LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:3 March 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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A Review of English Language Education of Jaffna Tamils

Ms. Sivagowri Sivagurunathan Rajashanthan

Abstract

Whatever feeling one may have about the rule of British in Sri Lanka, most of us must accept the fact that they had left behind a legacy, which many of us utilize today to know more and more about various things ranging from scientific knowledge to the present day affairs of the world at large and that legacy is the English Language. The historical circumstances of Sri Lanka, being governed by the British in the first quarter of the last century, afforded Sri Lankans easy access to master the English Language. In the past, many Sri Lankans were skilled in the English Language that they even won many international awards for their creative works in English and there were times when Sri Lankans boasted of their ability to speak the Queen’s Language with accurate pronunciation when even the British couldn’t do. The objective of this paper on ‘A Review of English Language Education of Jaffna Tamils’ is not only to explore the distinctive historical and cultural aspects of English language education in a mono lingual society of the Northern part of Sri Lanka but also to emphasize that how English language education brought radical changes among Jaffna Tamils linguistically. A descriptive method is carried out in this research paper. This paper describes the slow and steady growth of English language Education in the Northern part of Sri Lanka with its unique socio linguistic features which also contributed to the development of English language education in Sri Lanka.

Key words: Education, Jaffna Tamils, Language, Socio-linguistics

Introduction

Sri Lanka, former Ceylon, the ‘Pearl Island’, Milton’s ‘India’s utmost isle, Taprobane’, is the homeland of over two and a half millions of Tamil speaking people. The Tamil population is concentrated largely in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and represents the second largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, and accounts for about ten percent of the total population.

It is presumed that Tamils settled down in the Jaffna Peninsula very early in the history of Sri Lanka. Several historical works speak about Tamil settlements in the Jaffna Peninsula. Over the years, the Tamils in the Jaffna Peninsula became a prestigious social group because of their learning, wealth, leadership and religious and cultural activities. In recent times the Jaffna Peninsula has become well known to people all over the world because of the agitation for a separate state and the civil war that resulted as a consequence. Another reason for Jaffna becoming well known is the recent migrations of Jaffna Tamils to different parts of the world. (Thiruchandran, 2006, Saravanabava Iyar, 2001)

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Ms. Sivagowri Sivagurunathan Rajashanthan
Lecturer
English Language Teaching Centre
University of Jaffna
Jaffna 4000
Sri Lanka
gowrijaff@yahoo.com
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