A Study Of Chinese-English Code-switching In Modern Chinese TV Series From The Perspective Of Adaptation Theory

Along with the increasing communication and strengthened fusion of different nationalities, there emerged a great number of bilingual speech communities. Two or more languages must be employed in a bilingual or multi-lingual speech community, which is generally called "code-switching". Code-switching, as a common linguistic phenomenon, has attracted many researchers' attention. During the last 30 years, studies on code-switching have been conducted, mainly from the following three perspectives: the study of structures and characteristics of code-switching from a linguistic perspective; the study of functions and motivations of code-switching from a sociolinguistic perspective; the analysis of reasons and effects of code-switching from a cognitive perspective. Most of the studies are focusing on written form of code-switching, with only a little investigation in spoken form of code-switching.Based on the achievements made by the previous researchers, the present study will explore the functions, motivations, causes and effects of code-switching. It is intended to widen the study perspectives and derive a more comprehensive understanding on code-switching from different angles so as to discover something new. This thesis aims to elaborate the characteristics, functions and motivations of code-switching and to explain code-switching phenomena with related linguistic theories. All the data of code-switching in this thesis are analyzed with the extracts from A Story of Lala's Promotion and Love Apartmentâ…¡, which are chosen by the author purposely. Code-switching is a complex linguistic phenomenon of which there has been no optimal theory to explain and illustrate up to now.The present study is conducted, based on Yu Guodong's Adaptation Model, which has been developed with Vershueren's Linguistic Adaptation theory as theoretical basis. According to Linguistic Adaptation Theory, code-switching is the realization of adaptation and a series of dynamic processes of choice making. According to Yu Guodong, code-switching is a communicative strategy employed by language users to achieve their purposes in specific context. Besides, "code-switching should be adapted to three elements:linguistic reality, social conventions, psychological motivations". This theory serves as a great support and guidance to the study in this thesis.This thesis is intended to allow a better understanding of code-switching in modern TV series, the very microcosm of real society, which will show how internationalization has changed our life and the ways we communicate with others.