Overview of the thesis

The world has become globalized more and more, and the

number of people who travel to foreign countries and study

abroad has increased rapidly in the 20th century. Accompanying

this, more people speak more languages than before. Because

of globalization, internationalization and rapid technological

advances through the last two centuries many languages

disappear every year when fewer and fewer people speak them,

and languages have become mixed with each other through

communication and the mixing of peoples. This has happened

not only for cultures, politics and industries, but because

people also demand an international aspect to languages.

In this thesis, we will discuss one linguistic phenomenon

- how people mix languages in their speech. As more people

use many languages, more languages are mixed and new words

come into other languages. In Chapter One, we will talk about

language acquisition, bilingualism/ multilingualism, second/

foreign language learning, the mixing of languages and basic

ideas for code-switching (which is the switching of language

mid-sentence) which are all needed and useful to talk about

code-switching. We will deal with the functions of code-

switching and analyze how those work in a conversation in

Chapter Two and discuss the influences of code-switching over

languages in Chapter Three.

Each language and the relation of languages have changed

greatly thorough history, and it is also changing everyday

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now. What is the future of languages in the world? How will

languages change from now on? It would be an important issue

for people to think and talk about.

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Chapter 1

1. 1. Introduction

English is the most common language in the world, and a

great number of people speak English as their native language,

or as the second language or a foreign language. English is

considered as an international language nowadays, and it is

used for business, in the academic world and in the mass

media. Therefore, many people in many countries study English

at schools, and Japan is one of those countries. It is said

that “according to conservative estimate, mother tongue

speakers (of English) have now reached around 400 million; a

further 350 million use English as a second language; and a

further 100 million use it fluently as a foreign language.”1

When people speak and talk with other people, usually

they use only one language. However, many people in the world

speak more than two languages lately. Some people speak more

than two languages as their native languages and are

bilingual, and others speak the languages which are not their

mother tongues as the second or foreign languages. However,

when they speak more than two languages in a conversation, do

they speak each language properly and separately? Or do many

of them mix some different languages in some way? For

jinstance,

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“Do you know where I can get a Moushikomisyo, a

paper to apply this program?”

In this sentence, the speaker did not know the word for

Moushikomisyo in English. Therefore, he or she slips the

Japanese word into an English sentence. This is called code-

switching. Actually, many people mix languages when they

speak, and it is particular to bilingual people and the second

or foreign language learners because they have more

information about more languages. It is very interesting that

people switch language codes while they are speaking. Why

does this happen? Or do people do this on purpose?

A large part of the world’s population is multilingual.

Long ago many of them did not have chances to study and use

other languages. However, the world has been getting smaller

and each country has been getting closer, so more people have

become bilingual and multilingual people, or have started to

learn other languages. Nowadays many people have had more

chances to touch, listen and speak the languages which are not

their mother tongues. Having interest in other countries and

cultures also could be the reasons for this effect.

When people study second or foreign languages or travel

to other countries and speak to the local people who speak

different languages from them, do they just use the languages

which are spoken in the country? Or do people mix the

languages and their native languages? The answer depends on

the levels of the speakers, but probably, many people mix the

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languages. For example, when people travel to an English-

speaking country such as Hawaii, they might look for a

Japanese restaurant and might switch codes (languages) like

this. "Japanese restaurant doko?" while using some gestures.

Perhaps, many people, even if they do not study English at

school, know the word "Japanese", and the word "restaurant" is

also used in the same meaning in Japanese, so they know these

words. Yet, they might not know the word "where" in English,

so they use doko to ask the place where they can eat Japanese

food.

It is impossible to speak new languages perfectly from

the beginning; therefore, even for bilingual people, they mix

the languages while they are thinking and speaking.

Here are some more examples of code-switching at the

vocabulary level.

I will have two Kaisy setsumeikai(= an explanatory

meeting)

Sorry, I am Jyama-ing (= bothering) you

Hi daddy, meyamo Emma.

The first two sentences are code-switching between

English and Japanese, and were made by Japanese girls who have

been studying English. Presumably they switched codes because

they did not know the exact words in English. The last one is

between English and Spanish made by a Hispanic girl who was

born in Mexico but has been living in the U.S. for fourteen

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years. She switched the languages, maybe, naturally and it is

part of her speech, because her native language is Spanish,

however, her English ability is nearly equal to the native

level. Code-switching can happen in daily conversation and

each of them has different functions and styles.

In this thesis I will discuss code-switching. There are

many kind aspects of language use which leads to people

switching codes. I will discuss it in detail in Chapter Two.

However, before moving to code-switching, we need to look at

some topics which are related to code-switching and better to

know before we look closely at code-switching.

The author of this thesis started to be interested in

code-switching when she went to study abroad in the United

States. While staying in the U.S. for nine months, she met

many people who are bilinguals and who speak more than two

languages. Until that time, she had lived in Japan where

basically only one language is spoken daily. Therefore, she

did not need to be concerned about switching languages outside

of her normal classes even though she had chances to hear it.

In addition, before she went to the US she did not even have

the idea that people use more than two languages in a single

sentence. However, once she had started to live in the U.S.,

she realized that people use different languages in a dialog,

conversation and sentence.

She lived with two girls on campus, one of them was a

Chinese-American who speaks English as a native, and also

speaks Cantonese and Mandarin at elementary level. The other

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was Hispanic and from Mexico. She speaks both English and

Hispanic as a native speaker. Even in a small room,

therefore, the author could hear many languages and they often

switched codes while they were talking with their friends and

families. The author realized that she also switched codes.

These three women switched codes often to understand each

other well, because they felt that understanding languages

will lead themselves to understanding each other more deeply

and become closer. During her time in the United States, the

author realized this new aspect of languages. Actually, it

had already existed but she just had not realized the

functions of code-switching before. After she came back to

Japan, she figured out that also language learners switch

languages in their conversation, but some of the reasons were

slightly different from the reasons bilingual people do. So,

she decided to study about code-switching and figured out its

affects on the world’s languages.

1. 2. 1. Language Acquisition

In this next section, I will discuss several things which

are related to code-switching which include language

acquisition and the mixing of languages. Later in the

chapter, we will discuss code-switching in more detail.

Most people acquire at least one language without any

difficulties just from being surrounded by the environment

where the language is spoken. Infants usually start to make

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short sounds 　 around three months old, and it is called

gurgling or cooing. Usually those words do not have meanings,

they just imitate the sound that is made by the people around

them. After one year or one and a half years, many infants

start to speak words with meanings, of course there are

differences between each child though. Children start to

learn languages quickly after they become two years old, even

though they still have many errors of pronunciation and with

word inflections. They learn more and more words, and when

they become three years old, many of them start to speak in

sentences, not only by words. Most of them acquire about 1000

words in this period. Usually it takes ten years to achieve

mature speech. It is said that children acquire the

pronunciation of native speaker until eight or nine years old

and grammar till twelve or thirteen, because the human brain

basically stops changing and growing when they become around

eight to ten.2 This period is a very important issue for us,

and it determines whether people will be bilingual or

multilingual, or second/ foreign language learners from the

views such as frequency, pronunciation and grammar knowledge.

However, there are lot of definitions for bilingualism and

multilingualism, and it seems a very difficult topic to

discuss and define. So, what are the differences between

bilingual or multilingual people and second/ foreign language

learners?

1. 2. 2. Bilingualism and Multilingualism

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“Bilingual language acquisition refers to the (more or

less) simultaneous acquisition of two language beginning in

infancy (or before the age of three years).”3 However, this

topic is a part of one of the most difficult issues in

linguistics. Many linguists still study this subject. Where

is the line which divides bilingual people and other people?

