Typology of English–Korean code ambiguation

Abstract

Bilingual code ambiguation (CA), also known as language play or punning, has been discussed for bilingual creativity as it requires English users to manipulate two languages in a single utterance (Moody & Matsumoto, 2003). Since Moody and Matsumoto (2003) suggested English–Japanese CA in the lyrics of Japanese popular (J-pop) music, some studies have paid attention to diverse aspects of bilingual creativity performed in this complex linguistic phenomenon (Luk, 2013; Rivlina, 2015; Scherling, 2016). They have reported non-native English users’ control over linguistic knowledge in phonological analogy (Moody & Matsumoto, 2003; Scherling, 2016), semantic relatedness and blending (Luk, 2013; Moody & Matsumoto, 2003), and socio-pragmatic functions (Luk, 2013; Rivlina, 2015). They have further suggested that CA needs to be viewed as bilinguals’ performative use of English and a local language to achieve symbolic goals (Moody & Matsumoto, 2003; Scherling, 2016).