## THE USE OF COMMUNCATION STRATEGIES IN A MULTILINGUAL URBAN WORKPLACE IN SRI LANKA

### R.K. Aiyer*

#### Post Graduate Institute of English, The Open University of Sri Lanka

## INTRODUCTION

Sri Lanka is populated with people from different ethnicities; Sinhalese being the majority along with Tamils of Sri Lankan and Indian origin and Muslims who form the significant minorities. Multilingualism has been a facet of Sri Lanka for centuries. However, with colonization, the English language, like in any other former British colonies has established itself as the language of the rulers and that of the elite. However, unlike the other British colonies in the region, Sri Lanka’s post- independence language planning is shaped largely by the 30 year long civil war which ended a decade ago. Geo political significance of languages, their recognition and the implementation of state language policies have gone through major changes since independence. In recent times, the use of the English language, which has been viewed in Sri Lanka as a ‘kaduwa’ that divided its population according to their ability to speak in English, has transformed into a tool of functionality. Now its use as a tool for communication and development is being emphasized, while Sinhala and Tamil bear the cultural identities of the country (Lim, 2013). The research premise was set with the appreciation of multilingual societies in Sri Lanka where use of Sinhala, Tamil and English are often intertwined. Interlocutors share ideas, accomplish tasks and function on a day-to-day basis by shifting in and out of these languages using various communication strategies, deliberately or otherwise. The primary goal of this study was to comprehend the nature of language use in a service oriented urban work environment in modern day Sri Lanka and how individuals in that community maneuver different levels of competencies in multiple languages. Therefore, emphasis has been laid on understanding episodes of multilingual interactions so that the outcomes might be used to refine the success of future language learners. Even though the role of English in Multi-National Companies (MNC) has been studied in depth in various international contexts (Gerritsen & Nickerson, 2009), an exploration of real time multilingual communication and strategy use of urban employees engaging in multi-party trilingual interactions as that encountered in Sri Lanka has not been attempted before. Socio Cultural Theory (SCT) and Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) provided conceptual lens to better understand the concept. SCT that was proposed by L. S. Vygotsky and further developed by Lantolf, Thorne and Poehner (2015) describe the symbiotic relationship between language and the significance of cultural activities in the society. CAT proposed by Gallios, Ogay, & Giles (2005) on the other hand delves into interpersonal and intercultural communication behavior. One of the key tenets of CAT is that, it is only during interactions that communication behavior is analyzed and adjusted. Hence, focusing on the interactional perspective of communication strategies, which is the premise of the current research context, Dӧrnyei and Scott’s (1995a, 1995b as cited in Dӧrnyei and Scott, 1997) recognition of strategies as a means of resolving problems and for the achievement of mutual understanding is of importance here. They claim that in the way of problem- solving, a major hurdle faced by a speaker is finding sufficient time to process information. Utilization of strategies is an effective way to manage such problems. Three central categories that have been formulated include: i) Direct - provides an alternative way to get the meaning across; ii) Indirect - instead of providing alternative ways to communicate, they pave the way for conditions that create mutual understanding; and iii) Interactional strategies - participants work cooperatively to troubleshoot and create mutual understanding. This ethnographic case study attempts to address the following research questions:

- 1. What are the communication strategies used by multilingual employees in the work setting?
- 2. How are multilingual communication strategies used for communication in a work setting?