In our ongoing correspondence regarding the Gratiaen Prize in the context of Sri Lankan English (SLE), Dr Chandrika Jayasinghe (April 20) asks whether my opinions are personal or represent the Gratiaen Trust. Before I could reply, the answer (more of which later) was suggested by Anne Abayasekara in her related article "The Sri Lankan Way with English: ‘What for the Telling’" (April 22). As it happens, Ms Abayasekara reiterates many of my views on the subject conveyed to Dr Jayasinghe (April 10) – but not commented upon - to counter her opinion that the Gratiaen Prize was overloaded with SLE, an inferior version of what she called ‘pure’ English that she felt could not adequately represent Sri Lanka on the world literary stage.

"The Sri Lankan Way with English" contains diverse examples of SLE in everyday use, with Ms Abayasekara’s important comment that "many Sri Lankans who are perfectly fluent in English, insert typically Sinhala words or phrases into spoken English in order to bring home the meaning more effectively". It’s an appealing list, one that Michael Meyler, compiler of The Dictionary of Sri Lankan English - and this year’s Gratiaen judge whose "impact on the selection was apparent" according to the surprising opinion of Dr Jayasinghe (April 4) – would be proud.

Apart from such inherent examples as "I’ll come quietly to see you" and "It’s a terrible thing, no?" Ms Abayasekara produces some compelling quotations from Ameena Hussein’s Moon over the Water -  "Let’s not get into this muspenthu, depressing conversation" for example - which she felt "seemed to come so naturally that it wasn’t jarring in the least" and "the words seem quite natural in the context in which they are spoken. I didn’t feel there was a distortion of the English language because the `Sri Lankan flavour’ was subtly and discriminatingly worked in by a writer of good English."

Ms. Abayasekara’s comment that she felt there was no "distortion of the English language" is of interest, for Dr Jayasinghe claims (April 20) that SLE does indeed distort ‘pure’ English - what I’ll refer to as British Standard English (BSE): "To give authenticity to the creation it is not necessary to distort a language," she writes. "Authenticity of Sri Lanka could be taken to the rest of the world by infusing our culture, ideas, heritage, etc, into a well woven creation."

As I have already pointed out (April 10), there are many recognised varieties of English – Australian, Canadian, Indian, Nigerian, Caribbean, and Sri Lankan among them. The literature of each logically uses its own vocabulary "in order to bring home the meaning more effectively" as Ms Abayasekara expresses it. I’m told that Chimamande Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus is an excellent example that parallels the use of SLE in fiction. The novel has no glossary although there are many Nigerian words scattered throughout the conversations, yet the author succeeds in making the reading seamless.

And what about a better-known variety of English such as Australian? Would an Ozzie novelist resist the phrase "fair dinkum" and use "true" instead, so that, as Dr Jayasinghe believes, authenticity will be presented to the world by infusing culture and heritage into a "well woven creation" - i.e. by using BSE?

Let me confirm Ms Abayasekara’s suggestion that these are my personal opinions regarding SLE. As a representative of the Trust, though, I note Dr Jayasinghe quotes its objective: "’The Gratiaen Prize is awarded annually to the best work of literary writing in English by a resident Sri Lankan’" and she adds, "It does not say preference is given to creative work with Sri Lankan flavour or Sri Lankan English."

I can confirm the Trust encourages the writing of creative literature for the Gratiaen Prize in any form of English by a Sri Lankan resident in the country. Nevertheless, given the generally accepted positive aspects of SLE, it is not surprising that some – perhaps many - panels of judges would be satisfied to find a book that fits the bill as a winner in some part due to the indigenous, expressive use of English – i.e. Sri Lankan English. I mentioned (April 10) a panel of judges on which I served that had this experience. We found that the most creative, the most experimental, the most daring book, Jagath Kumarasinghe’s Kider Chetty Street, was so in large part due to its extraordinary use of SLE.

I’d like to add that my opinions are much influenced by my lexicographical and linguistic guru, Professor Edmund Weiner, the Deputy Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), for whom I conduct research on the 90-odd words of Sri Lankan origin or association used in BSE and recorded in the OED.

This reminds me of Dr Jayasinghe’s argument that "the person who masters the language (BSE) should be commended more than the person who deforms it". Taking Dr Jayasinghe’s argument to its logical conclusion, it would seem that in the reverse-SLE situation, words of Sri Lankan origin or association used in BSE - such as betel-leaf, bo-tree, Buddha, kabaragoya, kangany, kittul, kurakkan, illuk, murunga, perahera, puja, rattan, talipot, tic-polonga, Vedda, vihara, and wanderoo - deform the doctor’s cherished ‘pure’ language.