Introduction
Sri Lanka Creole Portuguese is mainly spoken by the Burgher community, the ethnic outcomes of „Portuguese colonisation‟ begun in 15052 in the regions of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Ampara and Puttalam districts since 1505. Creole Portuguese emerged with linguistic characteristics that indicate hereditary relationships with the major lexified language, Portuguese and also with Dutch, Sinhalese, and Tamil. Pidginised at the first instance forming „Sri Lanka Portuguese Pidgin‟, it developed into the Creole stage. Creole continued in the phase of a „contact language‟3 over the centuries, even after the Portuguese left the country. The language initially developed among the Portuguese mixing with African slaves and those of Sri Lankan descent -- mestiços or casados. Today, the language is spoken by their descendants, the Portuguese Burgher community, in the Eastern towns of Batticaloa (Koolavaddy, Mamangam, Uppodai, Dutch Bar, and Akkaraipattu) and Trincomalee (Palayuttu). But, Kaffirs, who are descendant of African slaves, in the North Western Province in Puttalam also speak this language. In the village of Wahakotte near Galewala, in central Sri Lanka, there is a small community of Catholics with partial Portuguese ancestry, where the language was spoken until two generations ago.
The objective of this research is mainly to overview the current status of Sri Lanka Creole Portuguese through a field study in the region of Batticaloa and Ampara Districts as a part of a sociolinguistic research. A two-step research methodology was followed: firstly demographic trends while the second focused on more standardised linguistic analysis that might express the status of the speakers Second Language Acquisition (SLA)5 data and information. The aim is to evaluate the current demographic situation of the Creole community and the variations observed in comparison with the previous studies mainly done by Smith6 , Hettiaracchi7 , and Jayasuriya8 . The linguistic distribution according to the districts population9 will be discussed in comparison with previous records. Furthermore, the literacy10, bilingualism11, and the social plight of the community will also be explored. The paper comprises six sections: a historical account, a literature survey, research methodology, findings, discussion and finally the conclusion. Contextually, the most important multilingualism appeared with European colonisation. “The beginning of the sixteenth century saw the first impact of European colonial power on Sri Lankan society and culture. More than four centuries (1505-1948) of colonialism changed the linguistic situation in the island, and constituted a decisive phase in the evolution of the country‟s language policy and formal educational system”.12 2 (2012) RASSL, New Series, Volume LVII, Part II, Colombo, Royal Asiatic Society Western colonialism and the emergence of a new language order The Portuguese were the first European invaders to Sri Lanka. 13 Consequently, Portuguese became influential in culture, social values, economy, political ideology and language. The continuation of the language still reminds the linguistic influence on the local languages, Sinhalese and Tamil at various stages and linguistic levels.
“During the period of Portuguese rule, the local languages – Sinhala and Tamil – came into close contact with Portuguese language. Portuguese was the language of administration. The officials had to employ interpreters for communication with the local inhabitants. The Dutch dealt with the problem of language in a different way from the Portuguese. They did not succeed in establishing their language as the official language, and their policy was to use Dutch along with other local languages.14 Both Portuguese and Dutch rule did not extend beyond the coastal areas”.15 Portuguese as a language had great influence, even considered as the link language throughout the subsequent Dutch rule in Sri Lanka. “Portuguese was the language that was in vogue in the Maritime Provinces at the time the Dutch seized power. A good many of the sea-faring Dutch adventured with this language. The Sinhala officers at the royal court at Senkadagala too were proficient in Portuguese. Muddler Manual Dias who was stationed at Batticaloa was Portuguese in the king service and conversed with the first Dutch envoy Jonis Spilbergen on his arrival there. King Senerath ii and his son Rajasinghe ii were also very fluent in Portuguese. All written communications between the Kandyan court and the Dutch were in Portuguese”.16 Even though Portuguese was considered as the „official language‟ and the administrative language during both the Portuguese and the Dutch eras, Dutch was also had a major presence coexisting with Portuguese. Portuguese then was not only a colnial language, but rather a „lingua franca’17 which helped local and colonials to communicate with each other. “The English also communicated with Dutch in Portuguese.
