Abstract
Traditionally, research in the field of Code-switching (CS) has largely focussed on ultimately unsatisfactory attempts to discover universally applicable, predictive grammatical constraints on CS, resulting in conflicting models such as the Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model (Myers-Scotton, 2002; Jake, Myers-Scotton and Gross, 2005) and a model based on a Minimalist approach (MacSwan, 2005a, 2005b). Gardner-Chloros and Edwards (2004) argue that future research in the field of CS should move away from attempts to develop models which dictate the forms of CS speech as, owing to its variability, it “eludes definitive grammatical description”(2004:35). Given this tantalising outcome, this paper turns towards some sociolinguistic factors in CS by analysing the code-switching practices of two bilingual siblings when interacting with their father over the telephone. It draws on a computerised corpus of child bilingual language, composed of transcriptions of the spoken language of two Brazilian bilingual siblings (M and J), exposed to Portuguese and English from birth. Recorded while M (7;8) and J(5;4) were on holiday in England visiting English relatives, the telephone conversations include as bilingual interlocutors their Brazilian father (who remained in Brazil) and their English mother who is beside the children as they speak over the phone. Starting from detailed quantitative and qualitative analyses using the CLAN (Computerized Language Analysis)(MacWhinney, 2010) tool, the data is explored to reveal significant differences in the siblings’ code-switching practices as they attempt to negotiate meaning with an interlocutor who is physically, culturally and linguistically distanced from their own immediate experiential context. Whereas M uses CS economically and successfully accommodates her bilingual language to optimise understanding between herself and her interlocutor, J appears less able to juggle the use of his two languages appropriately and a break-down in communication is only avoided by appealing to his mother for assistance.
References
Gardner-Chloros, P. & Edwards, M. 2004. Assumptions behind grammatical approaches to code-switching: When the blueprint is a red herring. Transactions of the Philological Society 102.1:103-129.
Jake, J., Myers-Scotton, C. & Gross, S. 2005. A response to MacSwan (2005): Keeping the Matrix Language. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 8.3: 271-276.
MacSwan, J. 2005a. Codeswitching and generative grammar: A critique of the MFL model and some remarks on “modified minimalism”. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 8.1:1-22.
MacSwan, J. 2005b. Remarks on Jake, Myers-Scotton and Gross’s response: There is no “Matrix Language”. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 8.3:277-284.
MacWhinney, B. 2010. The CHILDES Project, Tools for Analyzing Talk – Electronic Edition. Part 1: The CHAT Transcription Format. Carnegie Mellon University. Available online: http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/manuals/chat/pdf
MacWhinney, B. 2010. The CHILDES Project, Tools for Analyzing Talk – Electronic Edition. Part 2: The CLAN Programs. Carnegie Mellon University. Available online: http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/manuals/clan/pdf
Myers-Scotton, C. M. 2002. Contact Linguistics: bilingual encounters and grammatical outcomes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Publication status | Published - 13 Apr 2011 |
Event | Meaning and Context Conference - University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom Duration: 13 Apr 2011 → 15 Apr 2011 |
Conference
Conference | Meaning and Context Conference |
---|---|
Abbreviated title | i-mean@uwe2 |
Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
City | Bristol |
Period | 13/04/11 → 15/04/11 |
Keywords
- CLAN
- bilingual corpora
- corpus linguistics