Morphological Processes of SLE In Present Day Social Media

Abstract

Sri Lankan English (SLE) has an exclusive lexical repertoire distinct from other varieties of English used in the Asian subcontinent. The study of SLE morphology in social media is relatively an understudied area in the scope of Sri Lankan English morphological processes. This research study was conducted on morphological processes of Sri Lankan English in the present day social media. The study was based on a statement by Gunesekera (2005) in her book The Postcolonial Identity of Sri Lankan English; “The most productive morphological processes in Sri Lankan English are borrowing, compounding and affixation” (p.143). Thus, this study was aimed to look for the relevance and validity of this statement to Sri Lankan social media in 2018. The research study was conducted qualitatively examining three social media domains such as Facebook, Whatsapp and Viber. For the purpose of data collection, 10-15 of Facebook memes, Whatsapp and Viber chats were obtained from individuals who consented. They were examined and words from compounding, affixation and borrowing were listed in order to spot the frequency of their usage in social media. According to the findings, majority of English speakers in Sri Lanka use Sri Lankan English lexical items in social media. Moreover, Sri Lankan English compoundings and borrowings are still frequently used in social media while affixations are not frequently used. Therefore, it can be concluded that the validity of the statement by Gunesekera (2005) is questionable in certain aspects with concern to the words used by Sri Lankans in social media domains which are built through compounding, borrowing and affixation.