Abstract:
Language is a national identity and Sri Lanka is a country with language differences. Proper respect for language, reduces division of society in a population that is genocidal. Ten years have elapsed since the culmination of the three decades of civil war in Sri Lanka. Different governments came to power in the post-civil war era in Sri Lanka and activated the process of national reconciliation. The main objective of this study was to identify how does the languages in Sri Lanka affect the reconciliation mechanism, which started by the Sri Lankan government. Questionnaire and the structured interview process were used to obtain primary data. Previous research and books were used as secondary data. 100 undergraduates from the University of Kelaniya were selected randomly as the sample. The sample represented Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim ethnicities. Statistical Data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed through simple statistical methods. According to the findings it was found that (1) language is a critical factor that affects the establishment of reconciliation among the nations of post-conflict Sri Lanka; (2) using Sinhala and Tamil equally as official language of Sri Lanka is crucial and (3) it is required to use accurate language when teaching and using Sinhala and Tamil. The study suggests that it is important to provide zonal and national level awareness on the importance of a language to successfully implement reconciliation mechanism.
