Code-mixing made by Malaysian Travelers

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3.3 Code-mixing made by Malaysian Travelers

Assuming that language mixing is not random, speakers should have knowledge of using or alternating codes at any permissible switching points within a sentence. In other words, speakers should have the ability to distinguish which alternations are grammatically acceptable and which are not. For this purpose, a list of synthetic constructions was recorded for presentation to informants. The list consists of a selection of “original” code-mixing sequences combined with the invented code-mixing sequences. The first was obtained from an extensive corpus of a conversational data while the second was reconstructed from the originals by placing the mixes between different constituents. Kuala Lumpur is one of the most-visited cities for holiday in Asia, there are a lot of international and domestic tourists who visit Kuala Lumpur each year. Most of Malaysian travelers are also doing code-mixing when they are speaking to Malay. There are some reasons why they do code-mixing when speaking, such as: 1 They understand the two languages, Malay language and English language. 2 They are influenced by people who are also doing code-mixing when speaking. 3 It is a natural thing in Malaysia because people do code-mixing when speaking. 4 As Malaysian people, they can speak Malay and learn English. Therefore, they can speak two languages and do code-mixing. 5 Code-mixing is used daily in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur. There are some examples of code-mixing sentences used by Malaysian travelers, such as: 21 8 “I suka makan makanan yang best dan sedap.” I like eating the best and delicious food. 9 “How would you know where is the best restaurant untuk makan?” How would you know where is the best restaurant for eating? 10 “I came to Bandung for jalan-jalan.” I came to Bandung for travelling. Word is the smallest unit of language that can exist on its own in either written or spoken language. It is also constituents of a sentence that due to their order, their suffices, prefixes and differentiating signs give some meaning. Morpheme can not be decomposed into smaller units which are either meaningful or mark such singular or plural. A phrase is a group of words acting as single part of speech and not containing both a subject and a verb, a part of a sentence and does not express a complete thought. In other word, phrase is a group of words that go together but do not build a complete sentence. Clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a verb. Clause in general classified as independent and dependent clause. An independent clause is the main idea of sentence. It can stand alone by itself or make sense by itself. When it is separated from other clause, it referred to simply as sentence. While a dependent clause is the subordinate idea of sentence. It must combine with an independent clause in order to be a part of a sentence. It is also created by a subordinating conjunction. 22 Frank 1972: 220 says that sentence is a „complete thought‟ by seeing or listening a statement. Based on the function, the definition becomes a sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. Code-mixing occurs when a person changes the language in relay for a discussion of the same topic. For example, items to be discussed are the current economy. Last speaker will speak in English, then connected with the texts in the Malaysian language, after that returned to use English. Sometimes, the term used interchangeably. The same process may also occur when a person uses a mix of Malay dialects respectively while speaking. This process occurs continuously until the end of the discussion. Code mixing can occur when a person is aware of and master more than one language. If the speaker take full charge between two languages it is known as ambilingual. Knowledge of both languages is not as good as was called bilingualism. In discussing the code-mixing we can not escape from the following terms: code-switching, code alternation, language mixing and sometimes code- shifting. These terms appear consistently in the professionals library and scholars rarely agree which one should be used and at any time. All these terms refer to the fact some language speakers who are proficient in two or more languages incorporate bilingualism or multilingual skills in their first language so their expression is usually the mother tongue and second language speakers of a language usually obtained when teenagers or adults share the responsibility to deliver the message, especially in informal communication. 23 In Malaysia, code-mixing is used in their daily conversation. This is because most of the people who live in Malaysia can speak more than one language. As example, Malays can speak two languages, such as Malay and English. Chinese sometimes can speak four languages, such as Cantonese, Mandarin, Malay and English. Those who live in the border Malaysia and Thailand are able to speak Thai language. This code mixing occurs either in formal or informal occasions. The places where code mixing is used, are seminars or in an important meeting in the Government. Other examples of code-mixing sentences used by Malaysian travellers in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, such as; 11 “I nak tunggu my flight di McD lah.” I would wait my flight at McD.. 12 “Please buy me secangkir kopi caramel macchiato di Starbucks” Please buy a cup of caramel macchiato coffee at Starbucks for me. 13 “Saya punya connecting flight ke Melbourne.” I have a connecting flight to Melbourne.. 14 “My pasport has been stamped di Imigresen Malaysia.” My passport has been stamped at Malaysian Immigration.. 15 “Bottle minuman saya has been confiscated at security check because its dosage is more than 100 ml. ” My drinking bottle has been confiscated at security check because its dosage is more than 100 ml.. 24

4. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS