Sri Lankan English

This page contains updates to the dictionary beginning with the letter S. 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:

samsara: (in Buddhism) the cycle of death and rebirth (Sanskrit)
We are all travellers on the ocean of samsara. (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 363)
They were all tangled in the same web of samsara. (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 46)

sapodilla: a small yellowish fruit, originally from Central America, also common in India and other Asian countries
… their favourite perch on the lowest branch of a sapodilla tree in the corner of the garden, … (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 71)

sardine (= salmon, tin fish): any tinned fish (usually tuna or mackerel)
sardine curry

sari pleats: the folds of material at the front of a sari
Dressed in a mute pink sari, Shirani played over and over again with her sari pleats, … (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 148)
The blouse was too loose and the sari pleats were on the wrong side, but who would notice, … (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 170)

sasana (= Buddha sasana): the Buddhist religion (Sinhala)
“When we have taken care of our children, … we too will join the sasana.” (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 64)

satakaya: a long scarf worn with national dress (Sinhala)
> The purple scarf popularised by President Mahinda Rajapakse is called a kurakkan satakaya.
But, the real threat – Nayana felt – was the guy who was sitting opposite him in a jathika suit and saatake. (Unplugged Quarter, by Vihanga Perera, page 31)

sauce: tomato sauce, tomato ketchup
a sauce bottle

school-going: going to school (used attributively in BSE in phrases such as “school-going age” or “school-going children” but not predicatively as in the example)
Her children are both school-going.

scraper (= coconut scraper)
When Ravi carried the coconuts to the shade under the mango tree where the women were scraping the nuts, he saw Selvi among the girls struggling with the only scraper Mani had given them. (The Whirlwind, by Ayathurai Santhan, page 99)

see will you!: (coll.) look! (> will you!)
“See, will you, already she has refused so many proposals.” (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 118)
“See, will you, Menaka, others are dying to marry, no?” (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 136)
“See will you, I won’t care for her either.” (The Banana Tree Crisis, by Isankya Kodithuwakku, page 89)

semi-luxury bus: air-conditioned long-distance bus

servants’ toilet: a separate toilet in a private house for the use of servants
… in the sink next to the servant’s toilet at the back of the house … (The Banana Tree Crisis, by Isankya Kodithuwakku, page 85)

shot (of arrack): a glass (of arrack)
“Went for a shot.” – “All this time? With whom?” (A Cause Untrue, by David Blacker, page 41)
The old toper knocked the shot back with one huge swallow … (The Far Spent Day, by Nihal de Silva, page 242)
Papa poured himself another shot of arrack. (Homesick, by Roshi Fernando, page 45)

show: to show something: to show somebody something, to show something to somebody
Show the pictures.
I think we’ll have to show Sanjeev. (= show him to the doctor)
> In BSE, the person being shown normally needs to be mentioned: “Show me the pictures”, “I think we’ll have to show Sanjeev to the doctor.”

sick note campaign: a form of protest in which workers report sick and do not go to work
School teachers yesterday decided to go ahead with their sick note campaign. (Daily Mirror 01/03/08, under the headline “Teachers falling sick on Tuesday”)

sil maeni: a woman preparing to be ordained as a Buddhist nun (Sinhala)

Sinhala-speaking: speaking Sinhala as one’s first language (> English-speaking)

Sinhalisation: the process of making a place (e.g. an area or an organisation) more Sinhalese in identity
the Sinhalisation of the East
> Sinhalisation could be the result of natural processes such as migration and cultural integration, but more often the term refers to deliberate actions such as resettlement programmes and education, language and employment policies. The word Tamilisation also exists, but it is much less common, and mainly restricted to historical and linguistic contexts.

sis: (coll.) sister (dated in BSE) (> bro)
“There may not be another opportunity like this for a long time, sis.” (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 522)
“Okay, sis, don’t upset yourself,” … (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 595)
“Thanks, sis!” (Their Autopsy, by Vihanga Perera, page 156)

soap piece: piece of soap
We bought our kerosene oil, sugar, tea leaves and some other things like small soap pieces and boxes of matches from Kaluwa’s father. (Sam’s Story, by Elmo Jayawardena, page 45)

solid: great, super, pukka
He’s a solid character.
> In BSE, “solid” with reference to a person would mean dependable.

song and dance type: an outgoing, effusive person
He’s not exactly a song and dance type.

sort: sort something out, solve (a problem)
“He came to sort a dispute between the two brothers Chulodara and Mahodara.” (Monsoons and Potholes, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 282)
… but she was troubled about the recent events and hoped that it would be sorted soon. (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 99)
“After we sort this mess, you’ll be the boss,” … (Arathi, by Nihal de Silva, page 230)

South: “the South” commonly refers to all parts of Sri Lanka apart from the North and East. The Southern Province is referred to as down South or the deep South.

spare wheel: (dated) mistress; person (male or female) with whom someone is having an extra-marital affair

sports meet: school sports day
> The word ‘meet’ is only used as a noun in BSE in certain phrases such as ‘athletics meet’.
The annual sports meet of Wadduwa Central will be held today at 1.30 p.m. at the school grounds under the patronage of Western Province Chief Minister Reginald Cooray. (Daily News 28/01/09)
Inter International Schools sports meet from 20th onwards (Lankapuvath 12/02/09)

stainy (= kahata): (coll.) astringent (> kahata)

stringhopper mould: a mould used for making stringhoppers
With it, she bought string-hopper moulds, cane watti, and hopper pans … (The Banana Tree Crisis, by Isankya Kodithuwakku, page 156)

sugar bun: a sweet bun with sugar on top

surrendee: a person who has surrendered (usually refers to a member of the LTTE who has surrendered to the Sri Lankan army or government authorities)
> This is an interesting coinage, since the verb it derives from is surrender, not surrend. According to standard dictionaries, a person who surrenders is a surrenderer, and the person to whom he/she surrenders is a surrenderee.

sutra: discourse of the Buddha (Sanskrit)
He heard the dharma recitations of the monks over and over again and one day he realised that he knew the sutras by heart. (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 86)

COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS:

saiva kade (not saivar): a South Indian-style vegetarian restaurant (Tamil)

Sangha: the community of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka (divided into 3 orders or nikayas) (Sinhala)

sari, saree: Both spellings are given in the dictionary, but sari is more common in contemporary usage, and more logical since the second vowel is short, not long.

signboard: This entry should be deleted as it is commonly used in standard English.

siri siri bag: a polythene bag (not ‘sili sili’, which is less common)

skyrocket: This entry should be deleted as it is commonly used in standard English.

soot
> Pronunciation note: the vowel is pronounced short in BSE (to rhyme with put and foot), but often pronounced long in SLE (to rhyme with boot – making it a homophone of suit).

sottiya (not sottaya): not the same as penda. A penda is a wimp; a sottiya is someone who is lazy, wastes time, can’t be bothered to do anything.

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