Background of the Study

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The phenomena of code switching and code mixing become part of daily conversation nowadays. It is due to people that often select codes and switch back and forth from one code to another code. Code switching and code mixing seems to serve important communicative and cognitive functions. As the result, code switching and code mixing become a topic that often explores in some researches. Code switching also brings contribution from a wide variety of sociolinguistics setting in which the phenomenon is observed. A number of code switching and code mixing researches suggest that code switching is used as an additional resource to achieve particular interactional goals with other speakers. Additionally, the use of code switching and code mixing often reflect the social or cultural identities of the speakers. The switch to a particular language in bilingual discourse can also used to signal ethnic identity. The indexical link between language choice and ethnicity is especially prevalent among language-minority children in the U.S. Minority children sometimes identify themselves by their ethnic background in the community, even when they adopt the lifestyle and values of the target language group. Such co-membership in a minority community is frequently reflected in code switching and the speakers in the same community tend to have common orientations toward the norms and presupposition of each language. Similarly, at Korean ethnic churches where code switching and code mixing from English to Korean is widespread, the use of Korean in bilingual discourse can serve several conversational functions, including marking Korean ethnicity by reinforcing the indexical link between a language and the speaker’s ethnic identity. 1 Hoffmann explains that code switching can occur quite frequently in an informal conversation among people who are familiar and have shared educational, ethnic, and socio-economic background. It is avoided in a formal speech situation among people, especially to those who have little in common factors in term of social status, language loyalty, and formality. 2 Switching language may serve in order to soften or strengthen request or command, and saying something twice in different languages to intensify or to eliminate ambiguity. 3 The members of 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. They may choose a particular code or variety since it makes them easier to discuss a particular topic, regardless where they are speaking. Most of them usually occupy more than one code and require a selected code whenever they choose to speak with others. It is needed more than one language to do code switching or code mixing as well. 1 Sun- Young Shin, “The Functions of Code Switching in Korean Sunday School”, Heritage Language Journal, vol.1 no:7 2010, p. 91-116. Accessed on May 24 th , 2014 http:www.uva.nlbinariescontentdocumentspersonalpagesbaa.e.bakerentab-twotab- twocpitem5B205Dasset?1355373292648 2 Charlotte Hoffmann, An Introduction to Bilingualism, Newyork: Longman, 1991 p.116 3 Muriel Saville-Troike, The Ethnography of Communication, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1982. p.69-70 Therefore, in this research, the writer chooses English-Korea as the case of code switching and code mixing. English is widely considered as the international language. Spoken by innumerable people and being studied every day, English has become the primary communication tool for many purposes. Nevertheless, as globalization has increased, so has the spread of English. Yet, although English is the language of education, politics and business, other language communities exist and even flourish in western society. Ethnic and speech communities find ways in which to express their culture despite the English medium. English has had a variety of functions in Korean society over the last century, and its development since the Korean War has been mainly the result of international trade, particularly with the United States US. From the beginning, the Koreans were wary of the English language. After the Korean War, English was used to communicate with the US military government and the soldiers, as the military government had need of people that could communicate in both languages. Thus the value of English was highly practical, but also opportunistic, and almost immediately had associations with prestige. By 1882, however, the Koreans had signed a treaty with the United States, fostering the arrival missionaries, advisors, traders, and teachers who brought the English language with them and who soon began teaching it to Korean children via English only classes. After the 1988 Olympics, the government consciously associated English with globalization, both cultural and economic, and began actively promoting English language education to foster international competitiveness. 4 Jun-Kang Kim did a study for a dissertation entitled Globalization and English Language Education in Korea Socialization and Identity Construction of Korean youth found that the majority of high school and university level English students that were interviewed believed English to be necessary for finishing their educations and achieving success afterwards. 5 Shim Jin Young points out that English has become not only the most important foreign language but also an essential tool for education, power, and success in South Korea. She also claims that Englishization of Korean has advanced so far that i existing native or Sino-Korean words have been replaced by English words, ii Korean phonology has acquired new phonemes, and phonological rules: and iii extensive Korean-English code mixing and switching can be found in both formal and informal discourse. 6 In another sides, the writer has some reasons why she chooses English- Korean code switching and code mixing as the corpus of this research. First, English- Korean is the brand new case in code choices’ research in State Islamic University while most of the previous researches were chose English- 4 Brendan Flattery, “Language, Culture, and Pedagogy: An Overview of English in South Korea”, University of Toronto, 2007. Accessed on April 9 th ,2014 http:homes.chass.utoronto.ca~cpercycourseseng6365-flattery.htm 5 Kim Jun Kang, “Globalization and English Language Education in Korea: Socialization Identity Construction of Korean Youth”, Diss. New Mexico State University, 2002. Accessed on April 22 nd ,2014 http:www.researchgate.netpublication34517885_Globalization_and_English_language_edu cation_in_Korea__socialization_and_identity_construction_of_Korean_youth 6 Shim, Rosa Jin Young, “Englishized Korean: structure, status, and attitudes”,World Englishes, no. 13.1994 p.225-244. Accessed on April 12 th , 2014 http:onlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi10.1111j.1467-971X.1994.tb00309.xabstract Indonesia or English with other language as the corpus of the research. Second, the writer is capable in English and Korean language both spoken and written skill. It makes her easy to understand the corpus well. The third reason, all about Korean entertainment especially Kpop has become a trending topic nowadays. The Korean entertainment industry already knew that Kpop not only booming in South Korea but also around the world. So they often use English-Korean as the medium for global spreading. Jamie Shinee Lee carries out a sociolinguistic study of English mixing in Korean television shows and commercials and tracks the use of English in pop-culture formats, such as television commercials, shows and popular music. She also argues that English language use is associated with representations of youthful people. Lee’s first article on K-pop or Korean popular music addresses kinds of English used by young artists in an expression of group identity. Lee notes a heteroginity of code mixing and code switching both in Korean and English. 7 Knowing the increasing number of Korean television programs that often mix both in Korean and English, the writer decided to conduct a research on one of Arirang TV’s music shows, After School Club, to help revealing the code switching and code mixing strategy. Arirang TV is an international English- language network based in Seoul, South Korea and it is operated by the Korea International Broadcasting Foundation. Arirang TV provides news and entertainment in Korea for the international community. One of its famous 7 Lee Jamie Shinee, “Linguistic Construction of Modernity: English Mixing in Korean Television Commersials”, Language in Society, vol. 1 no.35 2006, p. 59-91. Accesed on May 1 st , 2014 http:onlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi10.1111j.1467- 971X.1994.tb00309.xabstract broadcasts is After School Club, a weekly live music show. This music show provides video chat session through Google Hangouts as the interactive medium for the guests and viewers. Usually the hosts switch and mix English and Korean as they speak on this music show. Thus, the writer uses this music show as the unit of analysis because the writer finds so many utterances containing code switching and code mixing.

B. Focus of the Study