August 21, 2003 - Rob Waring · Web viewIt also shows what the languages stand for in the...
Transcript of August 21, 2003 - Rob Waring · Web viewIt also shows what the languages stand for in the...
Overview of the thesis
The world has become globalized more and more, and the
number of people who travel to foreign countries and study
abroad has increased rapidly in the 20th century. Accompanying
this, more people speak more languages than before. Because
of globalization, internationalization and rapid technological
advances through the last two centuries many languages
disappear every year when fewer and fewer people speak them,
and languages have become mixed with each other through
communication and the mixing of peoples. This has happened
not only for cultures, politics and industries, but because
people also demand an international aspect to languages.
In this thesis, we will discuss one linguistic phenomenon
- how people mix languages in their speech. As more people
use many languages, more languages are mixed and new words
come into other languages. In Chapter One, we will talk about
language acquisition, bilingualism/ multilingualism, second/
foreign language learning, the mixing of languages and basic
ideas for code-switching (which is the switching of language
mid-sentence) which are all needed and useful to talk about
code-switching. We will deal with the functions of code-
switching and analyze how those work in a conversation in
Chapter Two and discuss the influences of code-switching over
languages in Chapter Three.
Each language and the relation of languages have changed
greatly thorough history, and it is also changing everyday
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now. What is the future of languages in the world? How will
languages change from now on? It would be an important issue
for people to think and talk about.
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Chapter 1
1. 1. Introduction
English is the most common language in the world, and a
great number of people speak English as their native language,
or as the second language or a foreign language. English is
considered as an international language nowadays, and it is
used for business, in the academic world and in the mass
media. Therefore, many people in many countries study English
at schools, and Japan is one of those countries. It is said
that “according to conservative estimate, mother tongue
speakers (of English) have now reached around 400 million; a
further 350 million use English as a second language; and a
further 100 million use it fluently as a foreign language.”1
When people speak and talk with other people, usually
they use only one language. However, many people in the world
speak more than two languages lately. Some people speak more
than two languages as their native languages and are
bilingual, and others speak the languages which are not their
mother tongues as the second or foreign languages. However,
when they speak more than two languages in a conversation, do
they speak each language properly and separately? Or do many
of them mix some different languages in some way? For
jinstance,
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“Do you know where I can get a Moushikomisyo, a
paper to apply this program?”
In this sentence, the speaker did not know the word for
Moushikomisyo in English. Therefore, he or she slips the
Japanese word into an English sentence. This is called code-
switching. Actually, many people mix languages when they
speak, and it is particular to bilingual people and the second
or foreign language learners because they have more
information about more languages. It is very interesting that
people switch language codes while they are speaking. Why
does this happen? Or do people do this on purpose?
A large part of the world’s population is multilingual.
Long ago many of them did not have chances to study and use
other languages. However, the world has been getting smaller
and each country has been getting closer, so more people have
become bilingual and multilingual people, or have started to
learn other languages. Nowadays many people have had more
chances to touch, listen and speak the languages which are not
their mother tongues. Having interest in other countries and
cultures also could be the reasons for this effect.
When people study second or foreign languages or travel
to other countries and speak to the local people who speak
different languages from them, do they just use the languages
which are spoken in the country? Or do people mix the
languages and their native languages? The answer depends on
the levels of the speakers, but probably, many people mix the
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languages. For example, when people travel to an English-
speaking country such as Hawaii, they might look for a
Japanese restaurant and might switch codes (languages) like
this. "Japanese restaurant doko?" while using some gestures.
Perhaps, many people, even if they do not study English at
school, know the word "Japanese", and the word "restaurant" is
also used in the same meaning in Japanese, so they know these
words. Yet, they might not know the word "where" in English,
so they use doko to ask the place where they can eat Japanese
food.
It is impossible to speak new languages perfectly from
the beginning; therefore, even for bilingual people, they mix
the languages while they are thinking and speaking.
Here are some more examples of code-switching at the
vocabulary level.
I will have two Kaisy setsumeikai(= an explanatory
meeting)
Sorry, I am Jyama-ing (= bothering) you
Hi daddy, meyamo Emma.
The first two sentences are code-switching between
English and Japanese, and were made by Japanese girls who have
been studying English. Presumably they switched codes because
they did not know the exact words in English. The last one is
between English and Spanish made by a Hispanic girl who was
born in Mexico but has been living in the U.S. for fourteen
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years. She switched the languages, maybe, naturally and it is
part of her speech, because her native language is Spanish,
however, her English ability is nearly equal to the native
level. Code-switching can happen in daily conversation and
each of them has different functions and styles.
In this thesis I will discuss code-switching. There are
many kind aspects of language use which leads to people
switching codes. I will discuss it in detail in Chapter Two.
However, before moving to code-switching, we need to look at
some topics which are related to code-switching and better to
know before we look closely at code-switching.
The author of this thesis started to be interested in
code-switching when she went to study abroad in the United
States. While staying in the U.S. for nine months, she met
many people who are bilinguals and who speak more than two
languages. Until that time, she had lived in Japan where
basically only one language is spoken daily. Therefore, she
did not need to be concerned about switching languages outside
of her normal classes even though she had chances to hear it.
In addition, before she went to the US she did not even have
the idea that people use more than two languages in a single
sentence. However, once she had started to live in the U.S.,
she realized that people use different languages in a dialog,
conversation and sentence.
She lived with two girls on campus, one of them was a
Chinese-American who speaks English as a native, and also
speaks Cantonese and Mandarin at elementary level. The other
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was Hispanic and from Mexico. She speaks both English and
Hispanic as a native speaker. Even in a small room,
therefore, the author could hear many languages and they often
switched codes while they were talking with their friends and
families. The author realized that she also switched codes.
These three women switched codes often to understand each
other well, because they felt that understanding languages
will lead themselves to understanding each other more deeply
and become closer. During her time in the United States, the
author realized this new aspect of languages. Actually, it
had already existed but she just had not realized the
functions of code-switching before. After she came back to
Japan, she figured out that also language learners switch
languages in their conversation, but some of the reasons were
slightly different from the reasons bilingual people do. So,
she decided to study about code-switching and figured out its
affects on the world’s languages.
1. 2. 1. Language Acquisition
In this next section, I will discuss several things which
are related to code-switching which include language
acquisition and the mixing of languages. Later in the
chapter, we will discuss code-switching in more detail.
Most people acquire at least one language without any
difficulties just from being surrounded by the environment
where the language is spoken. Infants usually start to make
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short sounds around three months old, and it is called
gurgling or cooing. Usually those words do not have meanings,
they just imitate the sound that is made by the people around
them. After one year or one and a half years, many infants
start to speak words with meanings, of course there are
differences between each child though. Children start to
learn languages quickly after they become two years old, even
though they still have many errors of pronunciation and with
word inflections. They learn more and more words, and when
they become three years old, many of them start to speak in
sentences, not only by words. Most of them acquire about 1000
words in this period. Usually it takes ten years to achieve
mature speech. It is said that children acquire the
pronunciation of native speaker until eight or nine years old
and grammar till twelve or thirteen, because the human brain
basically stops changing and growing when they become around
eight to ten.2 This period is a very important issue for us,
and it determines whether people will be bilingual or
multilingual, or second/ foreign language learners from the
views such as frequency, pronunciation and grammar knowledge.
However, there are lot of definitions for bilingualism and
multilingualism, and it seems a very difficult topic to
discuss and define. So, what are the differences between
bilingual or multilingual people and second/ foreign language
learners?
1. 2. 2. Bilingualism and Multilingualism
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“Bilingual language acquisition refers to the (more or
less) simultaneous acquisition of two language beginning in
infancy (or before the age of three years).”3 However, this
topic is a part of one of the most difficult issues in
linguistics. Many linguists still study this subject. Where
is the line which divides bilingual people and other people?
