Academic Training
I studied English at the Bachelor´s Level at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and completed my Master´s degree in English Linguistics at Uppsala University, Sweden.
I have been a PhD student at LiU since February 2026.
Sumudu Bandara
PhD student
I study how individuals use verbal and non-verbal language to interact with each other in public dining spaces in Sri Lanka and language choice in verbal interactions.
Verbal and non-verbal language
Have you ever thought about the way you talk when you order food at a restaurant?
Research
Language Choice and Interaction
Negotiating Sociolinguistic Identities in Public Dining Spaces in Sri Lanka
Dining spaces are considered mundane, everyday spaces where people rarely stop to think about language use. My study explores how individuals interact with one another in public dining spaces in Sri Lanka, using both verbal communication and non-verbal cues. I look at how language functions within these interactions to negotiate sociolinguistic identities and whether the linguistic landscape of these spaces acts as a contextual anchor shaping the language use and choice of the customers and the staff.
I use three methodological frameworks: Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis, Linguistic Ethnography and Linguistic Landscape theories in the study. The observations are conducted in restaurants and cafés in three selected cities in Sri Lanka chosen based on their predominant ethnic populations and majoritarian languages.
I study the use of Sinhala, Tamil (the two national languages of Sri Lanka) and English within these spaces and how individuals take turns, overlap, code-switch etc. when talking. Apart from using spoken words, I also study how people use gestures, gaze and other body movements when they interact with others in these eateries.
This study also highlights the importance of examining language in the Global South where language is deeply intertwined with aspects such as colonialism, conflict, inequality and globalization.