Discourses on the Social Accommodations of Code-Switching in Computer-Mediated Communication

Abstract

Code-Switching is a prevalent phenomenon that may be observed in verbal or non-verbal communication of bilinguals who shift between two languages in a conversation. This paper concentrates on the sociolinguistic factors that influence Filipino-English bilinguals to engage in Code-Switching in an online written discourse. Data were gathered by means of transcribing Facebook posts which were analyzed using Appel and Muysken’s (2006) and Malik’s (1994) framework. The findings revealed that the communicative functions comprised in Appel and Muysken’s (2006) framework were predominant in computer-mediated communication between Filipino-English bilinguals. Specifically, 3 functions known as referential, expressive, and directive had the most number of occurrences, which generated 3 prime factors why bilinguals tend to switch between codes: (1) it provides convenience in communication; (2) bilinguals are accustomed to engaging in Code-Switching when communicating feelings, emotions, requests and words of gratitude; and (3) bilinguals switch between codes to directly address the receiver of the message.