Code-switching Functions in Facebook Wallposts
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Published:
Sep 19, 2019
Keywords:
Facebook, code-switching, multilingual, substitution, interjections
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Abstract
Social media is a digital medium that allows “written speech” and represents a new domain for studying multilingual language practices in face-to-face interactions. The study examined languages used in Facebook wallposts by multilingual users in Malaysia and the functions of code-switching in the communication. Using Gumperz’s (1982) model of conversational code-switching, 24 students’ Facebook wallposts were analysed. The results showed that students preferred to use the language they write best. English was used either as the base language or the code-switched language, indicating that English is inevitably an essential language in Facebook interactions. Code-switching was used mainly for personalization and interjections (37% each) as the wallposts were targeted at rapport building. Expressiveness was largely conveyed through fillers (e.g., ar, la). There was some code-switching for message qualification (21%) to soften or strengthen a comment rather than to enhance the clarity of messages. However, the features of the digital medium made some functions of code-switching irrelevant, particularly addressee specification, quotation, reiteration and referential functions. The finding on code-switching functions not having the same salience in social media and face-to-face communication indicate that written speech is similar to, but not the same as, oral interactions.
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References
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Cahyani, H., de Courcy, M., & Barnett, J. (2017). Teachers' code-switching in bilingual classrooms: Exploring pedagogical and sociocultural functions. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1–15. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2016.1189509
Caparas, P., & Gustilo, L. (2017). Communicative aspects of multilingual code switching in computer-mediated communication. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(2), 349–359.
Cárdenas-Claros, M., & Isharyanti, N. (2009). Code-switching and code-mixing in Internet chatting: Between'yes,''ya,'and'si'-a case study. The JALT CALL Journal, 5(3), 67-78.
Cheng, L., Huang, C., & Tang, C. (1997). Negative particle questions: A dialectal perspective. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 10, 65–112.
Choy, W. (2011). Functions and reasons for code-switching on facebook by UTAR English-Mandarin Chinese bilingual undergraduates (Doctoral dissertation, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia).
Crystal, D. (2006). Language and the Internet (2nd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cru, J. (2015). Language revitalisation from the ground up: Promoting Yucatec Maya on Facebook. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36(3), 284–296.
Dabrowski, M. (2013). Functions of code-switching in Polish and Hindi Facebook users’ posts. Studia Linguistica Universitatis lagellonicae Cracoviensis, 130, 63–84.
Danet, B., & Herring, S. (Eds.). (2007). The multilingual Internet: Language, culture, and communication online. Oxford: Oxford University Press on Demand.
Eastman, C. (1992). Codeswitching as an urban language‐contact phenomenon. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 13(1-2), 1–17.
Feez, S. (1998). Text-based syllabus design. Macquarie, Australia: Macquarie University Press.
Fung, L., & Carter, R. (2007). New varieties, new creativities: ICQ and English-Cantonese discourse. Language and Literature, 16(4), 345–366. doi:10.1177/0963947007079112
Greggio, S., & Gil. G. (2007). Teacher’s and learners’ use of code switching in the English as a foreign language classroom: A qualitative study. Linguagem & Ensino, 10(2). 371–393.
Gumperz, J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gumperz, J. (2008). Interactional sociolinguistics: A personal perspective. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen & H. Hamilton (Eds.), The handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 215–228). Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.
Halim, N., & Maros, M. (2014). The functions of code-switching in Facebook interactions. Paper presented at International Conference on Knowledge-Innovation-Excellence: Synergy in Language Research and Practice, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 118, 126–133.
Hoffmann, C. (1991). An introduction to bilingualism. New York: Longman.
Honeycutt, C., & Cunliffe, D. (2010). The use of the Welsh language on Facebook: An initial investigation. Information, Communication & Society, 13(2), 226–248.
Hu, Y., Talamadupula, K., & Kambhampati, S. (2013). Dude, srsly?: The surprisingly formal nature of Twitter’s language. In Proceedings of the 7th International AAAI Conference on weblogs and social media, pp. (244-253). Cambridge, MA, United States. Retrieved from https://asu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/dude-srsly-the-surprisingly-formal-nature-of-twitters-language
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Kuang, C. (2002). The implications of lah, ah, and hah as used by some speakers in Malaysia. Journal of Modern Languages, 14(1), 133–153.
Lau, Y., & Ting, S. (2014). Chinese vendors’ code switching in service encounters in Sarawak, Malaysia. Sociolinguistic Studies, 7(2), 199–223.
Lee, C. (2017). Multilingualism Online. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge.
Li, D. (2000). Cantonese-English code-switching research in Hong Kong: A Y2K review. World Englishes, 19(3), 305–322.
Lin, H., & Qiu, L. (2013). Two sites, two voices: Linguistic differences between Facebook status updates and tweets. In P. L. P. Rau (Ed.), Cross-cultural design: Cultural differences in everyday life (pp. 432–440). Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Luna, D., & Peracchio, L. (2005). Advertising to bilingual consumers: The impact of code-switching on persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4), 760–765.
