This paper critically traces the evolution of language policy through times of colonization, independence, civil war and peace in Sri Lanka. It maps out the language policies of Sri Lanka from the British colonial times to... [ view full abstract ]
This paper critically traces the evolution of language policy through times of colonization, independence, civil war and peace in Sri Lanka. It maps out the language policies of Sri Lanka from the British colonial times to present day and their impact on the identity construction of diverse Sri Lankan communities. Set against post war Sri Lanka that is undergoing state level processes of peace building and reconciliation, it aims to better understand how the discourse of language polices situate and position diverse majority and minority linguistic communities.
As in many former colonies, the history of language policy and planning (LPP) in Sri Lanka is largely shaped and continues to be overshadowed by the colonial rule the country experienced under three western powers for over four centuries. The independence from the last colonial rule, the British, ended very quickly as civl war broke out and lasted for three decades. Successive Sri Lankan governments have taken various policy decisions to accommodate or restrict at varying degrees the linguistic rights of diverse Sri Lankan communities. The paper draws in from minority language rights (MLR) (May, 2001; Phillipson et. al, 1995) and linguistic human rights (LHR) (May, 2000a) frameworks to examine the present status of local Sri Lankan languages vis a vis the socio-political and historical fabric of the country. While discussing the limitations posed by existing MLR and LHR theoretical constructs in studying post-colonial communities like Sri Lanka, the paper reveals a direct link between the past experiences and the present practices. The paper concludes with a discussion of how these language policies impact identity construction of diverse Sri Lankan communities and whether there is scope for new and inclusive identities that lend themselves towards social cohesion and peace building.
May, S. (2000). Uncommon languages: The challenges and possibilities of minority language rights. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development., 21, 366–385.
May, S. (2001). Language and minority rights. London: Longman.
Phillipson, R., Rannut, M., & Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1995). Introduction. In T. Skutnabb-Kangas & R. Phillipson (Eds.), Linguistic human rights: Overcoming linguistic discrimination (pp. 1–22). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
