A Study Of Code-switching In Sports Comment From An Adaptation Perspective

The phenomenon of code-switching has attracted much attention of researchers fromdifferent perspectives since1970s, including sociolinguistics, grammatics,psycholinguistics, conversational analysis and pragmatics. They made extensive andprofound studies for it. This present study is based on Yu Guodong’s Linguistic AdaptationModel on code-switching, analyzes and explores the adaptation of code-switching in sportscomment from a perspective of pragmatics. Various ways of sports comment such as livebroadcasting, sports news, blog and chat room, etc., provide a rich collection of sportscomment code-switching examples. From these examples, we conclude some features ofcode-switching in sports comments such as category, form and content. The aims are toexplore the potential reasons why code-switching happens and the pragmatic functions ofcode-switching, then to verify the feasibility of Yu Guodong’s Adaptation Model in sportscomment and make a scientific explanation for this linguistic phenomenon.The thesis adopts both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Specifically, thestudy uses qualitative methodology to analyze the adaptability of code-switching and verifythe Adaptation Model; uses quantitative methodology to reveal the forms and frequency ofChinese/English code-switching in sports comment.Sports commentators fulfilled their specific communicative goals by adoptingChinese/English code-switching in sports comment as a linguistic choice andcommunicative strategy. They adapt to linguistic reality, social conventions andpsychological motivations. In the process of adaptation, the code-switching also performsome pragmatic functions including filling lexical gaps, professional terms in sports,avoiding social taboos, softening the tone and saving face, keeping authenticity, expressingstrong feelings and so on.To a certain degree, the whole study develops and verifies Yu Guodong’s LinguisticAdaptation Model and also proves that pragmatics, which is a new approach of research forcode-switching, includes the linguistic, social and cognitive aspects. Besides, this studyhelps people understand more about the phenomenon of code-switching in sports comment.Furthermore, the study reflects the influence of the language of English upon the language of Chinese in the development of modern China, and it also makes certain enlightenmentsfor people’s effective use of code-switching as a communicative strategy.