Avoiding the reaper: Notions of death in Sri Lankan obituaries

This paper presents findings from a study of the language of death in Sri Lankan obituaries. Obituaries were collected over two periods, from the Sri Lankan broadsheet The Sunday Observer spanning January to December 2003 and 2012 respectively, to answer the following research questions: (1) Does the language used in Sri Lankan obituaries attempt to evade the notion of death through features such as euphemisms and conceptual metaphors?; (2) What cultural/religious elements do the obituaries display through the language used? (3) How does the language that is used reflect the social and personal identity of the deceased and their families? (4) Does the language used to portray the identity of the deceased and their families reflect social values? The two sets of data were also used to compare whether there were any significant changes from 2003 to 2012 in the way that death was announced. Results indicated that the only change that appears to have taken place is in the formality of style in Sri Lankan obituaries, which seems to be decreasing

Položaj angleščine v primerjavi z drugimi jeziki na primeru budističnih ritualov Šri Lanke

This paper focuses on the functions of English versus other languages in Sri Lankan Buddhist rituals. The framework for this paper is based on a previous work on the language of Hindu rituals by Pandharipande (2012). This study aims to examine the following research questions: what languages are used for practicing Buddhism? Is English used in Buddhist rituals? What mechanisms are used to sanction change? and (4) Will English replace Sinhala and Pali in the UK? In order to answer these research questions, I collected data by attending Sri Lankan Buddhist festivals and event in the UK and recording sermons and speeches used during these festivals to gather information regarding language use and language change. The study proved to be a worthy investigation, as unlike in Sri Lanka where only either Sinhala or Pali is sanctioned in Buddhist practice, in the UK, Sinhala is undergoing language shift and is being replaced by English during Buddhist sermons and other activities. Although prayers and ritual chantings are still in Pali, most of these are explained to the congregation using English. In addition, the use of English is also sanctioned by the Buddhist clergy, through the use of the internet and other media for purposes of promoting Buddhism and reaching young Sri Lankans born in the UK.Članek se osredotoča na položaj angleščine v primerjavi z drugimi jeziki na primeru budističnih ritualov Šri Lanke. Članek privzema metodološki okvir, ki ga je v svoji raziskavi o jeziku v hindujskih ritualih zasnoval Pandharipande (2012), in poskuša odgovoriti na naslednja vprašanja: 1. V katerih jezikih so izvajani budistični obredi?, 2. Ali so budistični obredi tudi v angleščini?, 3. Kateri mehanizmi se vključijo pri spremembah jezika?, 4. Ali angleščina izpodriva jezika sinhala in pali v Veliki Britaniji.  Odgovore na vprašanja je avtor poiskal s snemanjem pridig in govorov na budističnih festivalih in drugih dogodkih po Veliki Britaniji.  Rezultati so zelo zanimivi: medtem ko sta na Šri Lanki v uporabi samo jezika sinhala in pali, pa v Veliki Britaniji predvsem sinhalo močno izriva angleščina. V primeru jezika pali pa rituali in molitve ohranjajo prvotni jezik, medtem ko so razlage v angleščini. Angleščino spodbujajo tudi budistični duhovniki predvsem s promocijo budizma preko interneta in drugih medijev

Functions of English vs other languages in Sri Lankan Buddhist Rituals

This paper focuses on the functions of English versus other languages in Sri Lankan Buddhist rituals. The framework for this paper is based on a previous work on the language of Hindu rituals by Pandharipande (2012). This study aims to examine the following research questions: (1) What languages are used for practicing Buddhism? (2) Is English used in Buddhist rituals? (3) What methods are used to sanction change? and (4) Will English replace Sinhala and Pali in the UK? In order to answer these research questions, I collected data by attending Sri Lankan Buddhist festivals and event in the UK and recording sermons and speeches used during these festivals to gather information regarding language use and language change. The study proved to be a worthy investigation, as unlike in Sri Lanka where only either Sinhala or Pali is sanctioned in Buddhist practice, in the UK, Sinhala is undergoing language shift and is being replaced by English during Buddhist sermons and other activities. Although prayers and ritual chantings are still in Pali, most of these are explained to the congregation using English. In addition, the use of English is also sanctioned by the Buddhist clergy, through the use of the internet and other media for purposes of promoting Buddhism and reaching young Sri Lankans born in the UK. The investigation draws on Fishman’s (1972) theory on domains of language use; Smolicz’s (1981) core value theory and Bourdieu’s translated work on linguistic markets (1991)

You could so easily od like: Clause final and other pragmatic functions of like in Liverpool English speech

