Foregrounding Of Chinese/English Codeswitching In Chinese Fiction And Prose

Codeswitching refers to the alternate use of more than one language in the same situation; it falls within the scope of bilingualism or multilingualism and is a traditional topic of sociolinguistics. This dissertation is based on Halliday's theory of foregrounding and studies the Chinese/English codeswitching in writing from a functional stylistic perspective. The data for the present study are drawn from Chinese fiction and prose published after the year 2000. Since all the codeswitches occur in the Chinese literary works, Chinese is taken for granted as the matrix language and English as the embedded one. In the corpus, the codeswitched instances involve intrasentential codeswitching and intersentential codeswitching. As the grammatical unit of functional analysis is the clause, the analysis of intrasentential codeswitches can be divided into two levels, with one being below the level of clause and the other above the clause. In the dissertation, written codeswitches are treated as being foregrounded, with their prominence being motivated and consciously made by the writers. The methodology used in the analysis of the foregrounded feature of codeswitching consists of a description and analysis of the three metafunctions of codeswitching in relation to the contextual variables of field, tenor and mode and a classification, description, and analysis of the stylistic functions of the collected data. This study integrates both qualitative and quantitative analyses, and it is theoretical, as well as practical.The ideational function of codeswitching is manifested below the clause in the experiential function of a codeswitch and above the clause in its logical function. The experiential functions of the codeswitched constituents in the clauses are discussed grammatically under the system of Transitivity in word groups, namely the nominal groups, the verbal groups, the adverbial groups and the prepositional phrases. These codeswitched word groups are foregrounded in terms of their experiential meanings, because they realize for one thing the three major components of the Transitivity system, viz. the participant roles, the processes and the circumstantial elements, and for another they have more cultural implications than what their Chinese equivalents mean to the text, thus helping to recreate the bilingual contexts, create images, depict characters and produce some special literary effects. The foregrounding of the experiential meanings of the codeswitched constituents is associated with the field of the text. In the collected data, the Chinese/ English codeswitches are scattered in almost all the facets of everyday life. This fact indicates that the English culture has exerted a strong and extensive influence on the Chinese language users and codeswitching is a manifestation of the influence in ideology. The logical function of codeswitching is analyzed above the clause. On the account that the English codeswitched instances for it, the same as those intersentential codeswitches, are either direct quotations, or clarifications/repetitions of what have been just said, they are foregrounded as a whole, as the use of them makes the narration and description more vivid and focused.Interpersonally, the foregrounding of codeswitching is manifest in three aspects, namely in the Mood structure of major clauses, in minor clauses and in terms of the evaluative meanings of the codeswitched constituents. The codeswitched constituents in the data are foregrounded interpersonally because they do not only express grammatically the functional elements of the Mood structure in the major clauses, viz. the Subject, the Finite, the Complement, the Predicator, and the Adjuncts, but they can also be used either to define the role relationships between the speakers/writers and listeners/readers, or to express the attitudes of the speakers or writers toward what they are saying or writing. Besides, codeswitching also takes place in minor clauses of exclamations, calls, greetings or alarms. As the switching of them into English exerts a greater semantic force in the bilingual contexts, they are said to be foregrounded interpersonally. Another aspect which shows that the codeswitched constituents are foregrounded interpersonally is concerned with the evaluative meanings that some of them contribute to the expressions. The evaluative aspect of these codeswitches is discussed under the Appraisal system as they construe various kinds of feelings that can be classified as affect, judgment or appreciation. These feelings can be intensified through graduation and are charged heteroglossically. The foregrounding of the interpersonal meanings of the English codeswitched constituents is associated with the four tenor variables of the text, because speakers/writers usually use codeswitching as a way to show their social status, obtain solidarity from listeners/readers, express their feelings or attitudes, or to add force to their expressions. On the account that codeswitches occur most often in dialogues or as utterances of stream-of-consciousness style, and sometimes co-occur with taboo words, the use of them marks naturally a less formal register.The foregrounding of codeswitching is manifested textually in terms of cohesion, through the interaction of thematic and information structures, and in terms of intertextuality, in that the codeswitched instances may be referred, repeated, contrasted or collocated, by or with some other elements through the alternate use of the two participating languages, occupy the prominent positions in the thematic structures, or constitute the focuses of the information structures. On the account that the information structure is semantically related with the thematic structure of the clause, a writer may take advantage of the complex interaction between them to produce various rhetorical effects, so long as the codeswitched constituents are cohesive with the other parts of the text. Textually, the English codeswitched elements constitute only part of a text, with their meanings being fused into the text in the concrete situations and being significant to the whole literary interpretation. The foregrounding of their textual meanings is associated with the mode of the text. When different media of transmission are concerned, the practice of codeswitching in writing is different from that in speech; it is the outcome of conscious language use. In spite of the difference between them, written codeswitching and spoken codeswitching are nevertheless connected with each other; they are just like two poles in a continuum, which has many connections in between.The findings show that the practice of codeswitching in the Chinese fiction and prose is not a marginal or arbitrary phenomenon; it occurs as a particularly prominent phenomenon in the contemporary Chinese literature, and takes place as a direct and inevitable consequence of constant cultural contact. The meanings of the codeswitched instances are reflected through their metafunctions in contexts, realized through lexicogrammatical resources, and associated with relevant contextual variables, respectively. The Chinese writers employ the codeswitches to convey specific cultural connotations, express feelings and attitudes that are heteroglossically charged, refer to, repeat, contrast, collocate with other parts of the texts or organize them as the focuses of information units, in order to produce some special literary effects. Each codeswitch has a stylistic function to fulfill in the text. The stylistic functions of written codeswitching are in fact detailed actualizing forms of its metafunctions, when different aspects of meaning are concerned. The analysis indicates that in addition to fulfilling the stylistic functions of the spoken mode, written codeswitching has proved to be a valid option for the Chinese writers to foreground their narrations.As one of the initial attempts of their kind, this dissertation has examined and proved the foregrounding value of codeswitching in the present-day Chinese literature. Despite the fact that the study in this direction is still open to further discussion, the findings of the dissertation are nevertheless significant for both the field of functional stylistics and the study of bilingualism.