In fact Portuguese had become the Lingua Franca for the Portuguese, Dutch, English and Sinhalas”.18 Before this coexistence took place, the Dutch had initiated an eradication process against the Portuguese language, parallel to their persecution of Catholics. This did not succeed due to the fact that the Portuguese language was the main link language. “At first, the Dutch were actively opposed to the use of Portuguese in their territories, but later the practical need to communicate with their native subjects compelled them to change this attitude and adopt a more pragmatic approach to the question”. 19 This made the Portuguese language to emerge as an official language as well as a domestic language while influencing the other local languages, Sinhala and Tamil. This situation continued till the British rule and in some ways even after that. “After the Portuguese rule departed from the island, the Portuguese language continued to be spoken in the maritime areas right throughout the Dutch occupation and the first few decades of the British occupation as well”.20 Therefore, two major layers can be observed as noted in a statement made in 1910‟s by Jidschrift Voor Nederlandshe who was an official of the Dutch Government. 3 (2012) RASSL, New Series, Volume LVII, Part II, Colombo, Royal Asiatic Society - The Dutch language spoken mostly in the upper circle of the community which generally consisted of the officers of the Dutch government. - Other Dutch-speaking people who were married to Portuguese women were, absorbed into the community of the Portuguese Creoles and spoke Portuguese. These ecological changes in the society have eventually created a platform for the coexistence of these two languages. The situation changed administratively and legally since the British took the power from the Dutch. “The Portuguese lost its importance and began to decline about the period that the British gained sovereignty over the whole island”.21 “They soon embarked on a policy based on introducing the English language, and this eventually brought significant sociolinguistic changes”. 22 The English propaganda on the previous colonial languages was comparatively rigid and this speedily effaced the Portuguese and Dutch language usage.
The decisions made by the English were clear and attempted to promote the English language mainly. “From the start of British rule, the colonial administrators stressed the value of English and Christianity. Fredrick North, the first British Governor on the island (1798-1805) saw that there was some immediate gain in propagating the language and religion of the rulers, and therefore, laid the foundation for a language policy which linked the English language with an elite class (Ludowyk, 1966). Later on, Governor Edward Barnes (1820-1822) also stressed Colonialism and Problems of Language Policy: 31, the indelible link between the „civilizing‟ mission and the promotion of English.”23 “Instruction in the English language should be promoted and encouraged as much as possible, when the people would be enabled to come more directly to the evidence of Christianity than they are through the tardy and scanty medium of translations (Quoted in Gooneratne 1968: 5-6)”.24 Although, the administrative decisions of the British were against the Portuguese and the Dutch, the ecological situation of the Portuguese language in the country did not allow the British to fulfil their ambitions. This resulted in the Dutch language eventually disappear from the island whilst Portuguese remained in the form of Sri Lanka Creole Portuguese even till the present day.25 “The Dutch, therefore, ceased to be the functional language of any significant group of people and disappeared from the island”.
The objective of this research is mainly to overview the current status of Sri Lanka Creole Portuguese through a field study in the region of Batticaloa and Ampara Districts as a part of a sociolinguistic research. A two-step research methodology was followed: firstly demographic trends while the second focused on more standardised linguistic analysis that might express the status of the speakers Second Language Acquisition (SLA)5 data and information. The aim is to evaluate the current demographic situation of the Creole community and the variations observed in comparison with the previous studies mainly done by Smith6 , Hettiaracchi7 , and Jayasuriya8 . The linguistic distribution according to the districts population9 will be discussed in comparison with previous records. Furthermore, the literacy10, bilingualism11, and the social plight of the community will also be explored. The paper comprises six sections: a historical account, a literature survey, research methodology, findings, discussion and finally the conclusion. Contextually, the most important multilingualism appeared with European colonisation. “The beginning of the sixteenth century saw the first impact of European colonial power on Sri Lankan society and culture. More than four centuries (1505-1948) of colonialism changed the linguistic situation in the island, and constituted a decisive phase in the evolution of the country‟s language policy and formal educational system”.12 2 (2012) RASSL, New Series, Volume LVII, Part II, Colombo, Royal Asiatic Society Western colonialism and the emergence of a new language order The Portuguese were the first European invaders to Sri Lanka. 13 Consequently, Portuguese became influential in culture, social values, economy, political ideology and language. The continuation of the language still reminds the linguistic influence on the local languages, Sinhalese and Tamil at various stages and linguistic levels.
