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Substitute one in Sri Lankan English

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By: Manel Herat

The way in which habitual speakers of Sri Lankan English use substitute one is compared to the ways in which it is used in Standard British and American English as described by Biber et al. (1999). The differences result from speakers of Sri Lankan English (SLE) having broadened the rules of Standard English to accommodate their needs.

The rules are in essence the same, but whereas in Standard English one always implies an antecedent, this is not always the case in SLE, where the antecedent is generally missing and has to be interpreted using one’s own knowledge.

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