Page 41 - 2022 Abstract Book RUICHSS_2022_11_17 after conference
P. 41
University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka
Neologisms Entering Sri Lankan English in the Backdrop of
Aragalaya; an Analysis of Print Media
P.V.S.S. Ranthilini
University of Ruhuna.
ranthilinivithanage@gmail.com
The vocabulary of Sri Lankan English (SLE) has been a promising field that is
growing continuously, reflecting the developments and changes in the social,
political, and economic landscapes of the country. In this context, it seems that the
recent developments in Sri Lanka, namely the people’s movement that erupted as a
response to the plunging economy, impact SLE as a new variety of English,
expanding its vocabulary in accordance with societal changes. In this light, this
research intends to identify neologisms that have entered the vocabulary of SLE in
print media in the backdrop of current social unrest, or the people’s movement. The
second research objective is to identify the strategies used to create them. To achieve
the objectives, a qualitative content analysis was conducted. In terms of data
collection, 86 articles from The Sunday Observer and Ceylon Today published in
February and July 2022, following the development of the people’s movement that
erupted in March 2022 and reached its culmination in July 2022, were studied to
identify neologisms. The relevant literature and a native speaker of SLE were
consulted in identifying and analyzing the SLE words. The research shows that,
within the sample of the study, 10 neologisms (aragalaya, jana aragalaya, aragalaya
activists, aragalaya representatives, aragalaya people, aragalaya youth, deal
politics, Galle Face protestors, Gotagogama protest site and BASL) have entered SLE
vocabulary through the morphological processes of forming loan words, loan
translations, compounds and acronyms.
Keywords: Aragalaya, Neologisms, Sri Lankan English, Sri Lankan Crisis,
Vocabulary
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