This thesis is about the use of two languages in everyday life. Bilingualism is a facet of nearly every country in the world and code-switching is a widespread characteristic of bilingual speech. Today, bilingualism and code-switching research constitute a great area in linguistics. An obvious and at the same time interesting aspect is that bilinguals will, of course, stay within one language when talking to monolinguals. However, when talking to other bilinguals, they will probably use both languages. Thus, in bilingual conversations, they often switch from one language to another and frequently even within an utterance. The following example shows how a code-switched sentence looks like.
(1) Es ist schon interessant как мы так говорим. Я даже не замечаю, dass wir so reden.
It’s really interesting how we’re talking like that. I don’t even notice that we’re talking like that.
Such kinds of switches call for a special competence of the two languages involved. But how well the bilinguals have to know each of the languages is a justifiable question. These switches are not arbitrary since they may depend on the situation of the conversation, the topic of the conversation, the emotional aspects involved, the language preference of the speaker and the need to express the own identity. Bilingualism and especially code-switching were long considered as “a sign of linguistic decay” (Appel & Muysken 1987: 117). It was claimed that bilinguals are not able to acquire two languages properly and language mixing was often considered ungrammatical. However, both negative and positive views on the consequences of bilingualism have been studied and many studies showed positive evidence on bilingualism and code-switching. In recent years, many researchers agreed that code-switching even results from complex bilingual skills and is a natural communicative strategy.[...]
Table of Contents
I Introduction
II Bilingualism and Code-switching
1 Introduction to Bilingualism
1.1 Definition
1.2 Who is Bilingual?
1.3 Research Perspectives
2 Code-switching
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Definition
2.3 Problems in Defining Code-switching
2.3.1 Interference
2.3.2 Borrowing
2.4 Short Research Overview
2.5 Types of Code-switching
2.6 Sociolinguistic and Pragmatic Aspects of Code-switching
2.6.1 Language Choice, Reasons and Functions
2.6.2 Attitudes and Feelings
III Theories of Code-switching
3 Introduction
4 Poplack’s Two-Constraint Model
4.1 The Free Morpheme Constraint
4.2 The Equivalence Constraint
4.3 Discussion and Hypotheses
5 Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Frame Model
5.1 Defining the Matrix Language and Background
5.2 The Hypotheses of the Matrix Language Frame Model
5.3 Discussion and Hypotheses
IV Case Study on Russian-German Code-switching
6 Introduction
7 Historical Background
8 Research Method
8.1 Data Collection
8.2 Participants
9 Relevant Characteristics of Participating Languages
9.1 Russian
9.2 German
10 Analysis of Bilingual Speech Data
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Intra-sentential Code-switching
10.3 Tag-switching
10.4 Inter-sentential Code-switching
10.5 Summary
11 Analysis of Language Situation, Use and Attitudes
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Questionnaire Results
11.3 Summary
V Conclusion
Research Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this thesis is to provide a detailed analysis of code-switching in bilingual communication and to contribute to the existing research on this phenomenon through a case study of Russian-German bilinguals. The study examines both the grammatical constraints that govern code-switching and the sociolinguistic factors that influence language choice, attitudes, and feelings among bilingual speakers.
- Grammatical analysis of intra-sentential and inter-sentential code-switching patterns.
- Testing of established theoretical models (Poplack’s Two-Constraint Model and Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Frame Model) on empirical data.
- Sociolinguistic investigation into the influence of generation, age, and identity on bilingual behavior.
- Evaluation of bilingual attitudes and language maintenance strategies within a Russian-German immigrant community.
- The intersection of linguistic competence and natural communicative strategies in bilingual environments.
Extract from the Book
10.2 Intra-sentential Code-switching
This subchapter provides examples which show clear cases of intra-sentential code-switching. The most obvious cases which I encountered in the recorded data were even switches within words. I will start with examples showing intra-word switching. The switches occurred between free and bound morphemes.
(9) Она всегда меня aufreg-ала, когда ещё у нас работала.
I always troubled over her when she worked with us.
(10) …а теперь её везде einsetz-ают и везде её eingelernt...
…and now they deploy her everywhere and she is taught everywhere…
(11) Я ему сказал, что б он маме не звонил… что мама Handy abschalt-ает.
I said to him that he should not call mum… that mum will switch off her mobile.