If a child is brought up in the environment where more than

two languages are spoken daily, could they all become

bilingual or multilingual? Many linguists have studied this

issue and given their definitions.

David Crystal, the author of The Cambridge Encyclopedia

of Language, says that the vast majority of bilingual people

do not have an equal command of their two languages: one

language is more fluent than the other, and it interferes with

the other, imposes its accent on the other, or is simply

preferred language in certain situations. He also raises the

problem about bilingualism. “Many bilinguals fail to achieve

a native-like fluency in either language. Some achieve it in

one (their ‘preferred’ or ‘dominant’ language), but do not the

other”.4

Here are some more definitions of bilingualism.

● The practice of alternately using two languages will be

called bilingualism, and the person involved, bilingual.

(Weinreich 1968: 1)5

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● In the cases where this perfect foreign-language learning

is not accompanied by loss of the native language, it

results in ‘bilingualism’, native-like control of two

languages. (Bloomfield 1933: 55-6)6

There are many definitions of bilingualism and it is

still being studied. Even among bilingual people, there are

some levels like language learners.

Bernd Klein also studied bilingualism and defined the

bilingualism at four different levels.

1. Equilingual --- when someone speaks both languages as a

native speaker, they are indistinguishable from a native

speaker.

2. Balanced bilingual --- someone who is nearly equal in

skill in both languages, but in this case, it is not

necessary to be a native speaker in both of them.

3. Dominant bilingual --- someone who can speak two

languages, but has greater skills in one than the other

one.

4. Passive bilingual --- someone who is a native speaker in

one language, and can understand the other one, but

can’t speak it.

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If we talk about bilingualism based on this definition,

it will be very complicated because, in this study, some

language learners are also considered to be bilinguals such as

dominant bilingual and passive bilingual. However, bilingual

people basically are regarded as the people who have almost

the equal abilities of native speakers with more than two

languages and not to be prevented or affected by other

languages greatly in many other studies. How do we then

define bilingualism? It has been the main theme in

bilingualism studies, and there is still no absolute

definition. However, in this thesis, we will consider

bilingual people who have almost the same abilities as native

speakers in both languages and others as the second or foreign

language learners.

1. 2. 3. Second/Foreign language learning

Second Language Acquisition refers to “The acquisition

of a second language by someone (adult or child) who has

already acquired a first language.”7 A second language means

that a language is used as a second language in daily life and

people have chances to speak it. On the other hand, when a

language is not used often in the lives of people who live

there, it is a foreign language environment. The difference

between them is whether they are being used in daily life as a

communication medium or not. Second/ foreign language

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learning could be very different from the first language

learning.

This is because adults already have the information of

their native language; therefore it will interrupt the

learning of new languages. In English, the accent is strong

and weak, however, Japanese-speaking people use high and low

accent. Therefore, the English of most under intermediate

level Japanese speakers is influenced by Japanese

pronunciation. Moreover, there is no inflection of verbs

depending on the person and tense and only 2 irregular verbs

in Japanese, therefore; Japanese English learners often make

mistakes when they learn new verbs. English also has articles

which Japanese does not have, so Japanese people have

difficulties when using articles.

In many countries, people study other languages at

schools as second or foreign languages. For instance, while

English is studied as a second language in Hong Kong, most

people study English as a foreign language in Japan. Many

Hong Kong people speak English as a second language because,

after the Opium War was finished till 1997, it was mainly

ruled by England. Therefore, in many places, English is also

spoken as a social language daily. On the other hand, in

Japan, only Japanese is spoken as a social language in public

space, even though, English has started to be spoken in many

places lately. When learning second/ foreign

languages, people create an Interlanguage in their brain.

Interlanguage is the mixed language of the first languages and

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second or foreign and is created by grammar, sounds and

vocabulary.

あ す あ

Therefore, for example of interlanguage of English and

Japanese in Japanese people's head, people tend to pronounce

English words with Japanese accent very often. Moreover, when

they remember some words in English, perhaps people add it

over the Japanese words which have the same meaning.

Therefore, usually, people take a long time to acquire the

word and cannot remember it in English soon. This interferes

with the smooth acquisition of new language in many ways such

as pronunciation, grammar and vocabularies. When people learn

a new language, learners have to study the letters first, and

a huge amount of vocabulary, grammar and the pronunciation.

Writing, reading, listening and speaking: each demands

learners some different skills and techniques. Therefore,

most people take a long time to learn new languages and leave

some influences of their native languages on their second or

foreign languages.

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Japanese English

Interlanguage

Japanese English

Figure 1:　Interlanguage

1. 2. 4. Language effects on the other language

It is well known that the first language has great

influences on second/ foreign langue learning, for example,

their native accent remains in their second/ foreign languages

and they often mix grammars. The knowledge that learners

already have prevents or influences them when they input new

information and it makes them confused. On the other hand,

the second/ foreign languages also affect the first language.

When people move to other countries to study languages,

business or immigration, and live there without using their

native language for a while, they start to lose their native

language ability. For the most part, the loss of language

ability is a temporary one. However, if the situation

continues for a long time, it could be permanent loss. For

example, when a Japanese student studies abroad, she might

lose her Japanese ability little by little while she is living

in the environment where English is mostly spoken and does not

have chances to listen, read, write and speak Japanese.

However, after she comes back from overseas, she will get it

back soon. Whereas temporary loss could take it back, if a

Japanese immigrant once loses the chance to speak it, she

might not use Japanese forever and lose her ability almost

totally. This is called Language Loss or Language Attrition.

1. 3. The mixing of languages

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There are many languages in the world, and it is said

that around 5,000 to 6,000 are spoken now. In addition, it is

said that there are about 3,000 to 10,000 languages in the

world. Most of the languages are natural ones, however,

through the long history, many of the languages have changed

their vocabulary and grammars, and some of them are mixed with

other languages to adjust to the new environment. Therefore,

there are some languages that themselves already contained

code-switching because they mix the vocabulary of different

languages. The mixing of languages is created by humans and

called artificial language. These are used widely now, and

are spreading to the other areas.

In this section, we will talk about some kinds of the

mixing of languages, because some of them already function

like code-switching. Each of them is used as one language,

however, sometimes they are mixed with two or more languages;

therefore, code-switching happens naturally in a conversation.

A. Word borrowing

Word borrowing is “the incorporating of a loan word from

one langue into another.”8 Much of the world’s common

language English has borrowed many words from other language

such as French, German and Latin because originally Old

English was spoken only in England and the long history of

England led to many exchanges with other people, such as the

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Norman Conquest. In Table 1 we can see some borrowed words in

the late Modern English period.

Languages Borrowed words

Latin Alibi, bonus

French Budget, massage, salon grammar

Italian Concerto, soprano, spaghetti

German Kindergarten, poodle, seminar,

homesick

Hindi Shampoo, yoga, pajamas

Original

Languages of

Aborigine

Boomerang, koala, kangaroo

Table 1: Some borrowed words in the late Modern English

period.

In addition, there are many words borrowed from other

languages in Japanese, especially from English. These are

called Gairaigo and used as a part of the Japanese language

now. For example, the words for computer and machine such as

パ ソ コ ン (= abbreviation of personal computer) and ビ デ

オ (= video), clothes セ ー タ ー (= sweater) and ス カ ー

ト (=skirt), sports バ レ ー ボ ー ル (= volleyball) and サ

ッ カ ー (= soccer) are very common, and they are very

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difficult to replace with Japanese words, even though there

are some. Restaurant, for instance, is used daily among

Japanese people, and few people use the words which have the

same meaning with it in Japanese Insyoku ten or Ryouri ten.

