Detailed Study Based on the Effect of the Official Language Policy of Sri Lanka towards English Language usage in the Land and District Registry;

Abstract

Language planning in general is considered a large-scale phenomenon. In fact, national planning is always undertaken by governments and aims to influence or change ways of speaking or literacy practices within a particular society. In Sri Lankan context, the incident where the postcolonial language policy that consecrated Sinhala as the only official language of the country in 1956, proves that declining legitimate minority- language rights leads to language-based conflicts. However, with the adoption of the 13th amendment to the 1978 Constitution granting both Sinhala and Tamil the status of official language can be highlighted as a unified approach that led to many transformations in the government administrative sector. Accordingly, the present study uncovers the effect of the official language policy of Sri Lanka towards English Language usage in the Land and District Registry in Nuwara Eliya District. In fact, through a mixed approach, it examines how the official languages are being used for administrative purposes and what shortcomings that they highlight when in function. This foregrounds that further implementations should be taken to equally function the official language policy for all ethnicities and that English language should be given more attention in the government administrative sector