Symposia & Conferences
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10219
Browse
4 results
Search Results
Item A Structural Linguistic Study of Cumaratunga Munidasa’s Neologisms of Sanskrit Origin(International Conference on Sanskrit and Eastern Studies, 2018 Department of Sanskrit and Eastern Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Randula, K.K.G.Cumaratunga Munidasa (25th July 1887 - 02nd March 1944) is admired as the first scholar to recognise the need of Sinhalese neologisms capable of imparting modern scientific and technical knowledge in the twentieth century. Being the pioneer ideologist of the Sinhalese purist school, he is popularly known for his strong resistance to Sanskrit borrowings. Still, among the neologisms he coined before his ideological shift to extreme purism, a considerable number of neologisms of Sanskrit origin are found. This study attempts to examine the structural linguistic features of these neologisms formed by Cumaratunga employing Sanskrit roots. Accordingly, an adequate corpus of data was collected by referring to a number of books and articles written by Cumaratunga. Theories in structural linguistics were utilised for the data analysis. All the Sanskrit borrowings among Cumaratunga’s neologisms can be broadly categorised into two typological classes as adopted borrowings and adapted borrowings. Adopted borrowings are foreign words introduced into a language without any phonemic alteration in their forms. Among these both complex words and compound words are found. Complex words are the morphological constructions formed by attaching affixes to root forms. These constructions contain both prefixed forms and suffixed forms. Compound words are the morphological constructions that contain more than one root form. Among these both two-root compounds and poly-root compounds are found. Adapted borrowings are foreign words induced into a target language with various formal alterations to assure compliance with its phonology. Vowel shortening, aspiration loss and dentalisation are the three main processes of phonological simplification operated in adapting Sanskrit borrowings. It has been observed that most of the neologisms coined by Cumaratunga employing Sanskrit roots are not original coinages, but loan translations which render meanings borrowed from English with forms borrowed from Sanskrit. Therefore in conclusion it can be stated that such neologisms are of bifurcated originItem The Grammatical Aspects of Grade 10 Tamil Language and Literature old and New Syllabuses: A Comparative Analysis(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Srikantharajah, S.Linguistics is the scientific study of language which includes the study of sounds, words and grammatical aspects. The rules of a language are learnt as one acquires a language. These rules include Phonology, Morphology, Syntax and Semantics which are the branches of a language. Knowing a language encompasses this entire system. The grammatical aspects [morphology and syntax] are the major areas in language learning and teaching. The structure and the meaning of a language can be studied through grammatical aspects. On the other hand understanding the meaning of a word without knowing the semantics and pragmatics is meaningless. The linguists expect to encompass the concepts of modern linguistics with the concepts of traditional grammar in language teaching. After every eight years generally the school syllabi gets updated. In 2015 the ministry of education introduced a new syllabus for grade 6 and 10 students. Based on that a comparative research study was conducted to examine the grammatical aspects found in grade 10 old (2007) and new (2015) syllabi with a linguistics perspective. Consequently, it was found out that, some new linguistic aspects have been included in the new syllabus: Allophones, technical terms, types of adjectives and concord. Further, it was found out that some linguistic aspects which could have been included in the syllabus have not been added. With my paper I suggest the linguistics aspects which could have been included in order to uplift the academic level of the syllabus. Further, the grammatical changes existing in between the two syllabi will be compared through this paper.Item The Extending of Sinhala Diglossia under English Influence(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Premaratna, C.D.H.M.Diglossia, or the use of two varieties, namely High (H) and Low (L) of a language in a single speech community is widespread. The difference between the two varieties is that the non-standard L variety is used for everyday conversations, while that standard H variety is used for writing. This difference often occurs in phonology as well as in morphology and syntax. Most children from diglossic communities are usually exposed to the colloquial non-standard L variety during conversations at home and day-to-day activities, as the social setting determines that the children follow the language of their parents. Sinhala has been a diglossic language historically since the tenth century, under the influence of Sanskrit language at Polonnaruwa era. Since then differences between the non-standard form and the standard form have increased under influence of contact languages both from the East and West, up to today. This research paper examines the present condition of the Sinhala Diglossia and discusses how the gap between the two varieties has extended under the influence of English. This problem is examined under the sociolinguistic and basic linguistic theories of phonology as well as morphology and syntax. English became the sole official language in Sri Lanka from 1815 up to 1956, and a second language subsequently. Moreover, in 1987, under the present Constitution of Sri Lanka English was accepted as an official language under the name “Link Language” and it is a medium of instruction in education sectors as well. Alternatively, bilingual situation increases among Sinhala speakers. This shows repercussions in the structure of phonology, morphology and syntax of L variety as well as the H variety and it affects the Sinhala diglossic condition as well. It has significantly affected the quality of the writing skills of children as well as the adults and has also caused social problems between bilingual (Sinhala - English) speakers and monolingual (Sinhala) speakers.Item Difficulties Faced by Sri Lankan Students in the United States of America due to the Regional Dialectal Differences of American English(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Hordagoda, R.Every year, a considerable amount of Sri Lankan students go to the USA to pursue their undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Most of them are familiar with the British English, as a result of which they face difficulties in communicating with American people since American English differs from the British English mainly in Phonology and Lexicon. The difficulties increase due to the regional dialectal differences of American English. This study focuses on the nature of those difficulties. It is known that about fifteen regional dialects are found in the United States of America. The differences among regional dialects in phonology, grammar and lexicon will be analysed in this study. Data was collected through conversation with native speakers in different states. The study will highlight the difficulties faced by Sri Lankan students as a result of those Regional Dialectal Differences and further, the study will pave the way to avoid those difficulties.