If a child is brought up in the environment where more than
two languages are spoken daily, could they all become
bilingual or multilingual? Many linguists have studied this
issue and given their definitions.
David Crystal, the author of The Cambridge Encyclopedia
of Language, says that the vast majority of bilingual people
do not have an equal command of their two languages: one
language is more fluent than the other, and it interferes with
the other, imposes its accent on the other, or is simply
preferred language in certain situations. He also raises the
problem about bilingualism. “Many bilinguals fail to achieve
a native-like fluency in either language. Some achieve it in
one (their ‘preferred’ or ‘dominant’ language), but do not the
other”.4
Here are some more definitions of bilingualism.
● The practice of alternately using two languages will be
called bilingualism, and the person involved, bilingual.
(Weinreich 1968: 1)5
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● In the cases where this perfect foreign-language learning
is not accompanied by loss of the native language, it
results in ‘bilingualism’, native-like control of two
languages. (Bloomfield 1933: 55-6)6
There are many definitions of bilingualism and it is
still being studied. Even among bilingual people, there are
some levels like language learners.
Bernd Klein also studied bilingualism and defined the
bilingualism at four different levels.
1. Equilingual --- when someone speaks both languages as a
native speaker, they are indistinguishable from a native
speaker.
2. Balanced bilingual --- someone who is nearly equal in
skill in both languages, but in this case, it is not
necessary to be a native speaker in both of them.
3. Dominant bilingual --- someone who can speak two
languages, but has greater skills in one than the other
one.
4. Passive bilingual --- someone who is a native speaker in
one language, and can understand the other one, but
can’t speak it.
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If we talk about bilingualism based on this definition,
it will be very complicated because, in this study, some
language learners are also considered to be bilinguals such as
dominant bilingual and passive bilingual. However, bilingual
people basically are regarded as the people who have almost
the equal abilities of native speakers with more than two
languages and not to be prevented or affected by other
languages greatly in many other studies. How do we then
define bilingualism? It has been the main theme in
bilingualism studies, and there is still no absolute
definition. However, in this thesis, we will consider
bilingual people who have almost the same abilities as native
speakers in both languages and others as the second or foreign
language learners.
1. 2. 3. Second/Foreign language learning
Second Language Acquisition refers to “The acquisition
of a second language by someone (adult or child) who has
already acquired a first language.”7 A second language means
that a language is used as a second language in daily life and
people have chances to speak it. On the other hand, when a
language is not used often in the lives of people who live
there, it is a foreign language environment. The difference
between them is whether they are being used in daily life as a
communication medium or not. Second/ foreign language
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learning could be very different from the first language
learning.
This is because adults already have the information of
their native language; therefore it will interrupt the
learning of new languages. In English, the accent is strong
and weak, however, Japanese-speaking people use high and low
accent. Therefore, the English of most under intermediate
level Japanese speakers is influenced by Japanese
pronunciation. Moreover, there is no inflection of verbs
depending on the person and tense and only 2 irregular verbs
in Japanese, therefore; Japanese English learners often make
mistakes when they learn new verbs. English also has articles
which Japanese does not have, so Japanese people have
difficulties when using articles.
In many countries, people study other languages at
schools as second or foreign languages. For instance, while
English is studied as a second language in Hong Kong, most
people study English as a foreign language in Japan. Many
Hong Kong people speak English as a second language because,
after the Opium War was finished till 1997, it was mainly
ruled by England. Therefore, in many places, English is also
spoken as a social language daily. On the other hand, in
Japan, only Japanese is spoken as a social language in public
space, even though, English has started to be spoken in many
places lately. When learning second/ foreign
languages, people create an Interlanguage in their brain.
Interlanguage is the mixed language of the first languages and
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second or foreign and is created by grammar, sounds and
vocabulary.
あ す あ
Therefore, for example of interlanguage of English and
Japanese in Japanese people's head, people tend to pronounce
English words with Japanese accent very often. Moreover, when
they remember some words in English, perhaps people add it
over the Japanese words which have the same meaning.
Therefore, usually, people take a long time to acquire the
word and cannot remember it in English soon. This interferes
with the smooth acquisition of new language in many ways such
as pronunciation, grammar and vocabularies. When people learn
a new language, learners have to study the letters first, and
a huge amount of vocabulary, grammar and the pronunciation.
Writing, reading, listening and speaking: each demands
learners some different skills and techniques. Therefore,
most people take a long time to learn new languages and leave
some influences of their native languages on their second or
foreign languages.
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Japanese English
Interlanguage
Japanese English
Figure 1: Interlanguage
1. 2. 4. Language effects on the other language
It is well known that the first language has great
influences on second/ foreign langue learning, for example,
their native accent remains in their second/ foreign languages
and they often mix grammars. The knowledge that learners
already have prevents or influences them when they input new
information and it makes them confused. On the other hand,
the second/ foreign languages also affect the first language.
When people move to other countries to study languages,
business or immigration, and live there without using their
native language for a while, they start to lose their native
language ability. For the most part, the loss of language
ability is a temporary one. However, if the situation
continues for a long time, it could be permanent loss. For
example, when a Japanese student studies abroad, she might
lose her Japanese ability little by little while she is living
in the environment where English is mostly spoken and does not
have chances to listen, read, write and speak Japanese.
However, after she comes back from overseas, she will get it
back soon. Whereas temporary loss could take it back, if a
Japanese immigrant once loses the chance to speak it, she
might not use Japanese forever and lose her ability almost
totally. This is called Language Loss or Language Attrition.
1. 3. The mixing of languages
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There are many languages in the world, and it is said
that around 5,000 to 6,000 are spoken now. In addition, it is
said that there are about 3,000 to 10,000 languages in the
world. Most of the languages are natural ones, however,
through the long history, many of the languages have changed
their vocabulary and grammars, and some of them are mixed with
other languages to adjust to the new environment. Therefore,
there are some languages that themselves already contained
code-switching because they mix the vocabulary of different
languages. The mixing of languages is created by humans and
called artificial language. These are used widely now, and
are spreading to the other areas.
In this section, we will talk about some kinds of the
mixing of languages, because some of them already function
like code-switching. Each of them is used as one language,
however, sometimes they are mixed with two or more languages;
therefore, code-switching happens naturally in a conversation.
A. Word borrowing
Word borrowing is “the incorporating of a loan word from
one langue into another.”8 Much of the world’s common
language English has borrowed many words from other language
such as French, German and Latin because originally Old
English was spoken only in England and the long history of
England led to many exchanges with other people, such as the
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Norman Conquest. In Table 1 we can see some borrowed words in
the late Modern English period.
Languages Borrowed words
Latin Alibi, bonus
French Budget, massage, salon grammar
Italian Concerto, soprano, spaghetti
German Kindergarten, poodle, seminar,
homesick
Hindi Shampoo, yoga, pajamas
Original
Languages of
Aborigine
Boomerang, koala, kangaroo
Table 1: Some borrowed words in the late Modern English
period.
In addition, there are many words borrowed from other
languages in Japanese, especially from English. These are
called Gairaigo and used as a part of the Japanese language
now. For example, the words for computer and machine such as
パ ソ コ ン (= abbreviation of personal computer) and ビ デ
オ (= video), clothes セ ー タ ー (= sweater) and ス カ ー
ト (=skirt), sports バ レ ー ボ ー ル (= volleyball) and サ
ッ カ ー (= soccer) are very common, and they are very
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difficult to replace with Japanese words, even though there
are some. Restaurant, for instance, is used daily among
Japanese people, and few people use the words which have the
same meaning with it in Japanese Insyoku ten or Ryouri ten.
Borrowing words has great influences on other languages
because sometimes it also means that the original words
disappear. Nobody uses the original word Haikyu (=volleyball)
in Japanese anymore in daily conversation, we just use the
English word volleyball. Word borrowing is one of the reasons
why people switch language codes while they are speaking.
B. Pidgin
“A pidgin is a system of communication which has grown
up among people who do not share a common language, but who
want to talk to each other, for trading or other reasons.”9
It is also called a “makeshift”, “marginal”, or “mixed”
language. The vocabulary is limited and the grammatical
structure is reduced compared with natural languages. The
range of functions is much narrower than others. There is no
native speaker of Pidgin.
Here is an example of a pidgin language called Tok Pisin
spoken in Papua New Guinea by around a million people. It is
an English-based pidgin, but influenced by local Papuan
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languages. Tok Pisin is used widely in advertisements and
heard on radio and television.
Long ol ples i gat rul Ol manmerii mas skul. Rit na
rait na ABC I save mekim man i fri. Man i no gat save
long ol namba I gat het olsem kukamba. Man i no save
wok bilong gavman Em i no man tru, tasol i hapman.
Ologeta samting bilong skul Man i no save, e mi ful.
Na bilong givim gutpela eksampel Mi tok long wanpela
tisa, Lempel. (Don Laycock)
(= As has frequently been stated, people must be
educated. Not alone the A, B, C, Heightens man’s
humanity; Not just simply reading, writing, Makes a
person more inviting; Nor does arithmetic learning
Make a pupil more discerning. Reason, Wisdom, Moral
Thought Must be equally well taught; And to teach with
erudition Was Professor Lample’s mission.) 10
In this short paragraph, we can see some English
words, some of them has different meanings though. “Gat” is,
for instance, spelled in differently from English; however, it
is pronounced in the same way and has the same meaning with
English word get. Other words include long, save, man and so
on
People have created the new language by mixing two or
more languages for their needs. Most pidgins are based on
European languages like English, French, Spanish and
Portuguese, because pidgin reflect the history and colonialism
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of these countries. Pidgins have existed in many countries
where European countries ruled during the colonial period.
For example, in West Africa, there are about eight pidgins
based on English, Portuguese and French. Those pidgins were
spoken mainly by soldiers and colonists.
C. Creole
“A creole is a pidgin language which has become the
mother tongue of a community – a definition which emphasize
that pidgins and creoles are two stages in a single process of
linguistic development.”11 Creole has become the mother
tongue, because the number of communities who speak pidgins as
their principal means of communication has increased, then,
their children listen and speak pidgins more than their native
languages. Children acquire the language they listen and
speak for the most of time as their native languages;
therefore, some of pidgin has started to use also as the
native languages. It is called a Creole.
Jamaican Creole, as we see the example in below, was made
in the sixteenth century when the British arrived in Jamaica.
Jamaica is a country that almost completely consists of
immigrants and their descendants. Spanish and Portuguese were
spoken in Jamaica before the sixteenth century because most
immigrants were from West Africa, however, after the British
invaded, Modern English came into the country too. As a
result, since the eighteenth century, Jamaican people have
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preferred to speak Jamaican Creole rather than British
English. This made it develop greatly.
Ole-time people mek wan rule: ‘Learn and study while
in school!’ ABC kyan ongle staat Lov a knallidge in
de haat: Readin, writin, ritmetick Kyan gi Sietan wan
good lick, Heigle smaddy wid no fait Find demself a
Debbil gate; Show respeck an lov de wise: Solomon wi
gi yuh prize! Stody ow fi ondastan All de ways a Gad
an man. In all learnin, Teacha Lampel Set de very
bes example.
(= the translation is the same as above.)12
D. Esperanto
Esperanto is one of the best-known artificial languages,
which have been invented to facilitate international
communication. It was invented by Ludwig Lazarus
Zamenhof(1859-1917). The first journal written in Esperanto
was published in 1889, and the First Universal Congress of
Esperanto took place in 1905. It brought about 700 delegates
together from 20 countries. Even nowadays, Esperanto is often
encountered at international conferences.
Kiom da glasoj estas sur la tablo de Dan Rather?
(= How many glasses are on Dan Rather's table?)
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Kiom da silaboj estas en la vorto "loligo"?
(= How many syllables are in the word "squid"?)
Cxu vi havas dek fingrojn?
(= Do you have ten fingers?)
Cxu vi havas piedojn?
(= Do you have feet?)
Mi tre gxojas, ke Colin havas novan diskon.
(= I'm very glad that Colin has a new record.)
Mi havas multajn posxtmarkojn de Svedio kaj
Abelolando.
(= I have many stamps from Sweden and Beeland.)
When we discuss about word borrowing in Pidgins, Creoles
and Esperanto, we can see that the language itself contains a
kind of code-switching and it is a natural function of
languages. It is very complicated to think of each thing
separately. Our brain always mixes some things, and we can
say the same thing for languages too. With those mixing of
languages, we could think that each language compensate for
the lack of others.
1. 4. 1. Introduction to Code-switching
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When people, who speak more than two languages, speak or
talk with other people who can speak the same language, they
might change languages at the vocabulary, clauses and
sentences levels while they are talking in some cases.
Actually, this often happens if you listen to your own
conversation carefully. This is called Code-switching.
There are some sentences including code-switching I heard
lately.
A) Did you meet natsukashii people at the party yesterday?
B) Oh, really? I'm very zannen ne. But, gan ba te, next
time.
Why do people switch languages while they are speaking
like this? Do they know that they change languages? People
seem to use code-switching very naturally in their
conversation, yet actually, they realize that they do it. How
can we define code-switching with words? We will talk about
this in the next section.
1. 4. 2. Basic definitions of Code-switching
Some linguists have studied code-switching, and they
define it in different words. Most of them have almost the
same meaning but are expressed in different ways. Here are
some examples.
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- People use two languages in a single conversation. People
alternate between two languages smoothly and frequently at
various points, even within a sentence boundary.13
- The movement back and forth between two languages or
dialects within the same sentence or discourse.14
- Change of linguistic style depending on situation,
interlocutor, setting, etc. For bilingual speakers, this may
mean using both languages at the word, phrase, clause, or
sentence level (Goldstein, 2000)
- The use of more than one language in the course of a single
communicative episode.15
From definitions we can see that linguists show that
people use more than two languages when they switch codes and
it fundamentally happens at the sentence level. Therefore, if
people change the whole languages to a certain topic where all
sentences are in a different language, is not regarded as
code-switching. It is called mixing languages. For example,
we suppose that bilinguals of Japanese and English discuss
about Japanese culture in Japanese, but then they next talk
about American pop music in English. In this situation, they
are considered to mix languages, not switch codes.
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1. 4. 3. Studies on Code-switching in the past
Some linguists have studied about Code-switching. One of
them is Miwa Nishimura who studied linguistics at the
University of Pennsylvania as a graduate student. She was
influenced greatly by many great linguists whom she met at the
university, so she started to have interests in Japanese/
English code-switching in the early 1980s. She wrote the book
Japanese/ English Code-Switching: Syntax and Pragmatics and
published it in 1997. In this book, she defined three
functions of code-switching. The functions are as follows:
1. Symbolic functions
Symbolic functions suppose that the different
languages or varieties in a given community represent the
separate groups and identities which usually carry their
own contrasting values and attitudes. It also shows what
the languages stand for in the community.
2. Instrumental functions
Instrumental functions refer to what bilingual
speakers do when they use code-switching when they interact
with each other. The list of the functions that Gumperz
provides was: “quotation”, “addressee specification”,
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“interjections”, “reiteration”, and “message
qualification”.
3. Children’s code-switching
In child speech, they have both symbolic and
instrumental functions.
Another linguist is Carol Myer-Scotton, a professor of
linguistics and English at the University of South Carolina.
