primary and secondary data were collected by referring to subject related books and Google websites.