Sinhala-english is a language with rules of its own

Truth be told, though, major issues lurk in the nooks and crannies of slumberland. That kingly convoys sweep through shanty towns with hardly a glance at the peasantry; so the idle poor (they have no work but to build castles in the air, hoping against hope that their 'gem land' in the shrine city will pay rich dividends - one day) dream of a day when all the humbugs will totter and fall, and all the hypocrites stutter as they mutter utter lies and deception to an electorate grown obese on untruths.

MORAL: One can fool all the people all the time. Only they must be willing to be fooled. [Editor's Note: The story above, and the characters portrayed and situations presented, are entirely fictitious, and bear no resemblance to real life… And if you believe

that, you'll believe just about anything!!]

"Discourse strategies by Sri Lankan bilinguals", a book by Dr. Chamindi Dilkushi S. Wettewe, is an attempt to kindle an academic interest in the field of Contact Linguistics. It offers a descriptive analysis of the ways in which bilingual speakers mix languages to suit their daily requirements.

Wettewe states that, "researchers have found that speakers who mix (languages) actually follow their own set of rules." The book also gives a brief description on a sociolinguistic analysis by B. Kachru, a structural analy- sis by Pieter Muysken and a psycholinguistic analysis by F. Grosjean.

This study concludes that, "the mixing study types have resulted in a variety of hybrids (which are) used by SinhalaEnglish bilinguals (and that) borrowings are a part of nativization." It also discusses the various aspects of foregrounding that take place when code-mixing, and concludes that foregrounding is not used only to highlight certain identities but also to conceal them.

Another conclusion is that English has been identified as "the most neutral language in Sri Lanka" and that it has "infiltrated into code mixing in the form of lone words." Another strategy discussed is the aspect of nativization which "comprises of borrowings and Sinhalization." In conclusion, Wettewe states that there are many strategies used by Sri Lankan bilinguals such as "foregrounding, neutralization, nativization and hybridization" when code mixing, and all these have acculturated the English lan-

guage in Sri Lanka; which has resulted in mixing two distinct identities in a bilingual society.

The book is published by Godage International Publishers.