The Nature of Code-Switching

There are a number of definitions of code-switching according to some linguists. They have various definitions of it and employ different ways to explain it. In order to obtain in-depth comprehension of code-switching, this study presents a number of definitions from a number of linguists. Valdes-Fallis 1977 as cited by Duran in Toward a Better Understanding of Code-Switching and Interlanguage in Bilinguality: Implications for Bilingual Instruction explains that code-switching may happen if two languages used simultaneously or interchangeable. In addition, Peter Stockwell 2002: 135 states that “Code-switching is often the specific mechanism through which the borrowing of words and constructions happens.” From these two arguments, it can be understood that code-switching involves two languages used simultaneously by a speaker. As a result, there is a kind of alteration in the language utterances involving language elements of those two languages by the process of borrowing and constructing or combining. A speaker may borrow certain language elements from another language and combine them with the language elements of her or his native language. The language elements here can be a word, phrase, clause or even complete sentence. But of course code-switching pursues a number of requirements such as the speaker’s language competence of the two languages in order to construct together the language elements of both languages appropriately. The construction needs match combination of the grammatical rules of the languages involved in the code-switching. It is explained by Chana 1984 as cited by Duran in Toward a Better Understanding of Code- Switching and Interlanguage in Bilinguality: Implications for Bilingual Instruction that code-switching is the juxtaposition within the passage of 8 someone’s speech which involves items of two different languages. The items are tied together according to the rules of both languages so the speaker is obliged to put much respect on both language rules. Since code-switching belongs to sociolinguistics, social context is also important to be put in the discussion. The setting that enables code-switching to happen may be described. Wardhaugh 1992: 103-104 elaborates where code- switching may happen. First, code-switching may happen in a multilingual country. It is a country which employs more than one language as media of communication among the citizens. Singapore, for instance, has five languages which are English, the Mandarin variety of Chinese, Tamil, Malay, and Hokkien, another variety of Chinese. The educational activity in formal school is held in formal Singapore English and Mandarin. Meanwhile, people tend to bargain something with either Hokkien or informal Singapore English in a traditional market. Second, code-switching may also occur where there are multilingual people meet each other in a foreign setting. For example, Indonesian students who live in the United State have a tendency to use not only English language all the time but they may also speak in their native language or dialect in certain occasions. When they discuss academic work they may use English language, but when they want to share daily activities in their spare time, they may choose Indonesian language.

2. The Types of Code-Switching

Every linguist has her or his own theory or point of view to classify the types of code-switching. Code-switching is a broad and complex language 9 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI phenomenon since it involves two distinctive languages in a single context of occurrence. There are so many factors that affect code-switching to happen. The different classification of the types of code-switching is considered normal and acceptable. According to The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, there are seven types of code-switching. The classification among those seven types is mainly according to the length of the juxtaposed elements which are borrowed from foreign language. The first one is called diglossia. There are two distinctive varieties of code that exist in diglossic communities. They are high H and low L variety. The first one is the prestige variety which is used in formal discourse, and the other, which is lack of prestige, is used in less formal discourse. People may use L variety when they speak to their family at home but choose H variety, the more formal variety, when they do job presentation in the office. The switching in diglossia occurs in discourse level and involves the switching from H to L variety or just on the contrary. Discourse is a unit of language elements which is longer than a sentence. The second type is situational code-switching. The language change depends on the occasion faced by a speaker since certain occasion may encourage the speaker to exchange the language which is used. The change happens for the whole part of one’s speech in one context. For example, an English teacher may talk in English for the whole part of the explanatory speech of a past perfect tense to the second-grade students of Junior High School. Unfortunately, the students have not understood the teacher’s explanation of when to use this tense. It is 10 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI