Code-switching and borrowing in the English of Finnish Americans in an interview setting
By: Timo Lauttamus.
Series: Kielitieteellisiä tutkimuksia,; n:o 20 =; Studies in languages; Kielitieteellisiä tutkimuksia ;; n:o 20.
Publisher: University of Joensuu, Faculty of Arts
Published: 1990
Place of publication: Joensuu
Language: eng
Number of pages: 56
Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- Finnish speakers.; Finnish Americans -- Language.
Description: It is suggested that code-switching and borrowing in the English of Finnish Americans can only be described in terms of a holistic framework which incorporates various (structural) linguistic, psycholinguistic and pragmatic (functional) factors. The major premise for the description is the idea that code-switching and borrowing are to be regarded as points on a gradient running form code-changes to fully integrated loans, not as independent processes. The first proposal, that code-switching and borrowing should be described holistically, is assessed on the basis of a general theory of code-switching theory. The empirical data elicited from the non-fluent, Finnish-dominant, speakers of English is not incompatible with the proposal. The second proposal, that code-switching and borrowing are gradient phenomena, is assessed partly on the basis of cross-linguistic evidence and partly on the basis of the empirical data in the interlanguage framework. The findings of the empirical study also show that the Finnish-origin incorporations into English discourse are mostly non-smooth single-word (noun) switches rather than smooth switches attested in Spanish-English bilingual communities like New York Puerto Rican. This suggests that Finnish-English non-fluent bilinguals favour the emblematic type of code-switching which requires less knowledge of the two grammatical systems as opposed to some balanced bilingual communities where frequent intra-sentential switching of larger constituents may be regarded as a verbal skill and a sensitive indicator of degree of bilingual competence.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-56).
Table of contents: pagenum: 1-4
label: 1
class: section
title: Introduction; pagenum: 4-6
title: Code Choice and Code-switching
class: part
label: 2; pagenum: 6-9
title: A Functional Description of Code-switching
class: part
label: 3; pagenum: 9-20
label: 4
class: part
title: A Structural Linguistic Description of Code-switching versus Borrowing; pagenum: 21-47
label: 5
class: part
title: Empirical Investigation; pagenum: 21-22
label: 5.1
class: part
title: Linguistic material; pagenum: 23-36
title: Method
class: part
label: 5.2; pagenum: 23-26
label: 5.2.1
class: part
title: Structural linguistic criterion; pagenum: 27-32
label: 5.2.2
class: part
title: Psycholinguistic criterion; pagenum: 32-36
label: 5.2.3
class: part
title: Functional criterion; pagenum: 36-47
title: Results: Data on Finnish immigrants in Florida
class: part
label: 5.3; pagenum: 36-44
title: Linguistic and functional considerations
class: part
label: 5.3.1; pagenum: 44-47
title: Language proficiency and code choice
class: part
label: 5.3.2; pagenum: 47-51
label: 6
class: part
title: Conclusions; pagenum: 52-53
class: part
title: Notes; pagenum: 54-56
class: part
title: References