She has studied sociolinguistics and began working on the
structural constraints of code-switching in the middle 1980s.
She published Duelling Languages: Grammatical Structure in
Codeswitching in 1993. In this book, she studied code-
switching from the grammatical and functional aspects, not the
sociolinguistic because the study of code-switching from the
sociolinguistic aspect has been done by many linguists
already. All languages have particular rules and principles.
She researched those topics on code-switching different from
other linguists. The main point addressed in this was, “When
speakers alternate between two or more linguistic varieties,
how free it this alternation from the structural point of
view?”
1. 5. Conclusion
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In Chapter One, we discussed the basic ideas which we
need to talk about code-switching. The next chapter will be
discussed on the different functions of code-switching. I
will also discuss the effects of code-switching on
conversation. We use some examples of conversations that
include code-switching and analyze the reasons why people
switch codes. Then, we will talk about how it will affect our
languages.
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Chapter 2
2. 1. Introduction
In Chapter One, we mentioned some linguistic ideas
which are related to code-switching and the basic ideas
behind code-switching. Code-switching is easy to find if
you listen to conversation carefully, but difficult to
define with words. In Chapter Two, we will deal with some
functions of code-switching which are expressed with
easier ways than the linguists have defined. Many
linguists have studied and analyzed it, but their studies
are difficult to understand, especially for the people who
do not have any ideas about linguistics and code-switching
because there are many technical words. However, in fact,
many people in the world switch the languages often in a
conversation when they speak, especially when they can
speak more than two languages. Therefore, it would be
interesting to recognize the functions of code-switching
and find out how they really use it in a conversation and
dialog.
Most people switch codes without any clear concern;
perhaps people usually do not think why and how they
alternate languages while they are talking. However, they
actually do, and there are some reasons for code-switching
and when we switch codes we often do it for some reasons.
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Therefore, we will discuss code-switching in easy words
without using linguistic technical words as possible as we
can to be able ordinary people to understand and find a
new aspect of languages. Code-switching basically happens
in the productive skills: writing and speaking, but
happens more often in speaking, because when people write,
they can take time to think about what they are going to
write. On the other hand, when people speak, they usually
do not take time and it is a more spontaneous action. For
that reason, we will focus on code-switching in the
speaking skill in this thesis.
2. 2. Problems of discussing code-switching
There are some problems and issues that we should
point out when we discuss code-switching. First of all,
it is very difficult to distinguish whether something is
code-switching or not. Basically, we consider code-
switching as the switch of languages which happens in a
sentence, conversation and dialogs naturally.
However, in some cases, people might alternate
languages on for some other purpose. On the other hand,
some people do this without clear awareness and
consciousness. We have to decide how to distinguish code-
switching before talking into main parts. We are able to
consider them both as code-switching, but we also only can
-28---
suppose the one without purpose is real code-switching.
For instance, in the sentence,
“I have been writing Sotsuron (= the thesis
for graduation) since the last May”,
She or he might use the word Sotsuron very
naturally because she or he considers that this word is
part of their language. Or, she or he may use this word
because she does not know the word in English.
In another example, suppose that there are three
people: A, B and C, and all of them speak English. Two of
them also understand Japanese, and the other speaks
Chinese. In other words, A and B speak English and
Japanese, C speaks English and Chinese; consequently,
while A and B are communicating in Japanese, C cannot
understand it. When A and B are talking in Japanese, C
joins them, of course then they switch language to English
for C. However, they might have something that they do
not want C to know, so they start to speak in Japanese
again so as not to be understood by C. In this case, A
and B switch languages twice on clear purpose. The
conversation will be like this.
A: Ohayo. Genki? (= Hi, how are you?)
-29---
B: Genki yo. Kinou no party ha dou datta? (= I'm
doing good. How was the party yesterday?)
A: Tanoshi katta yo. Kureba yokatta noni. (= Oh,
we enjoyed it a lot. You should come with us!)
(C is walking to them and joins the
conversation.)
C: Hi, B, how have you been? Why didn't you come
to the party last night? We had so much fun!
B: Oh, thank you. But I had another plan already.
(B whispers to A) Honto ha C no tomodachi ga
nigate nandayo ne. (= Tell the truth, I don't
want to hang out with C’s friends.)
A: Yes, we missed you. (A whispers to B)
Sounanda. Nara iinjya nai. (= oh, really? So,
that's fine.)
C: Anyway, you should join us next time.
In this conversation, A and B switched from English
to Japanese so C would not understand so they could hide
their negative comments from C.
But then, they might switch languages while they
are talking some times without a clear purpose just
because there are no proper words to translate it into
other languages.
-30---
D: What do girls wear on their wedding day in
Japan?
F: Many girls wear a wedding dress recently,
but we also wear Kimono called Shiromuku, and
it is a traditional wedding costume in
Japanese culture. It is a special Kimono for
wedding day and a white kimono like a wedding
dress.
This is also code-switching. As you can see above,
there are some different types of code-switching even in
one conversation. We are going to discuss how people
switch language codes when they speak. In this thesis, we
will consider both with and without clear consciousness as
code-switching.
As another point of code-switching, each language
has its own features such as grammatical principles,
sounds and characters. The languages people switch could
be very different or similar. When we analyze code-
switching, how much we should care about the differences
and similarities of each language? However, the main point
of the theme we will discuss in thesis is the functions of
code-switching; therefore, we are not going to talk about
languages features deeply.
-31---
2. 3. The functions and the reasons of using code-
switching
In this section, we are going to look at seven
functions of code-switching. The switching itself could
look the same in some cases; however, different functions
often happen even within a single conversation. Those
functions are used by both bilingual people and language
learners, but some of them are mainly for bilingual
people, and others are for the languages learners.
A. Adjusting to the linguistic environment
People use languages to adjust themselves to the
environment where they are now and to their group or
community identity. For instance, the Japanese word:
Shinkansen is translated as bullet train in English. When
English-speakers want to mean Shinkansen, when they are in
Japan, they usually use the word Shinkansen even among
English-speakers because it is appropriate more to the
environment than using the word bullet train. However,
when they are in their own countries like England and the
United Sates, they use “bullet train” because nobody
understands Shinkansen there. For example, when people
who know Shinkansen asked a question:
-32---
How do you get to Tokyo from Osaka?
When people are in a community or group who know
Japanese culture and the Shinkansen, their answer will be
I will take the Shinkansen and it will take about 5
hours,
because it is easier to say than bullet train as
Shinkansen is far more common.
However, if people are in an environment where others
do not know what the Shinkansen is even if they answer
like above, nobody will understand it. Therefore, they
answer by using the translation word for Shinkansen like
I will take the bullet train and it will take
about 5 hours.
In some other cases, for example the names of
vegetables or fruits which are used more for Japanese
foods and do not use in Western food often such as Negi
[leek] and Kaki [persimmon], they say the names in
Japanese when they are in Japan; however, they say them in
English when they are in English-speaking countries.
B. No proper words
-33---
Behind each language is always culture, history and
the thoughts of each countries, regions and people. Many
languages have their own unique words that they cannot
translate such as the name of traditional clothes: Kimono
in Japan and Sari in India, and traditional cuisine:
Kimchi in Korean and Quesadillas and Burritos in Mexico.
Languages are deeply connected to their cultures, and
there are many things that only one culture has. When
people come to those words, how can they translate those
words? It is possible to say in close words or explain it
with some words or sentences. However, usually, there are
no exactly the same words for it. In those cases, many
people switch code to tell what they want to say.
Examples:
Kimono/ Hakama
Kimono and Hakama are the Japanese traditional
clothes and there are no similar clothes in other
countries. Therefore, we cannot translate those
words into other languages properly.
Kabuki
-34---
Kabuki is also part of traditional Japanese
culture. It is a play, partly which includes slow
dance, which is performed with music based on
myths, legends and social affairs of Japan in the
Edo period or before it. It is very different from
other plays such as opera in European countries and
classical Chinese opera called Kyou-geki.
Therefore, although it is possible to explain these
with some sentences, there is no exact word to
express Kabuki in a simple word, so we use Kabuki.
Quesadillas/ Burritos
Quesadillas and burritos are Mexican dishes. Some
ingredients are peculiar to the harvest in Mexico,
consequently, we cannot translate these words into
other languages because their cuisine has
historical and traditional meanings, too.
These three words are all particular to one culture
and there is nothing to replace in other languages,
therefore, we use them as they are even in other languages
and cultures to retain the real meanings.
C. Better understanding
-35---
There are some words in each language that we cannot
translate to other languages properly because of the
differences of meanings. Therefore, just by translating,
we might not be able to tell what we really want to say.
Especially for the words that express feelings, emotion
and impression, and between some languages, it is quiet
difficult to translate the real meanings because of the
cultural and moral differences. In Chinese and Japanese
customs, people behave and talk modestly, on the other
hand, many European and American people are more active
and positive. When Japanese people give a present, they
say, “Tsumaranai mono desuga.” If we translate this
expression into English directly as it is, it means, “This
is nothing special but for you.” When European and
American people are said this, they may be surprised or
might get angry with that impolite phrase, because they
usually say, “I hope you like it” in a more positive
phrase.
Here are some examples of expressions which shows the
cultural differences to us, and cannot translate enough to
reflect real meanings in some other languages.
Otsukaresama ( お 疲 れ 様 ) [Good job/ well
done]
When people finish doing something in Japanese
people say Otsukaresama, and people usually say
-36---
“good job” or “well done”. This is used as the
translation of the Japanese word. However, if
Japanese people are said this words when they have
done work, maybe most of them cannot really feel
the meaning of Otsukaresama. This comes from a
cultural and verbal gap. Also, in Mandarin, people
say 辛 苦 了 , translated however it also seems
little bit different from “good job” or “well
done”.
Gan ba te( 頑 張 っ て ) [Good luck]
When someone around you is going to have something
they have to work hard at such as test, play and
tournament, we always say something to cheer up
them. We usually say Gan ba te to cheer them. On
the other hand, in English, basically they say
“good luck” to wish their success. The backgrounds
are the same, however, it sounds a little bit
different. Most people say that when they are told
Gan ba te and “good luck”, they feel something
different in their mind.
When people talk to people who speak a different
language, telling their feelings in partners’ languages
will be more welcomed and make them happier. When the
author lived in the United States, she had some Chinese
-37---
friends who also were studying English. Their common
language was English, so they usually talked in English.
However, sometimes, while they were talking in English,
they switched codes from English to Chinese or Japanese
for some words. They did so because there are more common
features between Chinese and Japanese cultures than with
America’s. Saying “ 辛 苦 了 ” sounds better and nicer
to them than saying “Good job” or “well done”. We could
feel pleased by this because we could tell that each of us
was trying to get closer to each other by using the
other’s language. Thus, this function of code-switching
makes communication and relationships go smoother and
better. Not because of insufficiency of knowledge and
linguistic functions, we could use code-switching as a
beneficial tool and communication strategy.
D. Lack of knowledge
When people learn new languages, they have to know a
lot of things like grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Knowing many words is one of the most important parts of
language learning. If they do not know the word, it is
very hard to explain what they feel, think and want to
tell. However, especially at the early stages of language
learning, they do not know many words, therefore, it is
easier to get in trouble than advanced learners. When
-38---
they do not know the words which they want to say in
English, most of them try to explain in other words or say
it in the other languages they know.
Here is a conversation between two Japanese girls who
switch languages between English and Japanese while they
are talking in English. Both of them are majoring English
at university and have studied English since junior high
school. Their English levels are intermediate and upper
intermediate.
In the first conversation, they were talking about
the judgment of Matsumoto Chizuo who committed the
terrible crimes in 1995. This is from Appendix 2, lines
from five to nine.
5 Haruka: i’m reading news, and at last, matsumoto
chizuo
will be applied to death penalty. It
took soooooo long ne.
6 Ayaka: yes, but that is good news.
7 Haruka: yeap!
8 Ayaka: 当 然 の 報 い だ ね (= it is right
retribution.)
9 Haruka: YES. That’s right.
-39---
In this conversation, Ayaka suddenly used one
Japanese phrase because she did not how to say the word
"retribution" in English, so did not know how to express
this sort of phrase. Therefore, Ayaka used a Japanese
phrase to tell Haruka what she wanted to say.
In the second conversation, they were talking about
the thesis they were writing at that time. This
conversation is from Appendix 3, lines from 73 to 76.
73. Haruka: oh...i'm losing motivation again... >< how
dangerous!
74. Ayaka: sorry i am じ ゃ ま ing (= bothering)
you
75. Ayaka: ↑code switching??
76. Haruka: btw, may i ask u a favor?
In this sentence, she wanted to mean bothering her
friend Haruka, but she did not know the word in English,
so she just switched code at the word level, and put one
word Jyama (= bother) into English phrase Jyama-ing
(=bothering).
These examples show how language learners switch
codes in their conversations. Although these students
have intermediate levels of English ability, they still do
not know many words and are still learning English. In
such cases, people, especially when they talk to someone
-40---
who speak the same language, switch codes into the other
language such as their native language to carry on the
conversation smoothly and easily.
E. Avoidance/ confirmation
When people learn a foreign language, it takes a long
time to learn many words. It is said that people need to
meet a word 10 to 20 times to acquire it. When they meet
new words, they try to use them to remember. However, at
the stages they are trying to acquire but have not
acquired a new word, they might use new words without
confidence. Learners switch languages to the other
language to make sure of what they want to tell or to
avoid mistakes.
In English speaking class at school in Japan, they
basically have to speak in English, but the English
ability of each student is different. Therefore, some low
level students often ask high level students about their
English, and we often could see this kind of situation.
Student A: Can you explain the meaning of
“rebellion stage”?
Student B: Ok, it is the time that children try
to against the people around them,
-41---
especially to the adult such as
parents and teachers.
Student A: Is it like Hankouki in Japanese?
Student B: Yes, it is! Absolutely!!
In this example, Student B did not
understand the word student A used, therefore she
asked A to explain it. Then, she almost understands
but is still not sure, so she asked the meaning of
that word in Japanese to make sure and not to
misunderstand. Using code-switching could be very
effective and convenient to understand the languages
and the differences among them.
F. Language Loss
When people study abroad for a long time or migrate
to other countries, they might lose the chances to be in
contact with their native languages. In this case, they
could lose their language ability permanently loss or
temporary loss. Code-switching can also happen often due
to temporary language loss because the language is
remembered later, or when prompted.
Here is an example situation that illustrates
intentional code-switching. A woman who studied English
at her college went to the United States for nine months.
-42---
At the university where she studied in the U.S., there
were few Japanese students and no Japanese committee near
the school; therefore, she lost the chance to use
Japanese. She could read Japanese on the Internet, yet
did not have enough chances to speak, write and listen to
keep up her ability. After a few months passed she left
Japan, she was forgetting Japanese in some ways,
especially on writing skill to write Kanji.
Here are some sentences from the letter a student
wrote to her family while she was studying in the U.S.
She wrote this letter in Japanese because her family did
not understand English, however, in some places, she use
English words whethere her family understood or not.
そ の holiday の 前 に 、 birthday が あ っ
て 、 み ん な が 部 屋 を decorate し て
く れ た り 色 ん な こ と し て く れ た 。
(= Before the holiday, I had my birthday and
everyone decorated the room and so on.)
