An Analysis on Word Formati on Processes among Young Adults in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The history of the English language identi fi ed two core varieti es: Briti sh English and American English. However, World Englishes have gained presti ge over the decades. English, therefore, has become the lingua franca in the world. As a result, Sri Lankan English has fascinati ngly become a specifi c variety. The people of a parti cular region or a country adapt English in specifi c ways, which are visible in their regular acti viti es such as at college, at supermarkets and at workplaces. Novel words can be found among several groups of people, which support the functi on of proper communicati on. Moreover, social media platf orms spread varied English morphemes. The younger generati on of Sri Lanka plays an innovati ve role in the process of word formati on. Therefore, this research focuses on specifi c word formati on processes in the Sri Lankan context among young adults. The objecti ves of this research are to recognize innovati ve word formati on processes in English in the Sri Lankan context and to analyse the use of these processes which are commonly used among young adults in Sri Lanka. The data relevant to word formati on processes were gathered by observing young adults’ speech on social media platf orms and daily speech practi ces of the parti cipants. The data collected were analyzed both quanti tati vely and qualitati vely. Furthermore, data was gathered via a questi onnaire distributed among the parti cipants. Eleven diff erent word formati on processes which were identi fi ed are analyzed in this research and they are also categorized under the most-used formati on processes and generally-used processes. The fi ndings indicate that novel word formati ons in English are explicitly visible among young adults in the Sri Lankan context. It was also found that most of these formati ons occur unintenti onally. This study is thus useful in identi fying the key word formati on processes prevalent in present Sri Lankan society and in understanding the future directi on of Sri Lankan English.