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A Study On Chinese-English Code-switching In Chinese Magazine Advertising

Posted on:2009-03-12Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:L S YangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155360245975957Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Nowadays, Chinese-English code-switching is a common occurrence in people's daily lives. The current study investigates code-switching between Chinese and English in magazine advertisements in Mainland China. The researcher describes the patterns of Chinese-English code-switching based on Muysken's model for typology and explores the functions of this phenomenon with Myers-Scotton's Markedness Model.Through the study, the researcher has found: (1) in terms of the linguistic structure, Chinese-English code-switching in Chinese advertising discourse can be categorized into insertional code-switching and alternational code-switching. And the insertional code-switching can be further divided into letter insertion, lexical and phrasal insertion, clausal insertion as well as discourse insertion. (2) In terms of linguistic units, phrases take the highest percentage of frequency in the collected data; words take the second highest one, while discourses account for the lowest percentage. For properties of words and phrases, noun and noun phrases take a significantly major part, verbs, adjectives and other categories take up a much smaller proportion. (3) In terms of motivation analysis, according to Myers-Scotton's Markedness Model, all people have markedness metric, an innate, internalized model which enables them to recognize that all code choices are more or less unmarked or marked. The ads writers use code-switching as unmarked choice for gap-filling, economy or euphuism. As for marked code-switching, writers are applying them to achieve some certain other-than-expected effects. The purposes might be the selection of an addressee, creating a humor, explanation or just decoration, etc.This thesis is attempted to prove that code-switching is unavoidable nowadays in China. We should employ it to increase the understanding of Chinese-English code-switching as a social-cultural phenomenon as a result of China's integration to the international community.
Keywords/Search Tags:code-switching, Markedness Model, advertising discourse
PDF Full Text Request
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