Language policy practices and national integration of Sri Lanka

Type Journal Article - International Journal of Arts and Commerce
Title Language policy practices and national integration of Sri Lanka
Author(s)
URL http://www.ijac.org.uk/images/frontImages/gallery/Vol._2_No._6/8.pdf
Abstract
Language is one of the most important elements to representing the national identity. Tamils is the sufficient
second major racial group in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a society that has produced one of the most intractable
ethnic conflicts in the modern world, and there is no straightforward scheme of the island's majorityminority
relations (Uyangoda 2001:1). After end of the civil war, government has introduced some
instruments to the language policy. Thus, examining the Language Policy practices in public administrative
institutions and, its impact to the national integration of Sri Lanka is very important. Research was selected
100 respondents covering public servants and Tamil publics using random sampling method.
Questionnaires, interviews and key informants were used for quantitative and qualitative data as primary
data in divisional Secretariat office in Balangoda division, and secondary data was also used. Key finding of
the research are (01) Inability to receive the public service and documents in Tamil. (02) Government's
second language training program is unsuccessful. (03) Public servants' Tamil language proficiency is low.
(04) No sufficient awareness on language policy of publics and public servants. (06) Attitudes and
solicitudes of public servants on training program are minor (05) Tamils have to receive third person's
support to fill their documents, letters and, pay them. (06) No attitudinal change program for public
servants. Overly, although Sri Lankan government has implicated lot of language policy circulars and
programs to ensure the language rights and national integrity, there is no successful manipulation of
language policy in administrative institutions, and it has affected to the violation the national integration of
Sri Lanka.

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