A Study Of Code-switching In Foretress Besiegd From The Perspective Of Adaptation Theory

The novel Fortress Besieged has received much attention since its publication.Researchers always study the language and stylistic feature of the novel through itshumor in the field of traditional criticism. As another language feature, code-switchingis ignored by them. For this special language phenomenon, linguists often examine itssocial functions, language features and influential factors. However, code-switchingplays an important role in characterization and realization of writer’s intention, and alsoan important artistic technique for theme development. This paper adopts the adaptationtheory to study this phenomenon.Code-switching is a common yet complex language phenomenon, which refers tothe alternate use of two or more languages or language varieties in the same utteranceor conversation. And code-switching in literary works is also a perfect writing strategyfor the writer to achieve certain literary effects. Since1970s, code-switching has beenstudied from many different scopes. The existing linguistic research can be categorizedinto four approaches: sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, grammatical analysis, andconversational analysis. Great achievements have been made in each field, but theycannot provide a strong and comprehensive explanation to cover the complexity andsubtlety of code-switching. Thus, a new approach that can cover the linguistic, social,and cognitive elements is needed.The author analyzes the code-switchings in Fortress Besieged based onVerschueren’s Adaptation Theory and Yu Guodong’s code-switching model. As aspecial communication strategy, code-switching is used by communicators to adapt thelinguistic reality, social conventions and psychological motivations. It can smooth thecommunication, avoid the forbidden words or topics and fulfill one’s psychologicalneeds, such as to mitigate the tone, create humor, show off etc; the code-switchings in Fortress Besieged are not random ones, instead, they are rule-governed, and used as astrategy in characterization; and also code-switching in literary works often reflects thesocial background.Through analysis, it helps us understand the function of code-switching in thenovel, the writing intention, and also arouse language learners’ interests of thisphenomenon. Meanwhile, it enriches the existing Qian Zhongshu studies as well ascode-switching studies and enlarges the study scope of the Adaptation theory so as todevelop both theoretical and practical researches.