Motivations of Chinese—English Code—switching in Kang and Xi Come

【Abstract】Code-switching is the result of language contacts between different languages or language varieties. This paper follows the revised Markedness Model to analyze the motivations of C-E code-switching in the Taiwan entertainment TV program Kang and Xi Come. It has eight code-switching motivations including the clarification， quotation， humor， fashion， euphemism， gap-filling， emphasis and tone-softening by realizing optimal rationality.

【Key words】code-switching； motivations； Kang and Xi Come

【作者簡介】樊海怡，文山學院。

1. Code-switching and Bilingualism

Language comes into being and develops with the human society. It directly reflects peoples activities， interactions and social conditions. Code-switching is defined by Hoffman （1991：110）， “the alternate use of two languages or linguistic varieties within the same utterance or during the same conversations”. Code-switching is one of the unavoidable consequences of communication between different languages or language varieties. With the rapid growth of Taiwan economy and the increasingly frequent contact with the western culture， Chinese-English code-switching has come to be a common occurrence in peoples daily conversations and TV programs.

2. Social Context of C-E Code-switching in Taiwan

Taiwan is a place with a large number of people from different ethnic backgrounds. Chinese is the most commonly spoken language by most of the population in Taiwan while English is spoken by more than one-third of the population. C-E code-switching happens inevitably when they communicate. Moreover， Taiwan gets more and more communication with the western countries especially develops a close relationship with America in recent years. Thus， learning English becomes more and more necessary and even important as it is the tool for communication. Many Taiwan citizens have acquired some knowledge of English. It even comes to be the language which is primarily learned as a school subject. Therefore， it is no surprise that this linguistic phenomenon is quite common in Taiwan TV programs.

3. Speakers Rationality of C-E Code-switching in Kang and Xi Come

（1）Code-switching for Clarification.小甜甜：其實啊，人家蔣偉久，還有我們Jack， i.e.高山峰，現在都已經有女朋友了，我有什么好眼紅的！我有年輕做資本，怎樣？Xiao Tiantian was afraid of being misunderstood by other members because she mentioned one of her friends by calling the nickname of him “Jack” Hence， she switched immediately to Chinese to clarify that “Jack” is Gao Shanfeng. Because the Chinese are used to talking with the ABC by using English names， her switching here makes it very clear who “Jack” refers to.

（2） Code-switching for Humor. Young： 張（宇）大哥來了，您好你好，向您Salute 啦！請多指教！The young speaker encountered his elder friend who just came from abroad and from his words we can see he hadnt seen his friend for a long time. He greeted his friend in Chinese but switched to English for one time. The speaker switched to “salute” to express his respect to his friend in a very humorous way.

（3） Code-switching for Fashion. Ben：Angela估計要faint了吧，還沒打算結婚呢，就被我們說成這樣了，呵呵。The switch “faint” is very fashionable， which is often abbreviated as “ft”， means that someone is shocked and annoyed by something which is quite popular on the Internet. Angelas boy friend was commented by many of her friends. Ben was comforting her and asked her if she was “faint”， in Chinese “暈了”。

（4） Code-switching for Emphasis. Ma：愛達荷州州攻肯普索恩就曾經說過用不著“3E”的方式引入發展能源（energy），環境（environment）和教育（education）方面所需的資金、技術、和服務，實現經濟和社會的快速發展。我們也可以做同樣的事啊。

The co-occurrences of 能源、環境、教育and their English equivalents energy， environment， education， can attract the readers， attention to these concepts， and tell the readers what are the key points of the text. The Chinese expression and its equivalent can play the role of explanation to make the content more clear. At first， a reader may confuse what “3E” is. When he reads the body of the test， he may know that “E” is the initial letter of the English equivalents of the Chinese words 能源、環境、教育，thus he knows that “3E” represents 能源、環境、教育。

References：

[1]Bokamba， E. G.‘Are there syntactic constrains on code-switching？ World[J].Englishes，1989，8（3）：277-292.

[2]Hoffman， Charlotte. An introduction to bilingualism. Lon & New York： Longman Group UK Ltd，1991.