(12) Ach so, надо этот номер за-speicher-овать, а то баба не знает… она говорит этот номер уже стоял когда-то und sie hat nicht abgenommen.
I see we have to save this number because grandma doesn’t know... she says that this number was once shown and she didn’t answer.
(13) Он велосипед от-reparier-овал.
He repaired the bike.
(14) Мы сейчас по-frühstück-аем и потом приедем.
We will have breakfast now and then we will come.
(15) …надо-же Laun-у хорошую себе сделать…
…have to get in good spirits…
(16) Нам Gutschein-ы подарили.
We were given vouchers.
(17) Он живёт на Dachgeschoss-e.
He lives on the attic floor.
(18) До Parkplatz-а мы можем и rechts проехать.
To the parking we can surely drive on the right.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction to Bilingualism: This chapter introduces the concept of bilingualism, highlighting the distinction between individual and societal phenomena and providing foundational definitions.
2 Code-switching: This chapter defines code-switching, discusses terminology problems such as interference and borrowing, and provides a research overview including grammatical, psycholinguistic, and sociolinguistic perspectives.
3 Introduction: This chapter serves as a bridge, focusing on the importance of grammatical aspects in code-switching research and identifying common challenges in analyzing spontaneous bilingual speech.
4 Poplack’s Two-Constraint Model: This chapter details Shana Poplack’s structural constraints (Free Morpheme and Equivalence Constraints) and explores their applicability as universal rules for code-switching.
5 Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Frame Model: This chapter explains the Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model, focusing on the asymmetrical relationship between languages and the concepts of Matrix Language (ML) and Embedded Language (EL).
6 Introduction: This chapter outlines the structure and goals of the case study, focusing on the research design applied to Russian-German bilingual data.
7 Historical Background: This chapter provides the immigration context of the participants, explaining the significance of the 1991 migration from Kazakhstan to Germany for the bilingual community.
8 Research Method: This chapter describes the methodology, including the qualitative analysis of speech data and the quantitative approach using questionnaires to assess language competence and attitudes.
9 Relevant Characteristics of Participating Languages: This chapter details the grammatical structures of Russian and German, serving as a background for the subsequent analysis of their interaction in code-switched utterances.
10 Analysis of Bilingual Speech Data: This chapter presents the empirical analysis of recorded speech, testing theoretical models against real-world data and identifying functions of code-switching.
11 Analysis of Language Situation, Use and Attitudes: This chapter evaluates the questionnaire results, providing sociolinguistic insights into language use, generation gaps, and attitudes toward code-switching.
Keywords
Bilingualism, Code-switching, Russian-German, Grammatical constraints, Matrix Language Frame, Poplack, Myers-Scotton, Language shift, Sociolinguistics, Intra-sentential switching, Tag-switching, Inter-sentential switching, Language acquisition, Immigrant communities, Linguistic competence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The thesis focuses on the phenomenon of code-switching in bilingual communication, specifically analyzing how Russian-German bilinguals combine their two languages in everyday life.
What are the primary theoretical frameworks discussed?
The study centers on Shana Poplack’s Two-Constraint Model and Carol Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model to explain the structural rules governing code-switching.
What is the main objective of the empirical research?
The goal is to apply existing grammatical theories to a newly collected dataset of Russian-German speech and to explore the sociolinguistic aspects of bilingualism via questionnaires.
How is the data analyzed?
The author uses a qualitative approach for recorded speech data to identify grammatical patterns and functions, and a quantitative method to evaluate questionnaire responses regarding language use and attitudes.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body examines the history of bilingualism research, details the syntactic constraints of code-switching, presents a case study on an immigrant family's language behavior, and discusses the generational differences in language maintenance.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include Bilingualism, Code-switching, Russian-German interaction, grammatical constraints, the Matrix Language Frame model, and sociolinguistic language shift.
What role does generation play in the study?
Generation is a significant factor in the findings; the study distinguishes between the first generation (1G), who often retain Russian as an L1, and the younger, second generation (2G), for whom German is typically the dominant language.
Does the author conclude that code-switching is a linguistic error?
No, the author concludes that code-switching is a systematic, rule-governed, and natural communicative strategy used by competent bilinguals to express identity and manage conversational functions.
- Quote paper
- Anastasia Deibert (Author), 2010, Code-switching in bilingual communication, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/266431
