"Sinhala Only Act " Official Language Act No. 33 of 1956 by SWRD

sam_sajith

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    Those so called “power houses” are where they are today because they valued their national identity from the beginning when they were nothing, just like we’re today.
    So that means we can't do anything now at least starting back by making English as the official language.

    Here there are two types of languages called updated and historical , Sinhala was not an updated one it's just historical. This is in academic terms
     
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    hasithayad

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    අපේ මහින්ද රාංපක්ෂ උත්තමයා ඇවිල්ල නේද දෙමල රාජ්‍ය භාෂාව කරේ?
     
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    rajitha.wijayaratne

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    මට මතක විදියට දෙමළ නිල භාෂාවක් කලේ JRJ. දෙමළ රාජ්‍ය භාෂාවක් කලේ චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක.
     

    Edward Kenway

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    Those so called “power houses” are where they are today because they valued their national identity from the beginning when they were nothing, just like we’re today.

    Not really, two of the countries you mentioned have the largest population and largest land area on earth. What's possible for them is not possible for a small nation of 65000 square km with 20mil or so population.
     

    SLhuman

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    as an immigrant in australia....I must say that had sri lanka converted its education to English we would have been miles ahead. we always take Japan and China, what about australia, NZ, southafrica....

    sometimes we must think of the culture we have...our people are never going to be chinese or Japanese, but english language would have given us at least good jobs and the ability to see how the outside world works. today our donkeys look at FB posts in Sinhala and think that there is no world outside sri lanka.

    forget about everything even china has understood this and is now actively getting its students learn english.
    so many talented individuals but cant communicate with the world

    Not really, two of the countries you mentioned have the largest population and largest land area on earth. What's possible for them is not possible for a small nation of 65000 square km with 20mil or so population.
    very true machan... our class mentality would have dropped if all had studied in english....today if you speak english you are post if not a godaya
    ------ Post added on Mar 15, 2021 at 1:14 PM
     

    sam_sajith

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    as an immigrant in australia....I must say that had sri lanka converted its education to English we would have been miles ahead. we always take Japan and China, what about australia, NZ, southafrica....

    sometimes we must think of the culture we have...our people are never going to be chinese or Japanese, but english language would have given us at least good jobs and the ability to see how the outside world works. today our donkeys look at FB posts in Sinhala and think that there is no world outside sri lanka.

    forget about everything even china has understood this and is now actively getting its students learn english.
    so many talented individuals but cant communicate with the world


    very true machan... our class mentality would have dropped if all had studied in english....today if you speak english you are post if not a godaya
    ------ Post added on Mar 15, 2021 at 1:14 PM
    Im so glad you hit the bitter spot, most of our jerks dont understand this fact. thank you once again
     
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    Edward Kenway

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    as an immigrant in australia....I must say that had sri lanka converted its education to English we would have been miles ahead. we always take Japan and China, what about australia, NZ, southafrica....

    sometimes we must think of the culture we have...our people are never going to be chinese or Japanese, but english language would have given us at least good jobs and the ability to see how the outside world works. today our donkeys look at FB posts in Sinhala and think that there is no world outside sri lanka.

    forget about everything even china has understood this and is now actively getting its students learn english.
    so many talented individuals but cant communicate with the world


    very true machan... our class mentality would have dropped if all had studied in english....today if you speak english you are post if not a godaya
    ------ Post added on Mar 15, 2021 at 1:14 PM
    Biggest problem here is that people don't see English as a tool. They attach their feelings and politics to it.
     

    ShiningStar

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    Thread Closed 🔐🔐
    i dont think so

    Guys, I think what I'm going to discuss here is somewhat appropriate as English proficiency among our people seems to be questioned after the recent viral went when present asked a lady to speak in English, her being an English teacher or educator,

    I think, S W R D Bandaranayake was the one who created all these when he sworn to make Sinhalese as the official language in Sri Lanka leading us to nowhere but to a complete abyss. we are somewhat left alone due to the lack of universal language knowledge

    Please share your thoughts !

    P:S this is not for the people who comes to argue with me on 2500+ years proud history and the heritage we have just to see and boast !
    you got a very good point. a small country like sri lanka will always benefit from english. dont listen to those who compare sri lanka with non english speaking countries like korea and japan. it will be a shame for the royal class people if the "pol kadana kolla" can speak english equally with them.
    ------ Post added on Mar 15, 2021 at 5:53 PM
     
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    S.GUNE

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    මූලිකම දේ මේ කතා කියන කට්ටිය ඒ තාලේ තිබ්බ ලංතාව ගැන දන්නේ නැහැ. අදටත් ප්‍රධාන භාෂාව විදිහට ඉංග්‍රීසි බාවිතා වුනානම් ඔය කට්ටියගෙන් වැඩි දෙනෙක් දැන් ඉන්න තත්වයේ නැහැ. හැබයි දෙමල කට්ටිය ප්‍රධාන තැන් වල ඉන්නවා. රටේ හැම අමාත්‍යංශ ලේතම්ලම වගේ දෙමල හැම ලෙක්ජර් කෙනෙත්ම වගේ දෙමල වෙනවා. රටේ 1956 වෙනකොට තිබ්බ ලොකුම ඉස්කෝල ගාන කීයද? ඉංග්‍රීසි ඉස්කෝල ගාන කීයද? ඒවා තිබ්බේ කොහෙද? පාලනය වුනේ කා යටතේද? කියලා හොයලා බලලා ඉවර වෙලා පොඩ්ඩක් මෙතන කතා කලා නම් හොදයි මම හිතන්නේ.
     
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    SLhuman

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    LOL,
    1. Danish is their official language.
    2. A small country just like us but considered as developed while having their native language as the official language.
    3. Being able to speak English and English being the official language are two different things.
    so what did we get by keeping sinhala as a language? we are not denmark? we are culturally inferior( i know it hurts) we were living very primitive lives when we were conquered.. killing and chopping were the norms.
     
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    Edward Kenway

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    LOL,
    1. Danish is their official language.
    2. A small country just like us but considered as developed while having their native language as the official language.
    3. Being able to speak English and English being the official language are two different things.
    LOL indeed
    1) Danish is official language while government services are provided in multiple languages.
    2) Majority of university courses are taught in English (Unlike what you suggest).
    3) Making native language the ceremonial official language and using it in university education is two different things.

    In short you are clueless.
     

    Chethiya Wijayawardhana

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    Let us not kid our selves.
    56 revolution (it is not just about sinhala onlyims ) was not some abstract debate about the relative value of languages. (although it is framed as such)
    It was about dismantling a Colonial power structure that the British have left behind.
    A power structure that benefited the minorities at the expense of the majority Sinhalese.
    This power imbalance was not an accident or some සිංහලයාගේ නොහැකියාව, it was a deliberate policy of the colonialists.
    Tamils elites were chosen as the middle man between the native Sinhalese and the British.
    This was their official policy. (and British didn't plan on leaving )
    If the British had stayed for another 100 years we could have seen the results of that policy ourselves by being the 3rd class citizens of our own country.
    It so sad to see that the ordinary Tamilians got mixed up in all this, because they had nothing to do with it.


    So please if you want to debate Sinhala only act or how much of racists, Bandranayake was.
    Please keep in mind the Context.
     
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    EON

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    Guys, I think what I'm going to discuss here is somewhat appropriate as English proficiency among our people seems to be questioned after the recent viral went when present asked a lady to speak in English, her being an English teacher or educator,

    I think, S W R D Bandaranayake was the one who created all these when he sworn to make Sinhalese as the official language in Sri Lanka leading us to nowhere but to a complete abyss. we are somewhat left alone due to the lack of universal language knowledge

    Please share your thoughts !

    P:S this is not for the people who comes to argue with me on 2500+ years proud history and the heritage we have just to see and boast !
    Completely useless logic there. Prove me how a language can develop a country ? There are more than enough countries which English isn't their first language.. yet they are developed countries..
    China, India, Sweden, Germany, France, Korea, Japan and so forth

    there are countries which English is 1 of their primary languages, yet they suffer from poverty ...
    take most of the African countries for an example.

    now what ?
    Bullshit
     

    ShiningStar

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    Completely useless logic there. Prove me how a language can develop a country ? There are more than enough countries which English isn't their first language.. yet they are developed countries..
    China, India, Sweden, Germany, France, Korea, Japan and so forth

    there are countries which English is 1 of their primary languages, yet they suffer from poverty ...
    take most of the African countries for an example.

    now what ?
    Bullshit

    Research shows a direct correlation between the English skills of a population and the economic performance of the country. Indicators like gross national income (GNI) and GDP go up. In our latest edition of the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), the largest ranking of English skills by country, we found that in almost every one of the 60 countries and territories surveyed, a rise in English proficiency was connected with a rise in per capita income. And on an individual level, recruiters and HR managers around the world report that job seekers with exceptional English compared to their country’s level earned 30-50% percent higher salaries.

    englishandincome.gif


    The interaction between English proficiency and gross national income per capita is a virtuous cycle, with improving English skills driving up salaries, which in turn give governments and individuals more money to invest in language training. On a micro level, improved English skills allow individuals to apply for better jobs and raise their standards of living.

    This is one explanation for why Northern European countries are always out front in the EF EPI, with Sweden taking the top spot for the last two years. Given their small size and export-driven economies, the leaders of these nations understand that good English is a critical component of their continued economic success.

    It’s not just income that improves either. So does the quality of life. We also found a correlation between English proficiency and the Human Development Index, a measure of education, life expectancy, literacy, and standards of living. As you can see in the chart below, there is a cutoff mark for that correlation. Low and very low proficiency countries display variable levels of development. However, no country of moderate or higher proficiency falls below “Very High Human Development” on the HDI.

    betterqualityoflife.gif


    For business leaders, knowing which countries are investing in and improving in English can give valuable insight into how a country fits into the global marketplace and how that might affect your company’s strategy. Here are just a few of the questions you might consider:

    • Which countries are aggressively improving their English proficiency in an effort to attract businesses like mine?
    • Where could poor English hinder the growth of emerging economies?
    • In which countries should I target my international recruitment efforts?
    • As we think about expanding globally, where will my existing, native English-speaking employees find it easiest to relocate?
    Business leaders who understand which nations are positioning themselves for a smoother entry into the global marketplace will have a competitive advantage over those who don’t. Your company needs to know how the center of English language aptitude is shifting. Because knowing English is not just a luxury—it’s the sine qua non of global business today.

    source :- https://hbr.org/2013/11/countries-with-better-english-have-better-economies
     

    niranga1989

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    Ponna Banda

    Uge lamay igenagatte English walin
    Uu kiribath kaweth garuppuwen

    Ponna Banda thamay ratata kelaweema patan gatta eka
     

    rajitha.wijayaratne

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    Billions of people around the globe are desperately trying to learn English—not simply for self-improvement, but as an economic necessity.
    The 1956 language act did not ban English. The first language was Sinhala and the second language was English. It was perfectly reasonable policy. Before things were unreasonable where the first language was English in a country where most will only ever speak Sinhala.



    The language act was in 1956. The riot was in 1957 after the civil disabilities act was passed. This act prohibited caste discrimination. So the riot was triggered a year later even though the popular narrative it happened due to language. Things can also be traced to issues further back.

    Although people think the language was the issue. Had that not happened no one would be complaining about SWRD or his language act.
     
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    sam_sajith

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    Completely useless logic there. Prove me how a language can develop a country ? There are more than enough countries which English isn't their first language.. yet they are developed countries..
    China, India, Sweden, Germany, France, Korea, Japan and so forth

    there are countries which English is 1 of their primary languages, yet they suffer from poverty ...
    take most of the African countries for an example.

    now what ?
    Bullshit
    You stupid , I think here @ShiningStar has proved how stupid you are . Thanks for visiting this thread, you need brains and common sense to understand these facts

    The 1956 language act did not ban English. The first language was Sinhala and the second language was English. It was perfectly reasonable policy.



    The language act was in 1956. The Tamils ran a riot in 1957 after the civil disabilities act was passed. This act prohibited caste discrimination. So the riot was triggered a year later even though the popular narrative it happened due to language. Things can also be traced to issues further back.

    Although people think the language was the issue. Had that not happened no one would be complaining about SWRD or his language act.

    How naive you are , look at the way he spoke and what he spoke.

    He wanted to create an elite version of Sri Lanka which led his children to run the show which is valid to date. Imagine if our parents thought English so well, they wouldn't have listened none of the politicians today , so we are
    ------ Post added on Mar 16, 2021 at 4:18 PM
     
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