Interweaving Cultures: A Sociolinguistic Inquiry into Sinhala-English Code-Mixing in Urban Sri Lanka | Chapter 2 | Progress in Language, Literature and Education Research Vol. 8

Language mixing has become a natural phenomenon in the spoken discourse of the urban Sinhalese–English bilinguals today. More than twenty decades of contact with a foreign language has resulted in a large number of lexical items being mixed by urban bilingual speakers in Sri Lanka in their daily conversations. This study examines how and why they mix codes from a sociolinguistic perspective and analyzes the structural properties of such code-mixing (CM) found in their speech. This study follows a descriptive qualitative method. This is qualitative since this depends on data that include words, phrases and sentences and is descriptive since it provides an accurate factual description of a setting. The sample comprised 30 bilinguals from the employed bilingual population in the main urban city of Sri Lanka due to their frequent use of the mixed-code in conversation. For a comprehensive analysis of the sociolinguistic aspects of the respondents’ speech, a sociolinguistic questionnaire based on the four discourse strategies: foregrounding, nativization, hybridization, and neutralization as proposed by Kachru (1978/1983/1986) was used. For the structural analysis, their spontaneous speech was recorded, and the framework of Muysken [1]. insertion, alternation, and congruent lexicalization (CL) was used. Results for CM of Sinhala-English participants show a variety of English items integrated into Sinha-la utterances.  The findings report that this mixed-variety has evolved due to CM and is undoubtedly the preferred code for expressing neutralization of attitudes in speech. Further, their language choice seems to have been influenced by the age. Structurally, this discussion proves insertion as the major CM strategy in the bilinguals’ spoken variety, while CL is the least used. From a pedagogical perspective, this study proposes CM as a possible communicative strategy to promote interaction among students in the second language learning-teaching context in Sri Lanka. This study suggests that CM can be one of the strategies that EFL/ESL (English as a foreign/second language) teachers use to accommodate the students’ level of proficiency since it makes the learner intake the knowledge provided by the tutor quite comfortably in the classroom.

Author(s) Details:

Hakmana Parana Liyanage Waruni Shashikala,
Department of English Language Teaching, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/PLLER-V8/article/view/14235

The Study of Mada Phonemes and Areas of Interference in the Learning of English as a Second Language for Competence and Performance | Chapter 1 | Current Research in Language, Literature and Education Vol.4

 Learning and speaking English as a second language in Nigeria (especially among Mada students) is no exception to this general norm. English is spoken in a variety of dialects all around the world. These two languages (Mada and English) belong to two separate linguistic groups, each with its own phonemic potential in terms of monophthongs, diphthongs (vowels), consonants and consonant clusters, and segmentation. Mada originally belonged to the Benue Congo linguistic sub-group, which is a branch of the larger Niger-Congo African language family, whereas English belongs to the Indo-European language family. This assumes Mada's presence. Students studying and speaking English as a second language are likely to encounter various difficulties that obstruct fluency and articulation. This research on Mada phonemes and locations of interference in the learning of English as a second language was inspired by this. Some monophthongs are problematic for many Mada students studying English as a second language, according to the study's findings. Consonant clusters have also been highlighted as a source of frustration for Mada students studying English as a second language. Phoneme alteration, subtraction, separation, replacement, and transposition faults caused problems in the relevant phonemes. As a result, indigenous language language committees should work with state governments to enhance indigenous language orthography. The goal of this research was to compare phonemes to vowels, consonants, and consonant clusters in Mada and English languages, respectively. The study also looked at areas where the two languages collided. The study also attempted to determine the English phonemes or sounds that impede Mada students' learning of English as a second language and vice versa. It also attempted to find phonemes or sounds in English that are not represented in Mada orthography, as well as vice versa.

Author(s) Details:

Aria John Saleh,
Department of English, Nasarawa State College of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.


Mallo Gowon Vincent,
Department of French, Nasarawa State College of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/CRLLE-V4/article/view/6152