Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore.

Much codeswitching research has focused on structural constraints and motivations that affect codeswitching, but few have dealt with codeswitching in relation with language dominance. This is because language dominance has been largely assumed to affect codeswitching, but its co...

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Main Author: Foo, Claire Mei Zhi.
Other Authors: Ng Bee Chin
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48078
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-480782021-12-20T05:41:04Z Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore. Foo, Claire Mei Zhi. Ng Bee Chin School of Humanities and Social Sciences Frantisek Kratochvil DRNTU::Humanities Much codeswitching research has focused on structural constraints and motivations that affect codeswitching, but few have dealt with codeswitching in relation with language dominance. This is because language dominance has been largely assumed to affect codeswitching, but its correlations with codeswitching remains unclear. This study aims to uncover the link between language dominance and codeswitching patterns, specifically through codeswitched nouns and verbs of English-Chinese bilinguals in Singapore. We will attempt to answer three questions in this study. Firstly, this study is interested in whether reported dominant language equates to the matrix language, as proposed by Myers-Scottons Matrix Language Frame. Secondly, codeswitched nouns and verbs are quantified in the data to see if they belong to the nondominant language, showing directionality of codeswitching from dominant to non-dominant language. Lastly, overall directionality of intra-sentential codeswitching is investigated in the data to investigate if codeswitching indeed operates from the dominant language to the nondominant language. Through a questionnaire and recorded natural codeswitching speech from six English-Chinese bilingual university students in Singapore, codeswitched nouns and verbs are investigated from three hours of recorded data. This study discovers that language dominance is a factor that affects codeswitching directionality, but does not prove to be the main factor. Language asymmetry presents a greater factor where characteristics of English and Chinese affect codeswitching patterns and directionality. Poplack’s Equivalence Constraint also shows to play a part in explaining codeswitching patterns. Bachelor of Arts 2012-03-06T01:15:00Z 2012-03-06T01:15:00Z 2011 2011 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48078 en Nanyang Technological University 67 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Humanities
spellingShingle DRNTU::Humanities
Foo, Claire Mei Zhi.
Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore.
description Much codeswitching research has focused on structural constraints and motivations that affect codeswitching, but few have dealt with codeswitching in relation with language dominance. This is because language dominance has been largely assumed to affect codeswitching, but its correlations with codeswitching remains unclear. This study aims to uncover the link between language dominance and codeswitching patterns, specifically through codeswitched nouns and verbs of English-Chinese bilinguals in Singapore. We will attempt to answer three questions in this study. Firstly, this study is interested in whether reported dominant language equates to the matrix language, as proposed by Myers-Scottons Matrix Language Frame. Secondly, codeswitched nouns and verbs are quantified in the data to see if they belong to the nondominant language, showing directionality of codeswitching from dominant to non-dominant language. Lastly, overall directionality of intra-sentential codeswitching is investigated in the data to investigate if codeswitching indeed operates from the dominant language to the nondominant language. Through a questionnaire and recorded natural codeswitching speech from six English-Chinese bilingual university students in Singapore, codeswitched nouns and verbs are investigated from three hours of recorded data. This study discovers that language dominance is a factor that affects codeswitching directionality, but does not prove to be the main factor. Language asymmetry presents a greater factor where characteristics of English and Chinese affect codeswitching patterns and directionality. Poplack’s Equivalence Constraint also shows to play a part in explaining codeswitching patterns.
author2 Ng Bee Chin
author_facet Ng Bee Chin
Foo, Claire Mei Zhi.
format Final Year Project
author Foo, Claire Mei Zhi.
author_sort Foo, Claire Mei Zhi.
title Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore.
title_short Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore.
title_full Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore.
title_fullStr Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore.
title_full_unstemmed Codeswitching and language dominance in Singapore.
title_sort codeswitching and language dominance in singapore.
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48078
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