Bilingualism Definition of Code Switching and Code Mixing

C. Bilingualism

Bilingualism according to Linguistics Dictionary means the use of at least two language either by an individual or group of speakers, such as the inhabitants of a particular region or a nation. Acording Bloomfield, as qouted by Abdul Chaer, bilingualism is someone who has a good compentency for both language and well to do it together. Uriel Weinrich says bilingualism is laguage uses in a turns manner by the speakers. Whereas, Einar Haugan says bilingualism is someone who has competency to use another language completely that is not their mother tongue. 10 Spolsky defines a bilingual as a person who has some functional ability in the second languaage. This may vary from a limited ability in one or more domains, to very strong command of both languages sometimes called balanced bilinguallism. 11 Related to speech community, Hamers and Blanc define bilingualism as the state of a linguistic community in which two languages are in contact with the result that two codes can be used in the same interaction and that a number of individuals are bilingual. 12 Because that bilingual people usually use their own idioms for in-group communication and the common language for their interaction and communication with outsiders. In this case, Spolsky says the bilinguals have a repertoire of domain-related rules of language choice meaning 10 Abdul Chaer 1994. op.cit. pp. 65-66. 11 Spolsky 1998. op cit. p. 45 12 F.J Hamers H.A.M Blanc, Bilinguality and Bilingualism Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. p.6. that bilinguals are able to choose which language he is going to use. 13 In other words, since the members of a bilingual community vary in the capacity of mastering the languages used in the community, they have to be able to set a condition where they can communicate effectively. This condition leads them to do code switching and code mixing.

D. Definition of Code Switching and Code Mixing

Code-switching and code-mixing are well-known traited in the speech pattern of the average bilingual in any human society the world over. It is also one of sociolinguistics problems that occurs in bilingual community. Code mixing and code switching terms in sociolinguistics for language and especially speech that draws to differing extents on at least two languages combined in different ways. A Code may be a language or a variety or style of a language. The term code mixing emphasizes hybridization, and the term code switching emphasizes movement from one language to another. Mixing and switching probably occur to some extent in the speech of all bilinguals, so that there is a sense in which a person capable of using two languages. 14 Thera are a lot of definition of code switching. Chaer and Leonie Agustina quoted Appel’s perception about code switching definition. Apple 1976 mendefinisikan alih kode sebagai gejala peralihan pemakaian bahasa karena berubahnya situasi. 15 13 Spolsky 1998. op. cit. p. 46. 14 http:www.encyclopedia.comdoc1O29-CODEMIXINGANDCODESWITCHNG.html . 8032010 15 Abdul Chaer and Leonie Agustina 2004. op. cit. p. 107. Apple defined code switching as the phenomonon of language use changing because of the change of the situation. Rajen Mesthrie, Joan Swann, Andrea Deumert, and William L. Leap say in other definition about code switching in their book entitled Introducing Sociolinguistics. Code-switching may be associated with a series of unmarked choices when aspects of the context such as a change in topic or in the person addressed make a different language variety more appropriate. 16 Code switching is a linguistics term denoting the concurrent use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation. Multilinguals, people who speak more than one language, sometimes use elements of multiple languages in conversing with each other. Thus, code-switching is the syntactically and phonologically appropriate use of more than one linguistic variety. 17 The motivation for switching is basically stylistic and that code switching is to be treated as a discourse phenomenon which cannot be satisfactorily handled in terms of the internal structure of sentence. 18 Hymes 1974 defines only code-switching as “a common term for alternative use of two or more languages, varieties of a language or even speech styles” while Bokamba 1989 defines both concepts thus: Code-switching is the mixing of words, phrases and sentences from two distinct grammatical sub systems across sentence boundaries within the same speech event… code-mixing is the embedding of various linguistic units such as affixes bound morphemes, words unbound morphemes, phrases and clauses from a co-operative activity where the participants, in 16 Rajen Mesthrie, et al., Introducing Sociolinguistics Great Britanian: Edinburg University Press, 2002. p. 167. 17 http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiCode-switching . 08032010. 18 Suzanne Rommaine, Bilingualism, 2nd Edition Massachusetts: Blackwell publisher Inc. 1995. p. 121. order to infer what is intended, must reconcile what they hear with what they understand. 19 According to Abdul Chaer in his book entitled Linguisik Umum. Code switching is going happen because of the differences of language between an individual or community of speech where is happening around. Alih kode yaitu beralihnya penggunaan suatu kode entah bahasa ataupun ragam bahasa tertentu ke dalam kode yang lain bahasa atau ragam bahasa lain karena alasan tertentu. 20 Code switching is the change of code using even language or variety of language to the other code language or variety of language because of specific reason. Here is an example of code switching from conversation of MTV’s VJ VJ Agnes : Talking about this band I don’t have any comment beside one word. Outstanding pokoknya four thumbs up ....... The underline sentences is phenomenon is called code switching. The VJ used English at the first and then in second she changes to Indonesian language. Code switching differ from code mixing. Code switching the point at which the language change corresponds to a point where the situation changes, either on its own or precisely because the language changes. There are other cases, however, where a fluent bilingual talking to another fluent bilingual changes laanguage without any change at all in the situation. This kind of alternation is called code mixing. 21 Code mixing occurs when conversations use both languages together to the extent that they change from one language to the other in the course of a single 19 Nordic Journal of African Studie, Code-Switching and Code-Mixing: Style of Language Use in Childhood in Yoruba Speech Community, AYEOMONI, M.O., Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, http:www.njas.helsinki.fipdf-filesvol15num1ayeomoni.pdf. p. 91 . 08031010. 20 Abdul Chaer 1994. op.cit. p. 67. 21 Richard A Hudson 1996. op. cit. p. 53. utterance. 22 It means that the conversantions just change some of the elements in their utterance. Code mixing takes place without a change of topic and can involve various levels of language, e.g., morphology and lexical items even grammar. The purpose of code mixing seems to be to symbolise ambiguous situation for which neither language on its own would be quite right. To get right effect the speakers balance the two languages againts each other as a kind of linguistic cocktail such a few words of one laguage, then a few words of the other, then back to the first for a few more word and so on. The changes generally take place more or less randomly as far as ssubject-matter is concerned, but they seem to be limited by the structure of sentence. Janet Holmes says code mixing suggests the speaker is mixing up code indiscriminately or perhaps because of incompetence, whereas the switches are very well-motivated in relation to the symbolic or social meaning of the two codes. 23 This kind of rapid switching is itself a specific sociolinguistics variety. Abdul Chaer and Leonie provide the following exmples of conversational code mixing between Hindi and English which is quoted from Velma 1976:158. Vinod : mai to kuhungaa ki yah one of the best novels of the year is? i just wanna say what this novel one of the best novels of the year is Mira : That’s right. It is decidedly one of the best novel of the year. Benar. Diputuskan novel ini memang novel terbaik tahun ini. 24 22 Ronald Wardhaugh 2002. op. cit. p.103. 23 Janet Holmes 2001. op. cit. p. 50. 24 Abdul Chaer and Leonie Agustina 2004. op. cit. p. 116.

E. Types of Code Switching and Code Mixing