Annotating and Exploring Code-Switching in Four Corpora of Minority Languages of Russia (original) (raw)
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Głuszkowski M. 2023. Code-Switching and Code-Mixing on Different Language Levels: The Case of a Polish Language Island in Siberia. Slavistična revija 71/2, 161-174, 2023
The aim of the article is to discuss the diverse nature of code-switching and mixing phenomena on different language levels. In the field of phonetics, morphology and lexis, researchers most often focus on the interlingual influence in the form of interference, while code-switching is a phenomenon that occurs at the level of syntax. In this article about linguistic material from a Polish language island in a Russian environment (the village of Vershina in Siberia), examples of lexical and structural borrowings and various forms of language change during speech were indicated. However, this approach only allows for the characterization of selected fragments of utterances, while whole texts function in live communication. Therefore, it was proposed to include the most complex level of language, i.e., the text as such, in the analyses of code-switching and mixing. Selected examples show how this complementation affects the perception of phenomena related to bilingualism.
A note on Russian-English code switching: A note on Russian-English code switching
World Englishes, 2005
Abstract: The present study discusses the contact between English and Russian, which has given rise to widespread code switching among Russians. The paper looks at the three variables, which affect Russian–English code switching and code mixing among bilinguals. The three affecting factors are: (1) the social contexts in which each language is learned; (2) the specific function for which each language is customarily employed; and (3) the efficacy of a language as a communicative tool in the society where it is used.
Code switching patterns in Kazakh-Russian hybrid language practice: An empirical study
The study investigates Kazakh-Russian and Russian-Kazakh code switching in the framework of hybrid language practice to provide insights into the sensemaking process among bilinguals. The unique characteristics of the synchronic linguistic situation in Kazakhstan stem from historically rooted ethnic bi- and multilingualism. Language switching has evolved into a tool for addressing communicative partners and sustaining communication in bilingual culture, rather than being viewed as a deviant pattern. It appears to be a dynamic resource for ensuring mutual understanding and harmonised communication. The study aims to reveal the motivations behind individuals’ language switching, how Kazakh and Russian speakers explain hybrid communication, and their sentiments towards it. Data from two surveys conducted in January-February of 2021 and January of 2024 are presented. Each survey involved 50 respondents with higher education, ranging in age from 21 to 40, who have resided in Kazakhstan for an extended period, with many being native-born residents. We argue that switching between the Kazakh and Russian languages serves as a communicative tool utilised by Kazakh and Russian speakers to signify their belonging to a specific sociocultural community. The study posits that hybrid language practice can be viewed from two underlying perspectives: from a ‘deficit’ perspective, signalling limited proficiency in Russian or/and Kazakh, and from a more complex sense-making communicative perspective, assisting interaction. As part of the sense-making process and in sustaining interaction with communication partners, code switching serves an instrumental function. Importantly, hybrid language practice is not portrayed as a sign of cultural decline. There is no strong correlation between the mixing of Russian and Kazakh and social, cultural, and educational barriers. Further implications for research are prompted by the rapidly changing situation. The development of the Kazakh language as a state language is becoming a major goal and central focus in this evolving context, which inevitably raises the issues of linguistic ideology. Distinguishing between ideologically neutral analysis and critical analysis of language use as a tool of symbolic power for specific social groups would provide a more gradient picture of the dynamics in Kazakhstan’s bi- and multilingual situation.
Bilingualism, which as a term is included into the fields of linguistics and sociolinguistics, although being examined and classified in different forms, defines a situation in which an individual knows two languages or his using two languages in social relations. Borrowing or code-switching refers to a bilingual's using the elements of two languages alternately in daily speech. Code-switching appears in many bilingual societies. Likewise, it appears in Bashkortostan, which has two official language. The official languages of Bashkortostan, which is a federative republic in Russia Federation, are Russian and Bashkir. In daily speech, a Bashkir sometimes code-switches with Russian. However, this phenomenon is not restricted to spoken language, it also reflected to Bashkir literary language. Code-switching appears in publications in which literary language is used such as novels, short stories, newspapers and magazines. In the present paper, the samples of code-switching in Bashkir literary language is analyzed according to code-switching theory.
Orthography Switching as Code-Switching Among German-Based Russians
The development and popularisation of computer-mediated communication has led to the emergence of new discourse practices exclusively available online, as orthography plays a crucial role in this written medium. A special case occurs in situations of language contact, as online practices may additionally be affected by speakers’ knowledge of two wholly separate writing systems. One such situation of language contact arises from native Russian speakers who are now resident in Germany; these speakers initially use the Cyrillic script but now reside in a country where the Latin script constitutes the norm. On forums used by this community, Russian remains the language of choice and with it, Cyrillic the strongly preferred writing system. However, Latin is also used and accepted in specific contexts: when speakers code-switch by inserting a word from German into an otherwise Russian sentence, they either transcribe the word into Cyrillic or use the original Latin script (e.g. Arbeitsamt/Арбайтсамт ‘job centre’). This dissertation explores these occurrences of switching from one orthography to another within one post from a socio-functional perspective. Thirty-five threads from two forums are examined; overall, ‘orthography switching’ is found to parallel code-switching between language varieties, as it serves similar discourse functions. Most commonly, switching to another orthography is used by speakers to highlight the topic: switching to Latin within the opening post brings attention to the topic that is to be discussed, switching to Latin further in the thread is used to communicate topic shift. Reasons for orthography choice mirror reasons for language choice in spoken speech, giving rise to the possibility of treating orthography as a code in its own right. Such an analysis has further impact on our understanding of code as it supports the analysis of ‘code’ as ‘a system associated with socio-indexical values’ rather than ‘a language/variety’ (cf. Alvarez-Cáccamo, 1998).
Trilingual Code-switching Using Quantitative Lenses: An Exploratory Study on Hokaglish
Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 2016
Adopting a quantitative approach, this paper highlights findings of an exploratory study on Hokaglish, initially describing it as a trilingual code-switching phenomenon involving Hokkien, Tagalog, and English in a Filipino-Chinese enclave in Binondo, Manila, the Philippines. Departing from the (socio)linguistic landscape of the archipelagic nation, the discussion eventually leads to a frequency-based description of this phenomenon. Preliminary findings suggest that, in Hokaglish, code-switching from Hokkien to English appears to be the most frequent code-switching combination among the six possible ones and that it is typically found in religious institutions. From the investigation, Hokaglish yielded more attestations of intrasentential codeswitching than intersentential ones in households particularly. Moreover, findings also indicate that switches in the word-level are very frequent and that morphological code-switching is virtually non-existent in Hokaglish conversations. The paper ends with a discussion that will more or less provide some justification for the findings.
Code-Switching Pattern of Turkish-Russian Bilingual Ahıska Turks and Matrix Language Frame Model
bilig, 2022
During the 75 years following Ahıska Turks' expatriation from their homeland in Soviet Georgia in 1944 to the Central Asian Soviet Republics, they have evolved into a multilingual society. Ahıska Turks use Turkish and Russian language pairs in their daily communication. They adopt code-switching strategies in their daily communication. Turkish-Russian code-switching pattern of Ahıska Turks was not analyzed linguistically in terms of bilingual communication. Therefore, this study aims to investigate Ahıska Turks from a different perspective. It reflects the code-switching situation by examining the Bishkek show of Miko Şov, an Ahıska Turks' comedy group. The records were investigated based on the Matrix Language Frame Model and the pattern is divided into categories as nouns, adjectives, adpositions, verbs, and adverbs. It is determined that the same strategies were followed with other Turkic languages contacting Russian.