Martin, P. (1999). Close encounters of a bilingual kind: Interactional practices in the primary classroom in Brunei. International Journal of Educational Development, 19(5), 127–140.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1997). Duelling languages: Grammatical structure in codeswitching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Onyango, O. (2009). An exploration of extra linguistic factors of English–Kiswahili code switching in FM industry in Kenya. Journal of Language, Technology & Entrepreneurship in Africa, 1(2), 151–159.
Pan, Y. (2000). Code-switching and social change in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 146(1), 21–42.
Pérez-Sabater, C. (2012). The linguistics of social networking: A study of writing conventions on facebook. Linguistik online, 56(6), 81–93.
Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en español: Toward a typology of code-switching. Linguistics, 18(7-8), 581–618.
Reini, J. (2008). Functions of teachers’ language choice and code-switching in EFL classroom discourse (Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland). Retrieved from https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/40678/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201301111029. pdf?sequence=1
Rensch, C., Rensch, C., Noeb, J., & Ridu, R. (2006). The Bidayuh language: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Kuching, Malaysia: Dayak Bidayuh National Association.
Riney, T. (1998). Toward more homogeneous bilingualisms: Shift phenomena in Singapore. Multilingua, 17(1), 1–23.
Saville-Troike, M. (1986). The ethnography of communication: An introduction. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Setati, M. (1998). Code-switching in a senior primary class of second-language mathematics learners. Learning of Mathematics, 18(1), 34–40.
Shafie, L., & Nayan, S. (2013). Languages, code-swithing practice and primary functions of Facebook among university students. Study in English Language Teaching, 1(1), 187-199.
Shangeetha, R., & Pillai, S. (2015). Socio-linguistic heterogeneity in the writings of selected Malaysian Indian authors who write in English. Perspectives in the Arts & Humanities Asia, 5(2).
Sohail, R., & Malik, N. (2014). Co-relational study of the extent of intrinsic/extrinsic motivation to code switching on Facebook. European Scientific Journal, 10(29), 231-265.
Soong, G., & Ting, S. (2014). Conventions of Malaysian grocery store service encounters. HERMES Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 27(53), 125–142.
Tay, L., Chan, M., Yap, N., & Wong, B. (2016). Discourse particles in Malaysian English. Bijdragen tot de taal-, land-en volkenkunde [Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia], 172(4), 479-509.
Then, D., & Ting, S. (2011). Code-switching in English and science classrooms: More than translation. International Journal of Multilingualism, 8(3). 1–25. doi: 10.1080/14790718.2011. 577777
Then, D., & Ting, S. (2010). Demystifying the notion of teacher code-switching for student comprehension. Journal of English as an International Language, 5, 182–197.
Ting, S., Then, D., & Ong, B. (2018). Revealing meaning of discourse particles in Malaysian retail encounters using Natural Semantic Metalanguage framework. Grazer Linguistische Studien, 90, 107-134.
Auer, P. (1999). From codeswitching via language mixing to fused lects: Toward a dynamic typology of bilingual speech. International Journal of Bilingualism, 3(4), 309–332.
Blom, J., &, Gumperz, J. (1972). Social meaning in linguistic structures: Code switching in Norway. In J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in sociolinguistics: The ethnography of communication (pp. 407–434). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Butzkamm, W. (1998). Code-switching in a bilingual history lesson: The mother tongue as a conversational lubricant. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1(2), 81–99.
Cahyani, H., de Courcy, M., & Barnett, J. (2017). Teachers' code-switching in bilingual classrooms: Exploring pedagogical and sociocultural functions. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1–15. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2016.1189509
Caparas, P., & Gustilo, L. (2017). Communicative aspects of multilingual code switching in computer-mediated communication. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(2), 349–359.
Cárdenas-Claros, M., & Isharyanti, N. (2009). Code-switching and code-mixing in Internet chatting: Between'yes,''ya,'and'si'-a case study. The JALT CALL Journal, 5(3), 67-78.
Cheng, L., Huang, C., & Tang, C. (1997). Negative particle questions: A dialectal perspective. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 10, 65–112.
Choy, W. (2011). Functions and reasons for code-switching on facebook by UTAR English-Mandarin Chinese bilingual undergraduates (Doctoral dissertation, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia).
Crystal, D. (2006). Language and the Internet (2nd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cru, J. (2015). Language revitalisation from the ground up: Promoting Yucatec Maya on Facebook. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36(3), 284–296.
Dabrowski, M. (2013). Functions of code-switching in Polish and Hindi Facebook users’ posts. Studia Linguistica Universitatis lagellonicae Cracoviensis, 130, 63–84.
Danet, B., & Herring, S. (Eds.). (2007). The multilingual Internet: Language, culture, and communication online. Oxford: Oxford University Press on Demand.
Eastman, C. (1992). Codeswitching as an urban language‐contact phenomenon. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 13(1-2), 1–17.
Feez, S. (1998). Text-based syllabus design. Macquarie, Australia: Macquarie University Press.
Fung, L., & Carter, R. (2007). New varieties, new creativities: ICQ and English-Cantonese discourse. Language and Literature, 16(4), 345–366. doi:10.1177/0963947007079112
Greggio, S., & Gil. G. (2007). Teacher’s and learners’ use of code switching in the English as a foreign language classroom: A qualitative study. Linguagem & Ensino, 10(2). 371–393.
