Functions of Chinese—English Code—switching in Kang and Xi Come

樊海怡

Abstract：Code-switching is a kind of social-cultural phenomenon， which can be seen commonly in a multicultural society. This paper observes and analyzes some factors which account for C-E code-switching in Taiwan entertainment TV program Kang and Xi Come. The discussion mainly focuses on three respects： identity， in-group and out-group， and role relationships.

Key words：code-switching； identity； role relationships

中圖分类号：H315.9 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1672-1578（2018）09-0003-02

1 Code-switching

Code-switching is the alternation between the varieties

of language or two or more different languages. It could

be traced in different domains of the speaker： family，

work， entertainment， etc. It frequently appears in daily communications of native bilingual or multilingual communities with the frequent language contact among different speech communities for political， economic and cultural purposes. Recently， Chinese-English code-switching has come to be a common occurrence not only in peoples daily conversations， but also in TV programs.

2 Kang and Xi Come

Kang and Xi come， the hottest and the most influential Taiwan TV talk show program is named from the combination of the two characters “Kang” and “Xi” of the two hosts Chinese names—Cai Kangyong and Xu Xidi. It is an entertainment program with relaxing and interesting atmosphere， although it takes the form of interviewing. The guests in this TV program are both sexes ranging from different ages and professions in the whole society， such as singers， actors， models， doctors， directors， ordinary people etc. As long as they have story to tell which matches the topic of the present volume. Chinese is their native language and English is their foreign language. This speech community is made up of different classes from different areas in Taiwan and a comparatively large number of people from abroad. There are various topics which differentiate from each other for every volume. As a TV talk show program， Kang and Xi come owns the highest audience rating in recent years in Taiwan of china. It owns very natural and unaffected style and there is frequent and plenty of interactions among the hosts and guests. The TV program being chosen is a very distinct and typical one and can be regarded as a small bilingual， even multilingual speech community. So， when they communicate， code-switching happens.

3 Functions of C-E Code-switching in Kang and Xi Come

Firstly， social identity theory proposes that an individuals self-concept is composed of both social and personal identities. Social identity is defined as ones knowledge of membership in certain social groups and the social meanings attached to the group. Age， gender， profession， nationality， region， religion， and so forth all serve as different social identities and have their own cultural components of shared values， habits， and history. Personal identity refers to an individuals unique characteristics， irrespective of cultural or social group.

（1） Setting： Xiao Zhen was learning abroad. When she is asked to talk about the college life in New York， she said the following words.

小楨：在美国那个时候啊，我们就喜欢支加州shopping， 然后summer semester 开始，反正天天都可以晒太阳。

In this example， the speaker was learning at abroad. She was telling the hosts and other guests about the life in the USA. If she spoke only English， she might be regarded as being disloyal to their community. If she spoke only Chinese， she might be regarded， within the context of an English-language country， as uneducated and unsophisticated. Speaking both languages together overcomes both these problems. Moreover， Chinese culture is typically collectivistic which emphasize goals， needs and views of in-groups， rather than individual pleasures. However， as a student in America where English is of prominent in social life， they need to employ the language of their peers as an important means of communication. Chinese students have a strong conscious to maintain the social identity as being part of Chinese community. They could not put their personal identity at a disadvantaged position as “uneducated and unsophisticated”. Under such situation， code-switching between Chinese and English would be the favorite choice to keep both social and personal identity.

Secondly， in-group as a group whose norms， aspirations， and values shape the behavior of its members and an out-group is a group whose attributes are dissimilar from those of in-group or who oppose the accomplishment of the in-groups goals. Persons can be perceived as in-group members in one context and out-group members in another. In the case of bilingual speakers， that accommodation takes place by switching to the more prestigious language for that situation.

（2） Setting： Xiao Tiantian， a student who is studying in Taiwan. She is asked to talk about her experience of meeting with foreigners. She said her first meet with an American in following words.

小甜甜：有一天我出去逛街的时候啊，在遇到一个美国人啊，她拉住我问：“购物， 哪里？”然后我说：“Where is the supermarket， right？ 那个美国人非常高兴，接着用英语问了我好多事情，后来我俩成了好朋友。

In this example， the American uses Mandarin to ask Xiao Tiantian where the supermarket is since she has no idea of Xiao Tiantian. When inferring from the Americans question with American accent， Xiao Tiantian concludes that he is from America. Xiao Tiantian switches to English in order to claim in-group membership to achieve more satisfying communication effectiveness.

Thirdly， a role is ones relative position to some other role in that group， defined as ones relative position in a group along with its expected set of verbal and nonverbal behaviors. There are at least four dimensions in which roles vary across cultures： personalness， formality， hierarchy， and deviation from the ideal role enactment. In communication， peoples verbal or nonverbal behaviors reveal their relationship. The change of role relationship across cultures can be best displayed in code-switch.

（3） Setting： Some women models such as Sui Tang are required to talk about the most unforgettable parties they had taken part in.

熙娣：你們自己人说都参加过哪些精彩的聚会？ 隋棠你（参加）的肯定超精彩的啊？

隋棠：还好啦！只要是好朋友在一起都会玩得很高兴啊！

阿雅：我也觉得是这样也。有好朋友一起就很容易投入啊。However， I feel the make-up ball is more interesting.

隋棠：Yeah！ Yeah！ Yeah！ I think so.

In this example， the three people employ their native language at first， but the switch to English indicates the role relationships are stretched from close to distant. Formality between roles is changed from informal to formal as Sui Tang switches to a more dominant language. Besides， the switch to English in the final two sentences draws attention to itself and in the context implicates an authoritative and angry stance derived partly from the status of English as a colonial language.

References：

[1] Appel P. & Muysken P. Language Contact and Bilingualism [M]. London： Edward Arnold， 1987.

[2] 徐富珍，陈信木.台湾当前族群认同状况比较分析[M].世新大学出版社， 2005.