Borrowing words has great influences on other languages

because sometimes it also means that the original words

disappear. Nobody uses the original word Haikyu (=volleyball)

in Japanese anymore in daily conversation, we just use the

English word volleyball. Word borrowing is one of the reasons

why people switch language codes while they are speaking.

B. Pidgin

“A pidgin is a system of communication which has grown

up among people who do not share a common language, but who

want to talk to each other, for trading or other reasons.”9

It is also called a “makeshift”, “marginal”, or “mixed”

language. The vocabulary is limited and the grammatical

structure is reduced compared with natural languages. The

range of functions is much narrower than others. There is no

native speaker of Pidgin.

Here is an example of a pidgin language called Tok Pisin

spoken in Papua New Guinea by around a million people. It is

an English-based pidgin, but influenced by local Papuan

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languages. Tok Pisin is used widely in advertisements and

heard on radio and television.

Long ol ples i gat rul Ol manmerii mas skul. Rit na

rait na ABC I save mekim man i fri. Man i no gat save

long ol namba I gat het olsem kukamba. Man i no save

wok bilong gavman Em i no man tru, tasol i hapman.

Ologeta samting bilong skul Man i no save, e mi ful.

Na bilong givim gutpela eksampel Mi tok long wanpela

tisa, Lempel. (Don Laycock)

(= As has frequently been stated, people must be

educated. Not alone the A, B, C, Heightens man’s

humanity; Not just simply reading, writing, Makes a

person more inviting; Nor does arithmetic learning

Make a pupil more discerning. Reason, Wisdom, Moral

Thought Must be equally well taught; And to teach with

erudition Was Professor Lample’s mission.) 10

In this short paragraph, we can see some English

words, some of them has different meanings though. “Gat” is,

for instance, spelled in differently from English; however, it

is pronounced in the same way and has the same meaning with

English word get. Other words include long, save, man and so

on

People have created the new language by mixing two or

more languages for their needs. Most pidgins are based on

European languages like English, French, Spanish and

Portuguese, because pidgin reflect the history and colonialism

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of these countries. Pidgins have existed in many countries

where European countries ruled during the colonial period.

For example, in West Africa, there are about eight pidgins

based on English, Portuguese and French. Those pidgins were

spoken mainly by soldiers and colonists.

C. Creole

“A creole is a pidgin language which has become the

mother tongue of a community – a definition which emphasize

that pidgins and creoles are two stages in a single process of

linguistic development.”11 Creole has become the mother

tongue, because the number of communities who speak pidgins as

their principal means of communication has increased, then,

their children listen and speak pidgins more than their native

languages. Children acquire the language they listen and

speak for the most of time as their native languages;

therefore, some of pidgin has started to use also as the

native languages. It is called a Creole.

Jamaican Creole, as we see the example in below, was made

in the sixteenth century when the British arrived in Jamaica.

Jamaica is a country that almost completely consists of

immigrants and their descendants. Spanish and Portuguese were

spoken in Jamaica before the sixteenth century because most

immigrants were from West Africa, however, after the British

invaded, Modern English came into the country too. As a

result, since the eighteenth century, Jamaican people have

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preferred to speak Jamaican Creole rather than British

English. This made it develop greatly.

Ole-time people mek wan rule: ‘Learn and study while

in school!’ ABC kyan ongle staat Lov a knallidge in

de haat: Readin, writin, ritmetick Kyan gi Sietan wan

good lick, Heigle smaddy wid no fait Find demself a

Debbil gate; Show respeck an lov de wise: Solomon wi

gi yuh prize! Stody ow fi ondastan All de ways a Gad

an man. In all learnin, Teacha Lampel Set de very

bes example.

(= the translation is the same as above.)12

D. Esperanto

Esperanto is one of the best-known artificial languages,

which have been invented to facilitate international

communication. It was invented by Ludwig Lazarus

Zamenhof(1859-1917). The first journal written in Esperanto

was published in 1889, and the First Universal Congress of

Esperanto took place in 1905. It brought about 700 delegates

together from 20 countries. Even nowadays, Esperanto is often

encountered at international conferences.

Kiom da glasoj estas sur la tablo de Dan Rather?

(= How many glasses are on Dan Rather's table?)

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Kiom da silaboj estas en la vorto "loligo"?

(= How many syllables are in the word "squid"?)

Cxu vi havas dek fingrojn?

(= Do you have ten fingers?)

Cxu vi havas piedojn?

(= Do you have feet?)

Mi tre gxojas, ke Colin havas novan diskon.

(= I'm very glad that Colin has a new record.)

Mi havas multajn posxtmarkojn de Svedio kaj

Abelolando.

(= I have many stamps from Sweden and Beeland.)

When we discuss about word borrowing in Pidgins, Creoles

and Esperanto, we can see that the language itself contains a

kind of code-switching and it is a natural function of

languages. It is very complicated to think of each thing

separately. Our brain always mixes some things, and we can

say the same thing for languages too. With those mixing of

languages, we could think that each language compensate for

the lack of others.

1. 4. 1. Introduction to Code-switching

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When people, who speak more than two languages, speak or

talk with other people who can speak the same language, they

might change languages at the vocabulary, clauses and

sentences levels while they are talking in some cases.

Actually, this often happens if you listen to your own

conversation carefully. This is called Code-switching.

There are some sentences including code-switching I heard

lately.

A) Did you meet natsukashii people at the party yesterday?

B) Oh, really? I'm very zannen ne. But, gan ba te, next

time.

Why do people switch languages while they are speaking

like this? Do they know that they change languages? People

seem to use code-switching very naturally in their

conversation, yet actually, they realize that they do it. How

can we define code-switching with words? We will talk about

this in the next section.

1. 4. 2. Basic definitions of Code-switching

Some linguists have studied code-switching, and they

define it in different words. Most of them have almost the

same meaning but are expressed in different ways. Here are

some examples.

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- People use two languages in a single conversation. People

alternate between two languages smoothly and frequently at

various points, even within a sentence boundary.13

- The movement back and forth between two languages or

dialects within the same sentence or discourse.14

- Change of linguistic style depending on situation,

interlocutor, setting, etc. For bilingual speakers, this may

mean using both languages at the word, phrase, clause, or

sentence level (Goldstein, 2000)

- The use of more than one language in the course of a single

communicative episode.15

From definitions we can see that linguists show that

people use more than two languages when they switch codes and

it fundamentally happens at the sentence level. Therefore, if

people change the whole languages to a certain topic where all

sentences are in a different language, is not regarded as

code-switching. It is called mixing languages. For example,

we suppose that bilinguals of Japanese and English discuss

about Japanese culture in Japanese, but then they next talk

about American pop music in English. In this situation, they

are considered to mix languages, not switch codes.

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1. 4. 3. Studies on Code-switching in the past

Some linguists have studied about Code-switching. One of

them is Miwa Nishimura who studied linguistics at the

University of Pennsylvania as a graduate student. She was

influenced greatly by many great linguists whom she met at the

university, so she started to have interests in Japanese/

English code-switching in the early 1980s. She wrote the book

Japanese/ English Code-Switching: Syntax and Pragmatics and

published it in 1997. In this book, she defined three

functions of code-switching. The functions are as follows:

1. Symbolic functions

Symbolic functions suppose that the different

languages or varieties in a given community represent the

separate groups and identities which usually carry their

own contrasting values and attitudes. It also shows what

the languages stand for in the community.

2. Instrumental functions

Instrumental functions refer to what bilingual

speakers do when they use code-switching when they interact

with each other. The list of the functions that Gumperz

provides was: “quotation”, “addressee specification”,

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“interjections”, “reiteration”, and “message

qualification”.

3. Children’s code-switching

In child speech, they have both symbolic and

instrumental functions.

Another linguist is Carol Myer-Scotton, a professor of

linguistics and English at the University of South Carolina.

She has studied sociolinguistics and began working on the

structural constraints of code-switching in the middle 1980s.

She published Duelling Languages: Grammatical Structure in

Codeswitching in 1993. In this book, she studied code-

switching from the grammatical and functional aspects, not the

sociolinguistic because the study of code-switching from the

sociolinguistic aspect has been done by many linguists

already. All languages have particular rules and principles.

She researched those topics on code-switching different from

other linguists. The main point addressed in this was, “When

speakers alternate between two or more linguistic varieties,

how free it this alternation from the structural point of

view?”

1. 5. Conclusion

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In Chapter One, we discussed the basic ideas which we

need to talk about code-switching. The next chapter will be

discussed on the different functions of code-switching. I

will also discuss the effects of code-switching on

conversation. We use some examples of conversations that

include code-switching and analyze the reasons why people

switch codes. Then, we will talk about how it will affect our

languages.

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Chapter 2

2. 1. Introduction

In Chapter One, we mentioned some linguistic ideas

which are related to code-switching and the basic ideas

behind code-switching. Code-switching is easy to find if

you listen to conversation carefully, but difficult to

define with words. In Chapter Two, we will deal with some

functions of code-switching which are expressed with

easier ways than the linguists have defined. Many

linguists have studied and analyzed it, but their studies

are difficult to understand, especially for the people who

do not have any ideas about linguistics and code-switching

because there are many technical words. However, in fact,

many people in the world switch the languages often in a

conversation when they speak, especially when they can

speak more than two languages. Therefore, it would be

interesting to recognize the functions of code-switching

and find out how they really use it in a conversation and

dialog.

Most people switch codes without any clear concern;

perhaps people usually do not think why and how they

alternate languages while they are talking. However, they

actually do, and there are some reasons for code-switching

and when we switch codes we often do it for some reasons.

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Therefore, we will discuss code-switching in easy words

without using linguistic technical words as possible as we

can to be able ordinary people to understand and find a

new aspect of languages. Code-switching basically happens

in the productive skills: writing and speaking, but

happens more often in speaking, because when people write,

they can take time to think about what they are going to

write. On the other hand, when people speak, they usually

do not take time and it is a more spontaneous action. For

that reason, we will focus on code-switching in the

speaking skill in this thesis.

2. 2. Problems of discussing code-switching

There are some problems and issues that we should

point out when we discuss code-switching. First of all,

it is very difficult to distinguish whether something is

code-switching or not. Basically, we consider code-

switching as the switch of languages which happens in a

sentence, conversation and dialogs naturally.

However, in some cases, people might alternate

languages on for some other purpose. On the other hand,

some people do this without clear awareness and

consciousness. We have to decide how to distinguish code-

switching before talking into main parts. We are able to

consider them both as code-switching, but we also only can

-28---

suppose the one without purpose is real code-switching.

For instance, in the sentence,

“I have been writing Sotsuron (= the thesis

for graduation) since the last May”,

She or he might use the word Sotsuron very

naturally because she or he considers that this word is

part of their language. Or, she or he may use this word

because she does not know the word in English.

In another example, suppose that there are three

people: A, B and C, and all of them speak English. Two of

them also understand Japanese, and the other speaks

Chinese. In other words, A and B speak English and

Japanese, C speaks English and Chinese; consequently,

while A and B are communicating in Japanese, C cannot

understand it. When A and B are talking in Japanese, C

joins them, of course then they switch language to English

for C. However, they might have something that they do

not want C to know, so they start to speak in Japanese

again so as not to be understood by C. In this case, A

and B switch languages twice on clear purpose. The

conversation will be like this.

A: Ohayo. Genki? (= Hi, how are you?)

-29---

B: Genki yo. Kinou no party ha dou datta? (= I'm

doing good. How was the party yesterday?)

A: Tanoshi katta yo. Kureba yokatta noni. (= Oh,

we enjoyed it a lot. You should come with us!)

(C is walking to them and joins the

conversation.)

C: Hi, B, how have you been? Why didn't you come

to the party last night? We had so much fun!

B: Oh, thank you. But I had another plan already.

(B whispers to A) Honto ha C no tomodachi ga

nigate nandayo ne. (= Tell the truth, I don't

want to hang out with C’s friends.)

A: Yes, we missed you. (A whispers to B)

Sounanda. Nara iinjya nai. (= oh, really? So,

that's fine.)

C: Anyway, you should join us next time.

In this conversation, A and B switched from English

to Japanese so C would not understand so they could hide

their negative comments from C.

But then, they might switch languages while they

are talking some times without a clear purpose just

because there are no proper words to translate it into

other languages.

-30---

D: What do girls wear on their wedding day in

Japan?

F: Many girls wear a wedding dress recently,

but we also wear Kimono called Shiromuku, and

it is a traditional wedding costume in

Japanese culture. It is a special Kimono for

wedding day and a white kimono like a wedding

dress.

This is also code-switching. As you can see above,

there are some different types of code-switching even in

one conversation. We are going to discuss how people

switch language codes when they speak. In this thesis, we

will consider both with and without clear consciousness as

code-switching.

As another point of code-switching, each language

has its own features such as grammatical principles,

sounds and characters. The languages people switch could

be very different or similar. When we analyze code-

switching, how much we should care about the differences

and similarities of each language? However, the main point

of the theme we will discuss in thesis is the functions of

code-switching; therefore, we are not going to talk about

languages features deeply.

-31---

2. 3. The functions and the reasons of using code-

switching

In this section, we are going to look at seven

functions of code-switching. The switching itself could

look the same in some cases; however, different functions

often happen even within a single conversation. Those

functions are used by both bilingual people and language

learners, but some of them are mainly for bilingual

people, and others are for the languages learners.

A. Adjusting to the linguistic environment

People use languages to adjust themselves to the

environment where they are now and to their group or

community identity. For instance, the Japanese word:

Shinkansen is translated as bullet train in English. When

English-speakers want to mean Shinkansen, when they are in

Japan, they usually use the word Shinkansen even among

English-speakers because it is appropriate more to the

environment than using the word bullet train. However,

when they are in their own countries like England and the

United Sates, they use “bullet train” because nobody

understands Shinkansen there. For example, when people

who know Shinkansen asked a question:

-32---

How do you get to Tokyo from Osaka?

When people are in a community or group who know

Japanese culture and the Shinkansen, their answer will be

I will take the Shinkansen and it will take about 5

hours,

because it is easier to say than bullet train as

Shinkansen is far more common.

However, if people are in an environment where others

do not know what the Shinkansen is even if they answer

like above, nobody will understand it. Therefore, they

answer by using the translation word for Shinkansen like

I will take the bullet train and it will take

about 5 hours.

In some other cases, for example the names of

vegetables or fruits which are used more for Japanese

foods and do not use in Western food often such as Negi

[leek] and Kaki [persimmon], they say the names in

Japanese when they are in Japan; however, they say them in

English when they are in English-speaking countries.