Gumperz, J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gumperz, J. (2008). Interactional sociolinguistics: A personal perspective. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen & H. Hamilton (Eds.), The handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 215–228). Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.
Halim, N., & Maros, M. (2014). The functions of code-switching in Facebook interactions. Paper presented at International Conference on Knowledge-Innovation-Excellence: Synergy in Language Research and Practice, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 118, 126–133.
Hoffmann, C. (1991). An introduction to bilingualism. New York: Longman.
Honeycutt, C., & Cunliffe, D. (2010). The use of the Welsh language on Facebook: An initial investigation. Information, Communication & Society, 13(2), 226–248.
Hu, Y., Talamadupula, K., & Kambhampati, S. (2013). Dude, srsly?: The surprisingly formal nature of Twitter’s language. In Proceedings of the 7th International AAAI Conference on weblogs and social media, pp. (244-253). Cambridge, MA, United States. Retrieved from https://asu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/dude-srsly-the-surprisingly-formal-nature-of-twitters-language
Huang, X. (2007). Initialness of sentence-final particles in Mandarin Chinese. Retrieved December 6, 2014, from http://www.aclweb.org/anthology/Y07-1018
Kuang, C. (2002). The implications of lah, ah, and hah as used by some speakers in Malaysia. Journal of Modern Languages, 14(1), 133–153.
Lau, Y., & Ting, S. (2014). Chinese vendors’ code switching in service encounters in Sarawak, Malaysia. Sociolinguistic Studies, 7(2), 199–223.
Lee, C. (2017). Multilingualism Online. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge.
Li, D. (2000). Cantonese-English code-switching research in Hong Kong: A Y2K review. World Englishes, 19(3), 305–322.
Lin, H., & Qiu, L. (2013). Two sites, two voices: Linguistic differences between Facebook status updates and tweets. In P. L. P. Rau (Ed.), Cross-cultural design: Cultural differences in everyday life (pp. 432–440). Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Luna, D., & Peracchio, L. (2005). Advertising to bilingual consumers: The impact of code-switching on persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4), 760–765.
Martin, P. (1999). Close encounters of a bilingual kind: Interactional practices in the primary classroom in Brunei. International Journal of Educational Development, 19(5), 127–140.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1997). Duelling languages: Grammatical structure in codeswitching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Onyango, O. (2009). An exploration of extra linguistic factors of English–Kiswahili code switching in FM industry in Kenya. Journal of Language, Technology & Entrepreneurship in Africa, 1(2), 151–159.
Pan, Y. (2000). Code-switching and social change in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 146(1), 21–42.
Pérez-Sabater, C. (2012). The linguistics of social networking: A study of writing conventions on facebook. Linguistik online, 56(6), 81–93.
Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en español: Toward a typology of code-switching. Linguistics, 18(7-8), 581–618.
Reini, J. (2008). Functions of teachers’ language choice and code-switching in EFL classroom discourse (Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland). Retrieved from https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/40678/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201301111029. pdf?sequence=1
Rensch, C., Rensch, C., Noeb, J., & Ridu, R. (2006). The Bidayuh language: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Kuching, Malaysia: Dayak Bidayuh National Association.
Riney, T. (1998). Toward more homogeneous bilingualisms: Shift phenomena in Singapore. Multilingua, 17(1), 1–23.
Saville-Troike, M. (1986). The ethnography of communication: An introduction. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Setati, M. (1998). Code-switching in a senior primary class of second-language mathematics learners. Learning of Mathematics, 18(1), 34–40.
Shafie, L., & Nayan, S. (2013). Languages, code-swithing practice and primary functions of Facebook among university students. Study in English Language Teaching, 1(1), 187-199.
Shangeetha, R., & Pillai, S. (2015). Socio-linguistic heterogeneity in the writings of selected Malaysian Indian authors who write in English. Perspectives in the Arts & Humanities Asia, 5(2).
Sohail, R., & Malik, N. (2014). Co-relational study of the extent of intrinsic/extrinsic motivation to code switching on Facebook. European Scientific Journal, 10(29), 231-265.
Soong, G., & Ting, S. (2014). Conventions of Malaysian grocery store service encounters. HERMES Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 27(53), 125–142.
Tay, L., Chan, M., Yap, N., & Wong, B. (2016). Discourse particles in Malaysian English. Bijdragen tot de taal-, land-en volkenkunde [Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia], 172(4), 479-509.
Then, D., & Ting, S. (2011). Code-switching in English and science classrooms: More than translation. International Journal of Multilingualism, 8(3). 1–25. doi: 10.1080/14790718.2011. 577777
Then, D., & Ting, S. (2010). Demystifying the notion of teacher code-switching for student comprehension. Journal of English as an International Language, 5, 182–197.
Ting, S., Then, D., & Ong, B. (2018). Revealing meaning of discourse particles in Malaysian retail encounters using Natural Semantic Metalanguage framework. Grazer Linguistische Studien, 90, 107-134.