Speaking Conflict: Ideological Barriers to Bilingual Policy Implementation in Civil War Sri Lanka

Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA

Y

18

Foreign Countries; Bilingualism; Policy; War; Barriers; Ideology; Indo European Languages; Dravidian Languages; Second Language Learning; Youth; Adults; Bilingual Schools; Government Employees; Programs; Nongovernmental Organizations; Minority Groups

10.1111/aeq.12093

0161-7761

This article presents a holistic view of ideological barriers to bilingual policy implementation in Sri Lanka, a conflict-ridden postcolonial nation-state. I examine Sinhalese youth and adults' Tamil as a second language (TSL) learning and speaking practices across three contexts: a multilingual school, a program for government servants, and an NGO. Though limited interactional spaces emerge where Sinhalese students speak Tamil, bilingual policies continue to reinforce inequalities between the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and Tamil-speaking minority groups.

As Provided

2015

EJ1059345