Understanding Written Chinese-English Code-switching In Computer Science From The Theory Of Adaptation

This thesis mainly discusses the phenomenon of Chinese-English code-switching in the written publications concerning computer science. The aim of this study is to find the causes for such an occurrence by applying a theory in pragmatics, the theory of adaptation.In order to achieve this goal, two typical and authoritative magazines are selected as the research subjects, i.e. Computer Fan and MSDN Magazine. Through calculating the occurrence of Chinese-English code-switching in these two magazines, relevant data are collected and analyzed in the aid of Excel by the author. The following three findings are obtained from these data: the occurrences of Chinese-English code-switching are quite prevalent in the selected magazines; this kind of occurrence increases with the time; and the English nouns and abbreviations are the major word categories switched in Chinese-English code-switching.Based on the theory of adaptation in pragmatics, the focus of this research is to discuss the possible causes for the generation of the above results from four angles of investigation, i.e. contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, dynamics of adaptability, and salience of the adaptation processes. It is found that the results are caused by the interaction of a series of complex factors, including mental, social, physical, and structural ingredients. The use of Chinese-English code-switching, which is a communication strategy, is to suit the physical settings, to meet the demands from the readers, and to adapt to the social development of China, etc.This research is of both theoretical and practical significances. Theoretically, it offers a new perspective to understand the written Chinese-English code-switching in computer science. And practically, it may provide supporting materials for the application of code-switching in the translation of new English words in computer science.