B. No proper words

-33---

Behind each language is always culture, history and

the thoughts of each countries, regions and people. Many

languages have their own unique words that they cannot

translate such as the name of traditional clothes: Kimono

in Japan and Sari in India, and traditional cuisine:

Kimchi in Korean and Quesadillas and Burritos in Mexico.

Languages are deeply connected to their cultures, and

there are many things that only one culture has. When

people come to those words, how can they translate those

words? It is possible to say in close words or explain it

with some words or sentences. However, usually, there are

no exactly the same words for it. In those cases, many

people switch code to tell what they want to say.

Examples:

Kimono/ Hakama

Kimono and Hakama are the Japanese traditional

clothes and there are no similar clothes in other

countries. Therefore, we cannot translate those

words into other languages properly.

Kabuki

-34---

Kabuki is also part of traditional Japanese

culture. It is a play, partly which includes slow

dance, which is performed with music based on

myths, legends and social affairs of Japan in the

Edo period or before it. It is very different from

other plays such as opera in European countries and

classical Chinese opera called Kyou-geki.

Therefore, although it is possible to explain these

with some sentences, there is no exact word to

express Kabuki in a simple word, so we use Kabuki.

Quesadillas/ Burritos

Quesadillas and burritos are Mexican dishes. Some

ingredients are peculiar to the harvest in Mexico,

consequently, we cannot translate these words into

other languages because their cuisine has

historical and traditional meanings, too.

These three words are all particular to one culture

and there is nothing to replace in other languages,

therefore, we use them as they are even in other languages

and cultures to retain the real meanings.

C. Better understanding

-35---

There are some words in each language that we cannot

translate to other languages properly because of the

differences of meanings. Therefore, just by translating,

we might not be able to tell what we really want to say.

Especially for the words that express feelings, emotion

and impression, and between some languages, it is quiet

difficult to translate the real meanings because of the

cultural and moral differences. In Chinese and Japanese

customs, people behave and talk 　 modestly, on the other

hand, many European and American people are more active

and positive. When Japanese people give a present, they

say, “Tsumaranai mono desuga.” If we translate this

expression into English directly as it is, it means, “This

is nothing special but for you.” When European and

American people are said this, they may be surprised or

might get angry with that impolite phrase, because they

usually say, “I hope you like it” in a more positive

phrase.

Here are some examples of expressions which shows the

cultural differences to us, and cannot translate enough to

reflect real meanings in some other languages.

Otsukaresama 　 （ お 疲 れ 様 ） [Good job/ well

done]

When people finish doing something in Japanese

people say Otsukaresama, and people usually say

-36---

“good job” or “well done”. This is used as the

translation of the Japanese word. However, if

Japanese people are said this words when they have

done work, maybe most of them cannot really feel

the meaning of Otsukaresama. This comes from a

cultural and verbal gap. Also, in Mandarin, people

say 辛 苦 了 , translated however it also seems

little bit different from “good job” or “well

done”.

Gan ba te（ 頑 張 っ て ） [Good luck]

When someone around you is going to have something

they have to work hard at such as test, play and

tournament, we always say something to cheer up

them. We usually say Gan ba te to cheer them. On

the other hand, in English, basically they say

“good luck” to wish their success. The backgrounds

are the same, however, it sounds a little bit

different. Most people say that when they are told

Gan ba te and “good luck”, they feel something

different in their mind.

When people talk to people who speak a different

language, telling their feelings in partners’ languages

will be more welcomed and make them happier. When the

author lived in the United States, she had some Chinese

-37---

friends who also were studying English. Their common

language was English, so they usually talked in English.

However, sometimes, while they were talking in English,

they switched codes from English to Chinese or Japanese

for some words. They did so because there are more common

features between Chinese and Japanese cultures than with

America’s. Saying “ 辛 苦 了 ” sounds better and nicer

to them than saying “Good job” or “well done”. We could

feel pleased by this because we could tell that each of us

was trying to get closer to each other by using the

other’s language. Thus, this function of code-switching

makes communication and relationships go smoother and

better. Not because of insufficiency of knowledge and

linguistic functions, we could use code-switching as a

beneficial tool and communication strategy.

D. Lack of knowledge

When people learn new languages, they have to know a

lot of things like grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

Knowing many words is one of the most important parts of

language learning. If they do not know the word, it is

very hard to explain what they feel, think and want to

tell. However, especially at the early stages of language

learning, they do not know many words, therefore, it is

easier to get in trouble than advanced learners. When

-38---

they do not know the words which they want to say in

English, most of them try to explain in other words or say

it in the other languages they know.

Here is a conversation between two Japanese girls who

switch languages between English and Japanese while they

are talking in English. Both of them are majoring English

at university and have studied English since junior high

school. Their English levels are intermediate and upper

intermediate.

In the first conversation, they were talking about

the judgment of Matsumoto Chizuo who committed the

terrible crimes in 1995. This is from Appendix 2, lines

from five to nine.

5 Haruka: i’m reading news, and at last, matsumoto

chizuo

will be applied to death penalty. It

took soooooo long ne.

6 Ayaka: yes, but that is good news.

7 Haruka: yeap!

8 Ayaka: 当 然 の 報 い だ ね (= it is right

retribution.)

9 Haruka: YES. That’s right.

-39---

In this conversation, Ayaka suddenly used one

Japanese phrase because she did not how to say the word

"retribution" in English, so did not know how to express

this sort of phrase. Therefore, Ayaka used a Japanese

phrase to tell Haruka what she wanted to say.

In the second conversation, they were talking about

the thesis they were writing at that time. This

conversation is from Appendix 3, lines from 73 to 76.

73. Haruka: oh...i'm losing motivation again... >< how

dangerous!

74. Ayaka: sorry i am じ ゃ ま ing (= bothering)

you

75. Ayaka: ↑code switching??

76. Haruka: btw, may i ask u a favor?

In this sentence, she wanted to mean bothering her

friend Haruka, but she did not know the word in English,

so she just switched code at the word level, and put one

word Jyama (= bother) into English phrase Jyama-ing

(=bothering).

These examples show how language learners switch

codes in their conversations. Although these students

have intermediate levels of English ability, they still do

not know many words and are still learning English. In

such cases, people, especially when they talk to someone

-40---

who speak the same language, switch codes into the other

language such as their native language to carry on the

conversation smoothly and easily.

E. Avoidance/ confirmation

When people learn a foreign language, it takes a long

time to learn many words. It is said that people need to

meet a word 10 to 20 times to acquire it. When they meet

new words, they try to use them to remember. However, at

the stages they are trying to acquire but have not

acquired a new word, they might use new words without

confidence. Learners switch languages to the other

language to make sure of what they want to tell or to

avoid mistakes.

In English speaking class at school in Japan, they

basically have to speak in English, but the English

ability of each student is different. Therefore, some low

level students often ask high level students about their

English, and we often could see this kind of situation.

Student A: Can you explain the meaning of

“rebellion stage”?

Student B: Ok, it is the time that children try

to against the people around them,

-41---

especially to the adult such as

parents and teachers.

Student A: Is it like Hankouki in Japanese?

Student B: Yes, it is! Absolutely!!

In this example, Student B did not

understand the word student A used, therefore she

asked A to explain it. Then, she almost understands

but is still not sure, so she asked the meaning of

that word in Japanese to make sure and not to

misunderstand. Using code-switching could be very

effective and convenient to understand the languages

and the differences among them.

F. Language Loss

When people study abroad for a long time or migrate

to other countries, they might lose the chances to be in

contact with their native languages. In this case, they

could lose their language ability permanently loss or

temporary loss. Code-switching can also happen often due

to temporary language loss because the language is

remembered later, or when prompted.

Here is an example situation that illustrates

intentional code-switching. A woman who studied English

at her college went to the United States for nine months.

-42---

At the university where she studied in the U.S., there

were few Japanese students and no Japanese committee near

the school; therefore, she lost the chance to use

Japanese. She could read Japanese on the Internet, yet

did not have enough chances to speak, write and listen to

keep up her ability. After a few months passed she left

Japan, she was forgetting Japanese in some ways,

especially on writing skill to write Kanji.

Here are some sentences from the letter a student

wrote to her family while she was studying in the U.S.

She wrote this letter in Japanese because her family did

not understand English, however, in some places, she use

English words whethere her family understood or not.

そ の holiday の 前 に 、 birthday が あ っ

て 、 み ん な が 部 屋 を decorate し て

く れ た り 色 ん な こ と し て く れ た 。

(= Before the holiday, I had my birthday and

everyone decorated the room and so on.)

お じ さ ん と お ば ち ゃ ん は a little

bit Strange な 人 で す 。 い ろ い ろ 、

時 々 annoying 　 な こ と も あ っ た け

ど 。 (= the man and woman [where I stayed

at] were a little bit strange. I sometimes

felt annoying to them.)

-43---

ど う し て も ３ 時 や ４ 時 ま で お き

て Study し て い る と 、 お 腹 が 空 い

て し ま っ て 。 。 。

(= I can’t help eating when I stay up studying

late, because I am very hungry.)

In those sentences, she switches code to English

sometimes because she is losing her Japanese ability.

Whether they are simple words or complicated words, she

forgot some of them, it means, English words came into her

head faster than Japanese words at that time. Therefore,

she wrote some words in English. We can see then that

language loss causes code-switching in many situations.

G. Intentional code-switching

In some cases, people switch language on some

purpose. For instance, when they want to keep secret from

some particular people, they might switch code.

Here is an example situation that illustrates

intentional code-switching. There are three women who all

speak English, but two of them are Japanese, so they speak

English as the second language. When they go out

together, usually they speak in English because it is

their only common language. However, in some situations,

the Japanese women might have something to talk about that

-44---

they do not want another women to know, so that they

switch English to Japanese intentionally.

J 1: Where are you going?

J 2: I am going to Starbucks with my friend because

we have some things to talk about.

J 1: Oh, ok. Take good care.

E : I want to go, too. I’m going with you.

J 2: I’m sorry, but we need to talk seriously. So,

can you go with us next time?

E : Don’t worry. I will not interrupt you, just go

with you to take a break.

J 2: But, we want to go alone, so can you excuse us

this time?

E : Why? I am just going with you. I’m not going

to listen and join your conversation.

J 2: Yes, but…. Oh, why is she so wagamama?

(selfish)

J 1: Haha, you knew it already.

In this case, one of the Japanese girls switched one

word into Japanese, because she thought that if E heard

that word, she would feel uncomfortable, or might get

angry. She just did this on purpose not to be heard by E,

therefore it is different from the functions such as lack

of knowledge, avoidance/ conformation and language loss.

-45---

2. 5. Comparing the functions of code-switching among

bilingual people and among language learners

Both bilingual people and language learners use code-

switching in their speech. However, the usage of code-

switching is partly different. It looks that highly

bilingual people use code-switching more naturally because

they take much less time to alternate languages when they

think and speak in their head. We cannot be completely

sure because it is quite difficult to examine how long

people it takes to access each word in their brain when

they speak. However, if we think of the lexicons in the

brain, supposedly, bilingual people have a much larger

lexicon for both languages than elementary level language

learners. Language learners probably have one big lexicon

of their native language, on the other hand it depends on

the level of learners, their second or foreign language’s

lexicon is much smaller than their native’s or

bilingual’s. When language learners switch codes,

especially for if there is no proper word for the other

language’s concept such as kabuki, lack of knowledge,

avoidance and confirmation, they slightly take longer time

because of need to check the word with both lexicons

separately. However, bilingual people might already know

the words in both languages, and do not take time to come

-46---

up with the words they want to say. It also might because

of the connection between two languages’ lexicon are much

stronger than language learners.

Figure 2:　 Lexicon in the brain

2. 6. Conclusion

Many of the functions of code-switching are working

while people are speaking. Each of them has an important

role in our conversation and communication. In the next

chapter, we will discuss how code-switching affects our

languages. Then, we will talk about the changes of

language through history, and at the end of the thesis, we

are going discuss about the future of English and world

languages which we really need to be concerned with now.

-47---

English Lexicon

Japanese Lexicon

Japanese Lexicon English

Lexicon

The brain of bilingual people

The brain of language learners

Chapter 3

3. 1. Introduction

In Chapter 2, we discussed how people use code-switching

in their conversation for what reasons, how each function

works in a conversation and how code-switching between

bilingual people and language learners is different. In

Chapter Three, we will talk about the influences of code-

switching on human languages, how languages are changing in

the world, and the future of languages in the world.

3.2. Influences of code-switching on the world’s languages

Using code-switching brings more foreign languages into a

language. For example, as we all can see everywhere in Japan,

a lot of English words are used in advertisements, songs and

merchandise. Due to the present level of English education in

Japan, we will never be able to say that most Japanese people

have high ability in English, nevertheless many young singers

use English titles and lyrics in their songs, and companies

named their goods, such as cars, books and cosmetics, in

English. It seems that sometimes only few people understand

the meanings of songs and the name of merchandise. Even if

they use Japanese, they do not write in Hiragana, Katakana or

Kanji anymore, they somehow write in Roman characters.

-48---

As a result, many Japanese words are becoming lost as

people use English and other foreign languages more and more.

So where is Japan’s place in the world of using English and

how it is changing?

3. 3. The circle of English

Figure 2: The Three Cirlces

The inner circle shows the traditional bases of English

where it is spoken as a primary language such as the United

States, Canada, England and Australia. The number of people

who belong to the inner circle is 320 to 380 million. The

circle which surrounds the inner circle is called the outer

circle, and 300 to 500 million people are said to be in this

circle. The outer circle shows the earlier phases of English

spreading in a non-native environment where the language has

-49---

Inner circle

Outer circle

Expanding circle

The spread of English around the world has been visualized as three concentric circles as we can see in the left side which represents the ways language has been acquired and is currently used.

become part of a country’s main institutions and plays an

important role as the second language in a multilingual

setting. Singapore, India and over fifty other countries are

considered as part of the outer circle. The biggest circle,

the expanding circle nations, are recognized the importance of

English as an international language such as China, Japan,

Israel and Greece, and 500 to 1000 million people are included

in this circle. However, those countries do not have the

history of colonization by the countries in the inner circle,

and in those areas, English is taught as a foreign language,

not as a second language.

These three circles show the importance of English all

over the world, and they show the different stages of using

English historically. However, the most important point here

is that the shape of these circles has been changing through

history. Not only for the expanding circle and outer circle,

the inner circle has also broadened more and more in recent

years.

Before the New Continent was discovered by Columbus in

1492 and the European countries started to colonize other

worlds, English was the primary language only in England.

However, since the trading and colonization became active, the

number of outer circle countries has increased. Moreover, the

progress of media, travel and the exchanging of goods between

each country made the expanding circle bigger and bigger

rapidly in recent years. Each circle will continue to expand

more and more, and in one or two hundred years, the inner

-50---

circle might cover all the circles. It means, all citizens

all over the world will speak one language, and presumably it

will be English.

How will the change of these circles influence our lives

and languages? What will be the shape of the circles in the

future? Is the change acceptable or should we try to stop it?

It is a very important issue in the world nowadays.

3. 4. The future of English and world languages

If we are concerned about the daily lives of Japanese

people, do people still wear kimono everyday? Do many people

still live in a house made of wood and kawara? The answer is

“no”. A long time ago, all the people wore kimonos everyday

and lived in the traditional style houses, however, since the

western cultures have flowed into Japan, the traditional

culture has stated to disappear and become mixed with western

cultures. And, now, people wear the clothes which were

originally only western style such as jeans, skirt, t-shirt

and shoes.

If we apply this idea to languages, we could say that

eventually languages will be mixed with others and might lose

our own language. As people already know, even among

Japanese, the Japanese language has changed shape greatly

through history. Especially, since Japan started to trade

with other countries, as more cultures have come into Japanese

-51---

culture, and more and more words of other languages have came

into Japanese. As a result, we are losing a lot of Japanese

words. For example, in the winter, people used the tool

called Yutanpo which is used to warm up ourselves. We put hot

water in a Yutanpo, and put it into futon or bed at night.

However, after electric heaters became common, fewer people

use them and now, few people know the name Yutanpo, especially

among young people. We could address that we the human are

facing the danger of losing all the languages except for

English.

The author does not think that it is preferable and

acceptable to lose our own language. Language is a part of

culture, therefore, if we lose the language, we also lose many

cultural words and culture itself. Each language has its own

beauty.

However, it seems impossible to stop this situation, and

nobody could stop it. If all the countries stop trading and

communicating and close the country, we might be able to stop

it. However, this is impossible. If we all stop trading with

other countries, enormous amount of problems will be caused.

Japan will suffer from the lack of natural resources,

especially oil. Then, we will force to stop using many

electronic machines. We have already got accustomed to a

luxurious life. So now can we live without using electronic

machines, traveling to other countries and trading with other

countries? Of course not. We can try, but many people cannot

bear it for long.

-52---

Throughout the long history of languages, each of them

has already lost some their grammar, vocabulary and sounds,

and many of them are getting close to English. In　 Figure 3,

we can see the picture that displays these changes in arrows.

Originally, all languages have their own shape. Some of

them are similar to English by nature and others are very

different from English. Nowadays, however, many languages are

importing many words and aspects of English, and as one of the

results, languages are dying little by little. Crystal

insisted, “According to the best estimates, there are some

6,000 languages in the world at the moment. And of these,

about half – some say more, some say less – are going to die

out in the course of the next century. The relevant deduction

is sobering: 3,000 languages, in 1200 months. That means, on

average, there is a language dying out somewhere in the world

every two weeks or so.”16 In the world where the great number

-53---

Chinese

French

English

German

Spanish

Japanese

?? years later

Figure 3: Change of languages

of languages has disappeared rapidly, how can we maintain each

language? We could suppose that all the languages except for

English will disappear on the earth, but the many varieties of

English will be born in the near or far future.

3. 5. Conclusion

Code-switching is one of the great aspects of language in

the modern global world. It makes the communication and

relationships of people better and also can be one way to

break language barriers. By using code-switching, we can

express what we really want to say and understand other people

better than just using one language. Code-switching has many

benefits in this internationalized world because it is

necessary for us to communicate with people all over the world

now.

However, it also forces us to face the danger of losing

our language in the future. If we lose the languages, it will

lead to the loss of cultures and identities, and the world

will be monotone.

When we travel to other countries, we go to study abroad

and we trade with other foreign countries, all because there

is something we cannot find in our daily lives and in our own

society. Searching for new things and worlds are always the

human desires and pleasures. If the world becomes monotone,

there will not be anything to search for anymore. Nobody can

decide which is better for our future: the world languages

-54---

might be one English or we may stop making contact with the

outside world such as trading and travel to maintain our own

language and cultures. What we all can do is while adapting

ourselves to the new phenomenon of the world, we can try not

to get used to it too much and not to lose the richness and

colors of different cultures and languages in the world.

-55---

Bibliography

Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of language. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1987.

Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language: Second Edition. Italy: Cambridge University Press. 2003.

Crystal, D. (1999). Language Death. A revised version of a radio talk for Lingua Franca (ABC Melbourne). Retrieved November 20, 2003 from http://www.e-mesh.com/members/teachers/pdf/tc_art_languagedeath.pdf

Fromkin, V., Hyams, N., & Rodman, R. An Introduction To Language: Seventh Edition. The United States: Thomson Heinle. 2003.

Klein, B. (2002, Sep 15). Categorization of Bilingualism/ Multilingualism. Retrieved November 15, 2003 from http://www.bklein.de/buc-categorize.html

Heller, M. Codeswitching: anthropological and sociolinguistic perspectives. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter Inc. 1999.

Hoffmann, C. An Introduction to Bilingualism. New York: Longman Inc. 1999.

Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. How Languages are Learned: Revised Edition. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. 1999.

Nishimura, M. Japanese/English Code-switching: Syntax and Pragmatics. New York: Peter Lang Pub Inc. 1997.

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. Bilingualism or Not: The Education of Minorities (Crane, D., & Malmberg, L. Trans.). England: Robert Hartnoll Ltd. (Original work published in 1981.) 1981.

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Child Language Acquisition Stages

20 weeks – cooing (ouu, fff) – not sounds of language

6 months – babbling /g/ /k/ → /p/ /b/ /d/ (ma, mu, da, di)

8 months – babbling – intonation, repetition

10 months – babbling, sound-play

12 months – ● repetition (mamama) ● large input affects speech ● 1st words – single consonant and vowel (da for

dog.) (more control and ability to associate meanings with objects)

18 months – 3 – 10 words

2 years - ● 2 word phrases > 50 words ● pronunciation errors

- deletion (spoon → poon) - assimilation (doggy – doddy) - prefer voiced initial consonants (pie → bie) ● word inflection ● “telegraphic” ●”MLU” ( mean length of utterance increases)

2 ½ years – 2 – 5 word utterances; questions, negatives

3 years – 1000 words, 80% intelligible

5 years – rare/ complex constructions 2600+ words

10 years – mature speech

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Appendix 2

This conversation was held between two Japanese women who study English at university. One of them was in the United States at that time to study English, and the other was in Japan. They were talking on online through MSN messenger. There are a lot of mistakes of grammar and spelling; however, we do not need to concern about the mistakes now because the important thing is how they switch codes between Japanese and English throughout the conversation. The author cut some parts of conversation because it was too long to put as an appendix.