お じ さ ん と お ば ち ゃ ん は a little
bit Strange な 人 で す 。 い ろ い ろ 、
時 々 annoying な こ と も あ っ た け
ど 。 (= the man and woman [where I stayed
at] were a little bit strange. I sometimes
felt annoying to them.)
-43---
ど う し て も 3 時 や 4 時 ま で お き
て Study し て い る と 、 お 腹 が 空 い
て し ま っ て 。 。 。
(= I can’t help eating when I stay up studying
late, because I am very hungry.)
In those sentences, she switches code to English
sometimes because she is losing her Japanese ability.
Whether they are simple words or complicated words, she
forgot some of them, it means, English words came into her
head faster than Japanese words at that time. Therefore,
she wrote some words in English. We can see then that
language loss causes code-switching in many situations.
G. Intentional code-switching
In some cases, people switch language on some
purpose. For instance, when they want to keep secret from
some particular people, they might switch code.
Here is an example situation that illustrates
intentional code-switching. There are three women who all
speak English, but two of them are Japanese, so they speak
English as the second language. When they go out
together, usually they speak in English because it is
their only common language. However, in some situations,
the Japanese women might have something to talk about that
-44---
they do not want another women to know, so that they
switch English to Japanese intentionally.
J 1: Where are you going?
J 2: I am going to Starbucks with my friend because
we have some things to talk about.
J 1: Oh, ok. Take good care.
E : I want to go, too. I’m going with you.
J 2: I’m sorry, but we need to talk seriously. So,
can you go with us next time?
E : Don’t worry. I will not interrupt you, just go
with you to take a break.
J 2: But, we want to go alone, so can you excuse us
this time?
E : Why? I am just going with you. I’m not going
to listen and join your conversation.
J 2: Yes, but…. Oh, why is she so wagamama?
(selfish)
J 1: Haha, you knew it already.
In this case, one of the Japanese girls switched one
word into Japanese, because she thought that if E heard
that word, she would feel uncomfortable, or might get
angry. She just did this on purpose not to be heard by E,
therefore it is different from the functions such as lack
of knowledge, avoidance/ conformation and language loss.
-45---
2. 5. Comparing the functions of code-switching among
bilingual people and among language learners
Both bilingual people and language learners use code-
switching in their speech. However, the usage of code-
switching is partly different. It looks that highly
bilingual people use code-switching more naturally because
they take much less time to alternate languages when they
think and speak in their head. We cannot be completely
sure because it is quite difficult to examine how long
people it takes to access each word in their brain when
they speak. However, if we think of the lexicons in the
brain, supposedly, bilingual people have a much larger
lexicon for both languages than elementary level language
learners. Language learners probably have one big lexicon
of their native language, on the other hand it depends on
the level of learners, their second or foreign language’s
lexicon is much smaller than their native’s or
bilingual’s. When language learners switch codes,
especially for if there is no proper word for the other
language’s concept such as kabuki, lack of knowledge,
avoidance and confirmation, they slightly take longer time
because of need to check the word with both lexicons
separately. However, bilingual people might already know
the words in both languages, and do not take time to come
-46---
up with the words they want to say. It also might because
of the connection between two languages’ lexicon are much
stronger than language learners.
Figure 2: Lexicon in the brain
2. 6. Conclusion
Many of the functions of code-switching are working
while people are speaking. Each of them has an important
role in our conversation and communication. In the next
chapter, we will discuss how code-switching affects our
languages. Then, we will talk about the changes of
language through history, and at the end of the thesis, we
are going discuss about the future of English and world
languages which we really need to be concerned with now.
-47---
English Lexicon
Japanese Lexicon
Japanese Lexicon English
Lexicon
The brain of bilingual people
The brain of language learners
Chapter 3
3. 1. Introduction
In Chapter 2, we discussed how people use code-switching
in their conversation for what reasons, how each function
works in a conversation and how code-switching between
bilingual people and language learners is different. In
Chapter Three, we will talk about the influences of code-
switching on human languages, how languages are changing in
the world, and the future of languages in the world.
3.2. Influences of code-switching on the world’s languages
Using code-switching brings more foreign languages into a
language. For example, as we all can see everywhere in Japan,
a lot of English words are used in advertisements, songs and
merchandise. Due to the present level of English education in
Japan, we will never be able to say that most Japanese people
have high ability in English, nevertheless many young singers
use English titles and lyrics in their songs, and companies
named their goods, such as cars, books and cosmetics, in
English. It seems that sometimes only few people understand
the meanings of songs and the name of merchandise. Even if
they use Japanese, they do not write in Hiragana, Katakana or
Kanji anymore, they somehow write in Roman characters.
-48---
As a result, many Japanese words are becoming lost as
people use English and other foreign languages more and more.
So where is Japan’s place in the world of using English and
how it is changing?
3. 3. The circle of English
Figure 2: The Three Cirlces
The inner circle shows the traditional bases of English
where it is spoken as a primary language such as the United
States, Canada, England and Australia. The number of people
who belong to the inner circle is 320 to 380 million. The
circle which surrounds the inner circle is called the outer
circle, and 300 to 500 million people are said to be in this
circle. The outer circle shows the earlier phases of English
spreading in a non-native environment where the language has
-49---
Inner circle
Outer circle
Expanding circle
The spread of English around the world has been visualized as three concentric circles as we can see in the left side which represents the ways language has been acquired and is currently used.
become part of a country’s main institutions and plays an
important role as the second language in a multilingual
setting. Singapore, India and over fifty other countries are
considered as part of the outer circle. The biggest circle,
the expanding circle nations, are recognized the importance of
English as an international language such as China, Japan,
Israel and Greece, and 500 to 1000 million people are included
in this circle. However, those countries do not have the
history of colonization by the countries in the inner circle,
and in those areas, English is taught as a foreign language,
not as a second language.
These three circles show the importance of English all
over the world, and they show the different stages of using
English historically. However, the most important point here
is that the shape of these circles has been changing through
history. Not only for the expanding circle and outer circle,
the inner circle has also broadened more and more in recent
years.
Before the New Continent was discovered by Columbus in
1492 and the European countries started to colonize other
worlds, English was the primary language only in England.
However, since the trading and colonization became active, the
number of outer circle countries has increased. Moreover, the
progress of media, travel and the exchanging of goods between
each country made the expanding circle bigger and bigger
rapidly in recent years. Each circle will continue to expand
more and more, and in one or two hundred years, the inner
-50---
circle might cover all the circles. It means, all citizens
all over the world will speak one language, and presumably it
will be English.
How will the change of these circles influence our lives
and languages? What will be the shape of the circles in the
future? Is the change acceptable or should we try to stop it?
It is a very important issue in the world nowadays.
3. 4. The future of English and world languages
If we are concerned about the daily lives of Japanese
people, do people still wear kimono everyday? Do many people
still live in a house made of wood and kawara? The answer is
“no”. A long time ago, all the people wore kimonos everyday
and lived in the traditional style houses, however, since the
western cultures have flowed into Japan, the traditional
culture has stated to disappear and become mixed with western
cultures. And, now, people wear the clothes which were
originally only western style such as jeans, skirt, t-shirt
and shoes.
If we apply this idea to languages, we could say that
eventually languages will be mixed with others and might lose
our own language. As people already know, even among
Japanese, the Japanese language has changed shape greatly
through history. Especially, since Japan started to trade
with other countries, as more cultures have come into Japanese
-51---
culture, and more and more words of other languages have came
into Japanese. As a result, we are losing a lot of Japanese
words. For example, in the winter, people used the tool
called Yutanpo which is used to warm up ourselves. We put hot
water in a Yutanpo, and put it into futon or bed at night.
However, after electric heaters became common, fewer people
use them and now, few people know the name Yutanpo, especially
among young people. We could address that we the human are
facing the danger of losing all the languages except for
English.
