Sri Lankan English

This page contains updates to the dictionary beginning with the letter A. It is divided into 2 parts: New Entries, and Comments and Corrections. Click here to return to the main updates page, or on the links on the left side of the page to go to another letter.

These pages are updated regularly; please contact me if you have any suggestions or feedback which can be included.

Latest update: December 2011. New additions are in red.

NEW ENTRIES:

accident ward: accident and emergency department (less common in BSE)
“Uncle! Come soon to the accident ward, it’s Shan!” (Can You Hear me Running, by Lal Medawattegedara, page 64)
Fellow workers gathered and rushed Andy in a three wheeler to the accident ward of the General Hospital. (Rainbows in Braille, by Elmo Jayawardena, page 16)

adhi poya: an extra poya day added when 2 full moon days fall in the same month (Sinhala)
> See A-Z of Sri Lankan English: A is for Adhi Vesak

Adivasi (= Veddah): the aboriginal community of Sri Lanka (Sanskrit – Indian term coined in the 1930s for all indigenous tribes, now also used to refer to the Sri Lankan Veddah community)
Adivasi people participate in cultivation of medicinal plants (ITN news online 19/09/2010)

Ahikuntika: a member of a gypsy community of South Indian origin, traditionally engaged in palm-reading and snake-charming
The settlement of Ahikuntikas in Vakarai would commence next year. (lankanewspapers.com 16/08/2007)

airlift: (v) fly, transport by plane
The Foreign Employment Bureau promised to airlift the body to Sri Lanka soon. (Daily Mirror 26/06/08)
> In BSE, ‘airlift’ is used (mainly as a noun, but also as a verb) to refer to transporting a large quantity of supplies, soldiers, etc, for example in an emergency.

amuredi: plain white cotton cloth (Sinhala)
Even the curtains ... are of thick white amuredi that reluctantly let in the persistent and harsh midday sunlight. (Fifteen, by Ameena Hussein, page 34)

… and give: (coll.) (common in requests in SLE, but superfluous in BSE)
Cut and give. (BSE: Can you cut it for me?)
Can you make and give by tomorrow? (BSE: Can you make/repair it for me by tomorrow?)

annexed: attached (not used as a verb with this meaning in BSE)
Please find annexed a copy of the deed.

arahat: (in Buddhism) a person who has attained nibbana (Sanskrit)
The Theravada Buddhist such as himself could only aim to become an arahat. (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 45)

arrack cocktail: a cocktail made with arrack and fruit juice
She has ordered an arrack cocktail: arrack, passion fruit cordial and ice. (Homesick, by Roshi Fernando, page 185)

arrack tavern: a small bar serving arrack (> toddy tavern)
In the arrack taverns of the area, the mystery of the Grease Yaka had ousted fishes and politicians as the main topic of conversation. (The Mirror of Paradise, by Asgar Hussein, page 51)

auspicious time (= nekatha): the precise time at which something should be done according to astrology, e.g. the start of a wedding ceremony, the lighting of the hearth at New Year, starting to build a new house, etc.
He had already announced the auspicious time for the commencement of the project. (Can You Hear me Running, by Lal Medawattegedara, page 49)
The traditional coconut oil lamp was lit at the auspicious time, … (Rainbows in Braille, by Elmo Jayawardena, page 79)
Moira’s astrologer had advised that the auspicious time for the wedding ceremony was at one-fifteen in the afternoon, … (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 193)
Not that there was an auspicious time coming up, so to speak, to meet the parents. (Stable Horses, by Vihanga Perera, page 98)
“I need to find an auspicious time for my sister’s wedding and I have heard that there is a good astrologer in this village.” (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 21)

auto (= trishaw, three-wheeler, tuk-tuk): (coll.) a small three-wheel taxi (Tamil – auto is the term commonly used in the North and East of Sri Lanka, and also in South India)

COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS:

adopt out: The example given (“She has decided to adopt out the baby”) is not used in standard SLE. It is more likely to be used in the passive (“The baby was adopted out almost immediately”).

almirah: (Anglo-Indian, from Portuguese, not Urdu)

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