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Code‐switching as a verbal strategy among Chinese in a campus setting in Taiwan
Author(s) -
CHEN SUCHIAO
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
world englishes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.6
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-971X
pISSN - 0883-2919
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-971x.1996.tb00114.x
Subject(s) - code switching , solidarity , linguistics , variety (cybernetics) , directive , code (set theory) , sociolinguistics , computer science , style (visual arts) , psychology , artificial intelligence , political science , history , programming language , philosophy , set (abstract data type) , archaeology , politics , law
This study explores the verbal strategies performed by code‐switching in the speech community of National Hualien Teachers College of Taiwan. Code‐switching in this study is defined as embedding English words, sentences, or constituents in a Chinese‐based interaction. The verbal strategies are described in terms of the use of code‐switching to fulfill five kinds of language functions: expressive, directive, poetic, metalinguistic, and referential. Data for the study were collected ethnographically. Results show that code‐switching has a very dynamic relationship to the communicative intents of speakers. Two categories of intents are identified: code‐switching as a ‘we‐code’ to express group solidarity and as a ‘they‐code’ to establish social distance. This reveals that code‐switching is used as a language variety which expresses a linguistic style that is concerned with communicative appropriateness, as well as a social‐identity marker.