The author does not think that it is preferable and
acceptable to lose our own language. Language is a part of
culture, therefore, if we lose the language, we also lose many
cultural words and culture itself. Each language has its own
beauty.
However, it seems impossible to stop this situation, and
nobody could stop it. If all the countries stop trading and
communicating and close the country, we might be able to stop
it. However, this is impossible. If we all stop trading with
other countries, enormous amount of problems will be caused.
Japan will suffer from the lack of natural resources,
especially oil. Then, we will force to stop using many
electronic machines. We have already got accustomed to a
luxurious life. So now can we live without using electronic
machines, traveling to other countries and trading with other
countries? Of course not. We can try, but many people cannot
bear it for long.
-52---
Throughout the long history of languages, each of them
has already lost some their grammar, vocabulary and sounds,
and many of them are getting close to English. In Figure 3,
we can see the picture that displays these changes in arrows.
Originally, all languages have their own shape. Some of
them are similar to English by nature and others are very
different from English. Nowadays, however, many languages are
importing many words and aspects of English, and as one of the
results, languages are dying little by little. Crystal
insisted, “According to the best estimates, there are some
6,000 languages in the world at the moment. And of these,
about half – some say more, some say less – are going to die
out in the course of the next century. The relevant deduction
is sobering: 3,000 languages, in 1200 months. That means, on
average, there is a language dying out somewhere in the world
every two weeks or so.”16 In the world where the great number
-53---
Chinese
French
English
German
Spanish
Japanese
?? years later
Figure 3: Change of languages
of languages has disappeared rapidly, how can we maintain each
language? We could suppose that all the languages except for
English will disappear on the earth, but the many varieties of
English will be born in the near or far future.
3. 5. Conclusion
Code-switching is one of the great aspects of language in
the modern global world. It makes the communication and
relationships of people better and also can be one way to
break language barriers. By using code-switching, we can
express what we really want to say and understand other people
better than just using one language. Code-switching has many
benefits in this internationalized world because it is
necessary for us to communicate with people all over the world
now.
However, it also forces us to face the danger of losing
our language in the future. If we lose the languages, it will
lead to the loss of cultures and identities, and the world
will be monotone.
When we travel to other countries, we go to study abroad
and we trade with other foreign countries, all because there
is something we cannot find in our daily lives and in our own
society. Searching for new things and worlds are always the
human desires and pleasures. If the world becomes monotone,
there will not be anything to search for anymore. Nobody can
decide which is better for our future: the world languages
-54---
might be one English or we may stop making contact with the
outside world such as trading and travel to maintain our own
language and cultures. What we all can do is while adapting
ourselves to the new phenomenon of the world, we can try not
to get used to it too much and not to lose the richness and
colors of different cultures and languages in the world.
-55---
Bibliography
Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of language. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1987.
Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language: Second Edition. Italy: Cambridge University Press. 2003.
Crystal, D. (1999). Language Death. A revised version of a radio talk for Lingua Franca (ABC Melbourne). Retrieved November 20, 2003 from http://www.e-mesh.com/members/teachers/pdf/tc_art_languagedeath.pdf
Fromkin, V., Hyams, N., & Rodman, R. An Introduction To Language: Seventh Edition. The United States: Thomson Heinle. 2003.
Klein, B. (2002, Sep 15). Categorization of Bilingualism/ Multilingualism. Retrieved November 15, 2003 from http://www.bklein.de/buc-categorize.html
Heller, M. Codeswitching: anthropological and sociolinguistic perspectives. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter Inc. 1999.
Hoffmann, C. An Introduction to Bilingualism. New York: Longman Inc. 1999.
Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. How Languages are Learned: Revised Edition. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. 1999.
Nishimura, M. Japanese/English Code-switching: Syntax and Pragmatics. New York: Peter Lang Pub Inc. 1997.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. Bilingualism or Not: The Education of Minorities (Crane, D., & Malmberg, L. Trans.). England: Robert Hartnoll Ltd. (Original work published in 1981.) 1981.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Child Language Acquisition Stages
20 weeks – cooing (ouu, fff) – not sounds of language
6 months – babbling /g/ /k/ → /p/ /b/ /d/ (ma, mu, da, di)
8 months – babbling – intonation, repetition
10 months – babbling, sound-play
12 months – ● repetition (mamama) ● large input affects speech ● 1st words – single consonant and vowel (da for
dog.) (more control and ability to associate meanings with objects)
18 months – 3 – 10 words
2 years - ● 2 word phrases > 50 words ● pronunciation errors
- deletion (spoon → poon) - assimilation (doggy – doddy) - prefer voiced initial consonants (pie → bie) ● word inflection ● “telegraphic” ●”MLU” ( mean length of utterance increases)
2 ½ years – 2 – 5 word utterances; questions, negatives
3 years – 1000 words, 80% intelligible
5 years – rare/ complex constructions 2600+ words
10 years – mature speech
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Appendix 2
This conversation was held between two Japanese women who study English at university. One of them was in the United States at that time to study English, and the other was in Japan. They were talking on online through MSN messenger. There are a lot of mistakes of grammar and spelling; however, we do not need to concern about the mistakes now because the important thing is how they switch codes between Japanese and English throughout the conversation. The author cut some parts of conversation because it was too long to put as an appendix.
April 24th
1. Haruka: Hi2. Ayaka: Hello 3. Haruka: is ur internet ok?4. Ayaka:ok 5. Haruka: i'm reading news, and at last, matsumoto chizuo1
will be applied to death penalty. it took soooooo long ne
6. Ayaka:yes, but that is good news.7. Haruka: yeap!8. Ayaka:当然の報いだね( = it is right retribution.)9. Haruka: YES. That’s right. i'm hungry~ i cannot
study~~1 Matsumoto Chizuo is the man who committed a horrible crime as the leader of big religious organization called Oumu Shinri Kyou in March 20th, 1995. He was crested later and has been in jail since that time.1 Crystal. D. (2002) p. 3602 Lightbown. P. M. & Spada N. (1999) pp. 3-4, 6-9 & 193 Fromkin. V., Hyanms. N. & Rodman. R. p. 3744 Crystal. D. (1987) P. 3625 Hoffmann. C. (1999) p. 156 Hoffmann. C. (1999) p. 157 Fromkin. V., Hyanms. N. & Rodman. R. (2003) p. 3748 Heller. M. (1999) p. 79 Crystal. D. (1987) p. 33610 Crystal. D. (2003) p. 34911 Crystal. D. (1987) p. 33812 Crystal. D. (2003) p.34913 Nishimura. (1999) p. 114 Fromkin. V., Hyams. N. & Rodman. R. (2003) P. 577 15 Heller. M. (1999) p. 1
16 David Crystal, (2003) p.1
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10. Ayaka: do study~11. Haruka: how?12. Ayaka: how??13. Haruka: haha... 14. Ayaka: by the way, many girls want to get married
after their graduation. I think so too.15. Haruka: how come? it's too early!!16. Ayaka: really? but many girls who are hunting job say
so17. Haruka: but, i called my friend and she's gonna marry
after graduation. why do they wanna get married? do u want?
18. Ayaka: I just need LOVE~ 19. Haruka: I want to get a good job.20. Ayaka: before got married?21. Haruka: yes, of course!! 22. Ayaka: it is important for me to have some experiences. 23. Haruka: oh, He talked to me now ne. 24. Haruka: u know what? i only can see him 2 more days.25. Ayaka: ? really??????