Pragmatic or discourse like is one of the most prominent features in everyday vernacular Englishes (D’Arcy, 2005, p. 2). Overtly stigmatised,the discourse marker like is considered by many to be a superfluous feature that is a sign of hesitancy and inarticulacy and has given rise to many criticisms of such usage with those using like being thought of as stupid. In this study, I investigate the use of like among younger (16-25)males and females and older (50-65) males from Liverpool. Conversations between the three age cohorts and genders were recorded for the purpose of analyses. To ensure that the frequency of scores are comparable across texts, I adopt Biber, Conrad and Reppen’s (1998) methodology of normalisation and give frequency scores per 1000 words of text. The study found that like is not a feature of inarticulacy, and that it’s not used to gain time in conversation. It is used more by female speakers for certain pragmatic functions such as focus,metaphoric usage and narration. Between the genders males were found to use clause final like the most, which could be seen as a regional dialect feature

Language in Use: the case of Sri Lankan English

No abstrac

Nothing Short of Devastation: Disabled Writers’ Responses to the COVID-19 Lockdown During the First Year of the Pandemic

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on people with disabilities and underlying health conditions by analysing their personal stories. The research questions explored in this paper are (1) what impact did lockdown have on disabled people’s mental health? and (2) were there any positive impacts of lockdown? To answer these research questions, 46 personal stories from the first year of the pandemic from March 2020 to March 2021, when restrictions were imposed on people’s lives, were selected from the internet to examine how lockdown and self-isolation impacted people’s lives. The data was analysed using two corpus software:first, LIWC (Pennebaker, Conglomerates, 2022), to see what the language reveals about people’s emotional struggles during the pandemic through analysing stylistic features such as the use of words for cognitive processes, emotional affect and personal pronouns; secondly, SketchEnginewas used to search for keywords and to analyse concordance lines. The results from the data analysis reveals that paradoxically, while the first year of the pandemic has had a massive impact on mental health breakdown, it has also at the same time, given people the opportunity to find themselves and to explore avenues they would not have done, if not for the lockdown. The results also show that the duration of the lockdown had a severe impact on mental health, particularly anxiety and depression. In terms of language use, there was a high frequency of use of cognitive processes, first person singular pronouns and negative emotions. The high use of cognitive processes revealed that through their stories, the writers were reappraising and reflecting on the events they have experienced; the use of first person singular pronouns illustrated the self-focus of the writers and the negative emotions showcased their immersion in the events and the state of their mental health condition. The low number of positive emotions reveal the upheaval caused by the pandemic

Post-war letters to the Lord Mayor of Liverpool: Epistolary constructions of identity

The paper investigates how ex-servicemen, seamen and factory workers stranded or left destitute in Liverpool after the First World War construct their identity through letters written to the Lord Mayor’s Office and the Lord Mayor’s responses to the letters. This was a period when there was racial tension in Liverpool and competition for jobs was fierce. This led to white workers resenting the presence of these men in the community, ultimately leading to the race riots of 1919. Although these petitioners were British subjects fighting for their mother country, they were regarded as outsiders. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the paper examines how these veterans negotiate identity through language. The findings show that three identities emerge: firstly, an identity that is strongly tied to their own nationality; secondly, an identity tied to military service or other work in service of Britain’s war effort; and finally, an identity as husbands and fathers who are trying hard to provide for their families and defined in relation to their families and dependents. It is also clear that while the petitioners were treated badly, this was not necessarily by the authorities but by other people in Liverpool

Be going to and have to: a corpus study of Sri Lankan English usage in comparison to British and American English

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of the ‘quasi-modals’ be going to and have to in Sri Lankan English, a variety of English that is originally based on British English. Comparisons are made to two reference varieties: British English, as the superstrate, and American English, a variety to which Sri Lankan English (SLE) is currently widely exposed. The investigation will compare the use of these forms with the corresponding modals will and must in written SLE in order to determine which forms are most common. The data will then be compared with data from BNC and COCA

Be going to and have to: a corpus study of Sri Lankan English usage in comparison to British and American English

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of the ‘quasi-modals’ be going to and have to in Sri Lankan English, a variety of English that is originally based on British English. Comparisons are made to two reference varieties: British English, as the superstrate, and American English, a variety to which Sri Lankan English (SLE) is currently widely exposed. The investigation will compare the use of these forms with the corresponding modals will and must in written SLE in order to determine which forms are most common. The data will then be compared with data from BNC and COCA

Epistolary Constructions of Post-World War I identity: the invisibility of minority groups

This book analyses the letters of marginalised groups of World War I soldiers - including Black, Indian and disabled ex-servicemen - from a linguistic perspective, looking at issues such as descriptions of disability, identity and migration, dealing with minority groups who have long been rendered invisible, and exploring how these writers position themselves in relation to the 'other'. The author makes use of a corpus-assisted approach to examine identity construction and performance, shedding light on a previously under-explored demographic. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of World War I history, language and identity, psychological and physical disability, as well as readers seeking a fresh angle on a key period of 20th century history