Business of ‘English’

I am rooted in my own culture and love my mother tongue. Yet I want to enrich my knowledge and experience pleasure in knowing other cultures. I come to know about other cultures through my interest in the English language and love of English Literature. Since some of us were educated in the English medium, we came to be familiar with the ‘standard English’ and at the same time enjoyed varieties of English through original and translated literary works, particularly poetry, fiction and drama.

Communication difficulties maybe encountered with those who speak other varieties

I personally prefer ‘standard English’ in formal writing and writing that is meant to be read by educated and learned people. Currently what is known as ‘Sri Lankan English’ is being promoted to encourage young people to learn the language in their own way at least in the primary level since four or five generations of young people were deprived of using it effectively as English was ‘dethroned’ for one reason or the other. But English has become a global language with its own colonial colouring.
This article strives to enlighten our reader on some salient features of ‘Standard English’. Those who spoke Standard English a few decades ago in Lanka and elsewhere also followed a pattern of speech with attention to pronunciation. The kind of pronunciation was generally received universally. They called it “RP” or Received Pronunciation.
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