A Study On Mongolian-English Code-switching In Mongolian Popular Songs As Realization Of Adaptation

As a natural consequence of language contact, code-switching has attracted increasing attention of researchers in different fields. Since 1970s, code-switching has been studied profoundly from different perspectives. Five approaches are prominent in the literature:the sociolinguistic approach, the grammatical approach, the psycholinguistic approach, the conversation analysis approach and the pragmatic approach. As Verschueren(1999) states, the pragmatic approach is the most convincing and promising among all the approaches since it not only simultaneously encompasses the linguistic, social, cultural and cognitive factors involved in code-switching in a dynamic context, but also combines the description of linguistic phenomenon with its interpretation. Thus it is strong and comprehensive enough to cover the complexity and subtlety of the code-switching phenomenon. Since Verschueren's Linguistic Adaptation Theory (1999) is a full realization of pragmatic approach, it naturally becomes the foundation of the theoretical framework of present study. Therefore, present study adopts the pragmatic approach and manages to analyze the Mongolian-English code-switching in Mongolian popular songs by applying Yu Guodong's Adaptation Model of Code-switching (2001), based on Verschueren's Linguistic Adaptation Theory. As far as methodology is concerned, present study combines the qualitative and quantitative research methods in support of presenting a more scientific and thorough analysis of Mongolian-English code-switching in Mongolian popular songs.The present thesis adopts a pragmatic analysis of Mongolian-English code-switching in Mongolian popular songs, which is understood as a realization of songwriter's adaptation to the final purpose of successful communication with the audience. The major task of present study is to verify the validity and feasibility of the Adaptation Model by making a detailed analysis of variability, negotiability and adaptability that Mongolian-English code-switching can manifest in Mongolian popular songs. As far as variability of Mongolian-English code-switching is concerned, we have concluded that variation is manifested by structural types and linguistic units, and detailed statistics prove that intra-sentential code-switching occurs in higher frequency than inter-sentential code-switching. As for negotiability, it is an important pragmatic principle in interpreting human language use, because in the dynamic process of communication all the choices are made according to highly flexible principles rather than at random. So are choices concerning Mongolian-English code-switching in Mongolian popular songs. As far as adaptability is concerned, Mongolian-English code-switching can be seen as an effort to adapt to social conventions, linguistic reality and psychological motivations of songwriters or singers.The present study focuses on Mongolian-English code-switching in Mongolian popular songs. The statistics shown in the present study to a certain extent reflects the general tendency of Mongolian popular songs. What's more, it is the first time the Adaptation Model has been applied to the analysis of an untouched area--Mongolian popular songs. Thus the present study makes its contribution to code-switching study by offering a new horizon for further studies. Research on code-switching in Mongolian popular songs should draw attention of researchers from different disciplines, thus can make the present study more thorough and systematic.