Presenting future brides: The English matrimonial advertisement as a window to social class in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Publishing matrimonial advertisements in newspapers is a popular method used to seek and locate potential marriage partners in Sri Lanka. This article focuses on English-language matrimonials published by or on behalf of aspiring brides. Advertisers typically seek compatibility in aspects such as ethnicity, religion, and caste, along with social class as a factor that is implicitly signalled through educational and professional qualifications, employment and career, residence, and marital status. English is intricately tied to these aspects of social class as well. Factors related to marriage as shown in matrimonials have not been investigated frequently in contemporary scholarship. This article analyzes 729 Englishlanguage matrimonials published in January 2019 in Sri Lankan newspapers to investigate the presentation of the potential bride, potential groom and their families. The article is in two parts. First, we present the connection between Sri Lankan English and the other social categories discussed in the matrimonials. In doing so, we also analyze the specific linguistic register used to present matrimonials. Secondly, we present the intricate ways in which social class is signalled via education, occupation, residence, and migrant status of the prospective bride or family. English-language matrimonials serve middle-class families in upward social mobility or the maintenance of classed status, so this paper illustrates the need for more in-depth research into this fascinating phenomenon.