“During the period of Portuguese rule, the local languages – Sinhala and Tamil – came into close contact with Portuguese language. Portuguese was the language of administration. The officials had to employ interpreters for communication with the local inhabitants. The Dutch dealt with the problem of language in a different way from the Portuguese. They did not succeed in establishing their language as the official language, and their policy was to use Dutch along with other local languages.14 Both Portuguese and Dutch rule did not extend beyond the coastal areas”.15 Portuguese as a language had great influence, even considered as the link language throughout the subsequent Dutch rule in Sri Lanka. “Portuguese was the language that was in vogue in the Maritime Provinces at the time the Dutch seized power. A good many of the sea-faring Dutch adventured with this language. The Sinhala officers at the royal court at Senkadagala too were proficient in Portuguese. Muddler Manual Dias who was stationed at Batticaloa was Portuguese in the king service and conversed with the first Dutch envoy Jonis Spilbergen on his arrival there. King Senerath ii and his son Rajasinghe ii were also very fluent in Portuguese. All written communications between the Kandyan court and the Dutch were in Portuguese”.16 Even though Portuguese was considered as the „official language‟ and the administrative language during both the Portuguese and the Dutch eras, Dutch was also had a major presence coexisting with Portuguese. Portuguese then was not only a colnial language, but rather a „lingua franca’17 which helped local and colonials to communicate with each other. “The English also communicated with Dutch in Portuguese.
In fact Portuguese had become the Lingua Franca for the Portuguese, Dutch, English and Sinhalas”.18 Before this coexistence took place, the Dutch had initiated an eradication process against the Portuguese language, parallel to their persecution of Catholics. This did not succeed due to the fact that the Portuguese language was the main link language. “At first, the Dutch were actively opposed to the use of Portuguese in their territories, but later the practical need to communicate with their native subjects compelled them to change this attitude and adopt a more pragmatic approach to the question”. 19 This made the Portuguese language to emerge as an official language as well as a domestic language while influencing the other local languages, Sinhala and Tamil. This situation continued till the British rule and in some ways even after that. “After the Portuguese rule departed from the island, the Portuguese language continued to be spoken in the maritime areas right throughout the Dutch occupation and the first few decades of the British occupation as well”.20 Therefore, two major layers can be observed as noted in a statement made in 1910‟s by Jidschrift Voor Nederlandshe who was an official of the Dutch Government. 3 (2012) RASSL, New Series, Volume LVII, Part II, Colombo, Royal Asiatic Society - The Dutch language spoken mostly in the upper circle of the community which generally consisted of the officers of the Dutch government. - Other Dutch-speaking people who were married to Portuguese women were, absorbed into the community of the Portuguese Creoles and spoke Portuguese. These ecological changes in the society have eventually created a platform for the coexistence of these two languages. The situation changed administratively and legally since the British took the power from the Dutch. “The Portuguese lost its importance and began to decline about the period that the British gained sovereignty over the whole island”.21 “They soon embarked on a policy based on introducing the English language, and this eventually brought significant sociolinguistic changes”. 22 The English propaganda on the previous colonial languages was comparatively rigid and this speedily effaced the Portuguese and Dutch language usage.
The decisions made by the English were clear and attempted to promote the English language mainly. “From the start of British rule, the colonial administrators stressed the value of English and Christianity. Fredrick North, the first British Governor on the island (1798-1805) saw that there was some immediate gain in propagating the language and religion of the rulers, and therefore, laid the foundation for a language policy which linked the English language with an elite class (Ludowyk, 1966). Later on, Governor Edward Barnes (1820-1822) also stressed Colonialism and Problems of Language Policy: 31, the indelible link between the „civilizing‟ mission and the promotion of English.”23 “Instruction in the English language should be promoted and encouraged as much as possible, when the people would be enabled to come more directly to the evidence of Christianity than they are through the tardy and scanty medium of translations (Quoted in Gooneratne 1968: 5-6)”.24 Although, the administrative decisions of the British were against the Portuguese and the Dutch, the ecological situation of the Portuguese language in the country did not allow the British to fulfil their ambitions. This resulted in the Dutch language eventually disappear from the island whilst Portuguese remained in the form of Sri Lanka Creole Portuguese even till the present day.25 “The Dutch, therefore, ceased to be the functional language of any significant group of people and disappeared from the island”.