26. Haruka: but, he said, he's not coming tomorrow, so i only can see him one more day.. he's suck!!
27. Ayaka: yes! he's suck no, sad. why don't you visit his house tomorrow? too far
from school?28. Haruka: no, ‘cause i don’t have a car.29. Ayaka: oh30. Haruka: it’s ok. I don’t care. Haha. 31. Haruka: so, how are you doing with B?32. Haruka: そういや、彼は知ってるん? Ayakaが自衛隊受けること。(=
by the way, does he know that you will take entrance exam for Self-defense force.)
33. Ayaka: まだ。。。いってないんだ (= no, I have not told him yet.) というかね、あんま人に言いたくないから (= in other words, I do not want to tell many people.)
34. Haruka: why?35. Ayaka: なんか「え?! って言われるのわかってるから。いちいち説明す」
るの めんどくさい (= Because, I know that everyone will be surprised, and it is troublesome to explain them at each time.)
36. Haruka: ああ。。そうかな。。。?(= um…. Is it?)37. Ayaka: 多分、自衛隊のこと Midoriと Harukaしか知らないよ。(=
Maybe, only you and Midori know about it.)38. Haruka: oh, really?39. Ayaka: Yes40. Ayaka: 聞かれないし。(= Nobody ask me.)41. Haruka: really?
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42. Ayaka: 事後報告で言いやろ。(= I will tell everyone after I finish taking test.)
43. Haruka: まあ。。そうだね。(= yes.. that it fine.)44. Haruka: ところで。。。そろそろ Offlineに行きます。。。(= by
the way, I will go offline soon.) 明日は朝早いので。。 (= I have to get up early
tomorrow morning.)45. Ayaka: もうこんなじかん (= oh, it’s already very late
night.) Sorry46. Haruka: ごめんね。 (= sorry.)47. Ayaka: がんばって (= good luck.) 48. Haruka: thank you~49. Haruka: Ayakaも頑張ってね (= you, good luck, too.)50. Ayaka: no problem51. Ayaka: see ya52. Haruka: Take care and see you
Appendix 3:
This conversation was held on September 17 between two women whose name are Ayaka and Haruka. They talked online through MSN messenger. While they were talking, Haruka was watching a TV program which talked about North Korea and the kidnaps which were done by them.
1. Ayaka: are you there? can you finish writing thesis?2. Haruka: hi3. Haruka: thesis?? i'll try!4. Ayaka: yes.5. Haruka: how about u?6. Ayaka: haha! I sent him only 5 pages rewriting.7. Haruka: 'cause i'll have 2 会社説明会(= orientation for
companies)8. Ayaka: but he said "thank you.”9. Haruka: so, i want to finish asap10. Ayaka: next week? ah.11. Haruka: yes... ><12. Ayaka: what kind of job do you look for?13. Haruka: i'm watching tv... about north korea's rachi
jiken (= Kid nap affairs by North Korea.)14. Haruka: it's soooooooooo scary….15. Haruka: job..? i wanna get the job that i can use
english, but it's pretty diffucult...16. Haruka: travel company or english conversation school, i
think17. Ayaka: Can you use English at the company that you will
go to seminar next week?18. Haruka: don't know well,,,
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19. Ayaka: you are good student! I will do nothing for job hunting.
20. Haruka: i wanna go abroad soon after i graduate, but i think i should have work experience and earn money by myself
21. Ayaka: maybe, NEVER. 22. Haruka: it's ok, u'll have test for self-defense force23. Ayaka: yeah.24. Haruka: it's good ne25. Ayaka: yes. it is good for me 26. Haruka: give me a job~. haha27. Ayaka: i can't♡28. Haruka: getting crazy busy .... ><29. Ayaka: you can find a good job!!30. Haruka: did u know that many "rach kousakuin"(=
kidnapping opera tives.) were japanese...31. Ayaka: yes.32. Haruka: wow...... sooo scary ><33. Haruka: so, japanese people rach-ed(= kidnapped)
japanese people..34. Ayaka: do you know 大 韓 航 空 爆 破 事 件 (= North Korea
Airplane Blast Case.)35. Ayaka: oh, that's different! sorry.36. Haruka: yes, i just saw that accident on tv37. Ayaka: North Korea likely to attack japan38. Ayaka: Japan self-defense forces have to defense JAPAN!39. Haruka: yeah40. Haruka: japan is also a very dangerous place to live
ne ...41. Haruka: ha~42. Ayaka: ぜったい負けない!!!♫ (= I will never lose.)43. Haruka: gan ba te !!44. Ayaka: いや、まずは採用試験にうからな・・・ (= No, I have to pass the entrance test first.) 45. Haruka: yes46. Haruka: by the way, i’m writing rirekisyo(= Resume.) ne.
when i write my academic history on rirekisyo(= Resume.), when should i start to write?
47. Ayaka: from junior high graduated48. Haruka: oh, ok. thanks49. Ayaka: NONO!! high school!!! sorry.50. Haruka: high school graduated?51. Ayaka: enter and graduate52. Haruka: ok53. Haruka: do u need to write rirekisyo(= Resume.) for
self-defense force?54. Ayaka: it contained application55. Ayaka: 願書(= application)? 大学入試の願書みたいな感じ(=
It is like a application for universities.)
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56. Haruka: oh, i c57. Haruka: north korea is soooooooooo dangerous and scary
country,,,,58. Ayaka: yes59. Haruka: now, i can understand why my dad said not to go
to korea60. Ayaka: did you eat pokky decole? it's soooooooo
delicious!!!!61. Haruka: yes, but only maron's62. Ayaka: strawberry. so sweet❤❤63. Haruka: really? ok, i'll try. did u eat another one?
i mean maron..64. Ayaka: no!!65. Haruka: it was not so delicious ne. soso66. Ayaka: ah ha.67. Haruka: um.... i have no qualification to write down.68. Ayaka: 英検(= English certificate examination.) ワープロ
(= Word processor certification)??とってないん?(= did not you take them?)
69. Haruka: only for driving licence, toeic and toefl ><70. Haruka: ha~. i wanna be a ojyo-sama(= ma’ma) ne71. Ayaka: you are!!!! aren't you??72. Haruka: nooooooooooooooooooo73. Haruka: oh...i'm losing motivation again... >< how
dangerous!74. Ayaka: sorry i am じゃま ing(= bothering) you75. Ayaka: ↑code switching??76. Haruka: btw, may i ask u a favor?77. Ayaka: ?78. Haruka: i'm writing a draft about ryugaku(= studying
abroad) for seishin's ko-ho- (= our university’s official report.)
79. Haruka: can u check how should i rewrite?80. Ayaka: OK. wow! Great!81. Haruka: thanks~~82. Ayaka: おいらでええのかえ?? (= Is myself ok to check it?)83. Haruka: of course!84. Ayaka: ならばOK (= so, ok.)85. Haruka: "原稿.doc" の転送が完了しました。(= finish to send
document)86. Ayaka: こんな感じでちょっと添削してみました。あんまりしてへんけ
どね(= I castigate like this a little bit. I didn’t do it so much.)
87. Haruka: no, thanks a lot~88. Ayaka: みてのとおり、赤で直してます(= As you can see it, I
checked it with red.)89. Ayaka: today is Ina's birthday!!!!! I went to Ina's
web page90. Haruka: oh, i c. happy birthday!
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91. Ayaka: yeah.92. Ayaka: まじ、押しかけて(迷惑)祝いたいよ~~~ (= I really
want to visit him and celebrate his birthday.)93. Haruka: do it! did u send a birthday mail to him?94. Ayaka: I will send it at 9 A.M. because 時差 (= time
difference) is 9 hours.95. Ayaka: Ina is in London!!!!!96. Haruka: oh, ok. I c..97. Haruka: so r u gonna stay up all night long?98. Ayaka: no. I will sleep そのうち(= soon)。99. Haruka: ok100. Haruka: I will go sleep, so see you.101. Ayaka: ok, good night. See you.102. Haruka: bye bye.
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