SRI LANKANS’ VIEWS ON ENGLISH IN THE COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL ERAS

Abstract

Throughout the colonial era (1796–1948) of British control over Sri Lanka, the place and meaning
of English have changed dramatically. During these stages, the language's impact on social status,
education, and governance reflects the nation's larger sociopolitical changes. This study explores
the ways in which class, ethnicity, and nationalism have intersected with English in Sri Lanka,
utilizing historical, sociolinguistic, and political sources. It offers an understanding of the nuanced
ways in which language determines both national and personal identity. The term "postcolonialism"
has been defined and perceived as contentious by a number of writers in the South
Asian context because of its linguistic aspects. The native Sinhala and Tamil languages were
restored as official languages following Sri Lanka's independence in 1948, but English has been
the language of choice for modern government policies and procedures and has frequently
functioned as the island's lingua franca. In the postwar era, these laws underwent additional
changes. Most significantly, the 1956 Language Act made Sinhala Only the official language of the
country. The contentious "Sinhala Only" policy of 1952 made it possible for the educated Sinhala
population to rise to the country's administrative levels in the post-colonial era. The purpose of
this study is to explore Sri Lankans' colonial mindset while paving the way for globalization via
English language instruction. Even those who spoke the English variety known as Sri Lankan
English were ignorant of its existence; it had developed covertly. The newly discovered identity
may serve as a springboard for putting the English language in its proper context and gaining the
abilities and information required to compete on a global scale.