April 24th

1. Haruka: Hi2. Ayaka: Hello 3. Haruka: is ur internet ok?4. Ayaka:ok 5. Haruka: i'm reading news, and at last, matsumoto chizuo1

will be applied to death penalty. it took soooooo long ne

6. Ayaka:yes, but that is good news.7. Haruka: yeap!8. Ayaka:当然の報いだね( = it is right retribution.)9. Haruka: YES. That’s right. i'm hungry~ i cannot

study~~1 Matsumoto Chizuo is the man who committed a horrible crime as the leader of big religious organization called Oumu Shinri Kyou in March 20th, 1995. He was crested later and has been in jail since that time.1 Crystal. D. (2002) p. 3602 Lightbown. P. M. & Spada N. (1999) pp. 3-4, 6-9 & 193 Fromkin. V., Hyanms. N. & Rodman. R. p. 3744 Crystal. D. (1987) P. 3625 Hoffmann. C. (1999) p. 156 Hoffmann. C. (1999) p. 157 Fromkin. V., Hyanms. N. & Rodman. R. (2003) p. 3748 Heller. M. (1999) p. 79 Crystal. D. (1987) p. 33610 Crystal. D. (2003) p. 34911 Crystal. D. (1987) p. 33812 Crystal. D. (2003) p.34913 Nishimura. (1999) p. 114 Fromkin. V., Hyams. N. & Rodman. R. (2003) P. 577 15 Heller. M. (1999) p. 1

16 David Crystal, (2003) p.1

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10. Ayaka: do study~11. Haruka: how?12. Ayaka: how??13. Haruka: haha... 14. Ayaka: by the way, many girls want to get married

after their graduation. I think so too.15. Haruka: how come? it's too early!!16. Ayaka: really? but many girls who are hunting job say

so17. Haruka: but, i called my friend and she's gonna marry

after graduation. why do they wanna get married? do u want?

18. Ayaka: I just need LOVE~ 19. Haruka: I want to get a good job.20. Ayaka: before got married?21. Haruka: yes, of course!! 22. Ayaka: it is important for me to have some experiences. 23. Haruka: oh, He talked to me now ne. 24. Haruka: u know what? i only can see him 2 more days.25. Ayaka: ? really??????

26. Haruka: but, he said, he's not coming tomorrow, so i only can see him one more day.. he's suck!!

27. Ayaka: yes! he's suck no, sad. why don't you visit his house tomorrow? too far

from school?28. Haruka: no, ‘cause i don’t have a car.29. Ayaka: oh30. Haruka: it’s ok. I don’t care. Haha. 31. Haruka: so, how are you doing with B?32. Haruka: そういや、彼は知ってるん? Ayakaが自衛隊受けること。(=

by the way, does he know that you will take entrance exam for Self-defense force.)

33. Ayaka: まだ。。。いってないんだ (= no, I have not told him yet.) というかね、あんま人に言いたくないから (= in other words, I do not want to tell many people.)

34. Haruka: why？35. Ayaka: なんか「え?! って言われるのわかってるから。いちいち説明す｣

るの めんどくさい (= Because, I know that everyone will be surprised, and it is troublesome to explain them at each time.)

36. Haruka: ああ。。そうかな。。。？(= um…. Is it?)37. Ayaka: 多分、自衛隊のこと Midoriと Harukaしか知らないよ。(=

Maybe, only you and Midori know about it.)38. Haruka: oh, really?39. Ayaka: Yes40. Ayaka: 聞かれないし。(= Nobody ask me.)41. Haruka: really?

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42. Ayaka: 事後報告で言いやろ。(= I will tell everyone after I finish taking test.)

43. Haruka: まあ。。そうだね。(= yes.. that it fine.)44. Haruka: ところで。。。そろそろ Offlineに行きます。。。(= by

the way, I will go offline soon.) 明日は朝早いので。。 (= I have to get up early

tomorrow morning.)45. Ayaka: もうこんなじかん (= oh, it’s already very late

night.) Sorry46. Haruka: ごめんね。 (= sorry.)47. Ayaka: がんばって (= good luck.) 48. Haruka: thank you~49. Haruka: Ayakaも頑張ってね (= you, good luck, too.)50. Ayaka: no problem51. Ayaka: see ya52. Haruka: Take care and see you

Appendix 3:

This conversation was held on September 17 between two women whose name are Ayaka and Haruka. They talked online through MSN messenger. While they were talking, Haruka was watching a TV program which talked about North Korea and the kidnaps which were done by them.

1. Ayaka: are you there? can you finish writing thesis?2. Haruka: hi3. Haruka: thesis?? i'll try!4. Ayaka: yes.5. Haruka: how about u?6. Ayaka: haha! I sent him only 5 pages rewriting.7. Haruka: 'cause i'll have 2 会社説明会(= orientation for

companies)8. Ayaka: but he said "thank you.”9. Haruka: so, i want to finish asap10. Ayaka: next week? ah.11. Haruka: yes... ><12. Ayaka: what kind of job do you look for?13. Haruka: i'm watching tv... about north korea's rachi

jiken (= Kid nap affairs by North Korea.)14. Haruka: it's soooooooooo scary….15. Haruka: job..? i wanna get the job that i can use

english, but it's pretty diffucult...16. Haruka: travel company or english conversation school, i

think17. Ayaka: Can you use English at the company that you will

go to seminar next week?18. Haruka: don't know well,,,

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19. Ayaka: you are good student! I will do nothing for job hunting.

20. Haruka: i wanna go abroad soon after i graduate, but i think i should have work experience and earn money by myself

21. Ayaka: maybe, NEVER. 22. Haruka: it's ok, u'll have test for self-defense force23. Ayaka: yeah.24. Haruka: it's good ne25. Ayaka: yes. it is good for me 26. Haruka: give me a job~. haha27. Ayaka: i can't♡28. Haruka: getting crazy busy .... ><29. Ayaka: you can find a good job!!30. Haruka: did u know that many "rach kousakuin"(=

kidnapping opera tives.) were japanese...31. Ayaka: yes.32. Haruka: wow...... sooo scary ><33. Haruka: so, japanese people rach-ed(= kidnapped)

japanese people..34. Ayaka: do you know 大 韓 航 空 爆 破 事 件 (= North Korea

Airplane Blast Case.)35. Ayaka: oh, that's different! sorry.36. Haruka: yes, i just saw that accident on tv37. Ayaka: North Korea likely to attack japan38. Ayaka: Japan self-defense forces have to defense JAPAN!39. Haruka: yeah40. Haruka: japan is also a very dangerous place to live

ne ...41. Haruka: ha~42. Ayaka: ぜったい負けない！！！♫ (= I will never lose.)43. Haruka: gan ba te !!44. Ayaka: いや、まずは採用試験にうからな･･･ (= No, I have to pass the entrance test first.) 45. Haruka: yes46. Haruka: by the way, i’m writing rirekisyo(= Resume.) ne.

when i write my academic history on rirekisyo(= Resume.), when should i start to write?

47. Ayaka: from junior high graduated48. Haruka: oh, ok. thanks49. Ayaka: NONO!! high school!!! sorry.50. Haruka: high school graduated?51. Ayaka: enter and graduate52. Haruka: ok53. Haruka: do u need to write rirekisyo(= Resume.) for

self-defense force?54. Ayaka: it contained application55. Ayaka: 願書(= application)? 大学入試の願書みたいな感じ(=

It is like a application for universities.)

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56. Haruka: oh, i c57. Haruka: north korea is soooooooooo dangerous and scary

country,,,,58. Ayaka: yes59. Haruka: now, i can understand why my dad said not to go

to korea60. Ayaka: did you eat pokky decole? it's soooooooo

delicious!!!!61. Haruka: yes, but only maron's62. Ayaka: strawberry. so sweet❤❤63. Haruka: really? ok, i'll try. did u eat another one?

i mean maron..64. Ayaka: no!!65. Haruka: it was not so delicious ne. soso66. Ayaka: ah ha.67. Haruka: um.... i have no qualification to write down.68. Ayaka: 英検(= English certificate examination.) ワープロ

(= Word processor certification)？？とってないん?(= did not you take them?)

69. Haruka: only for driving licence, toeic and toefl ><70. Haruka: ha~. i wanna be a ojyo-sama(= ma’ma) ne71. Ayaka: you are!!!! aren't you??72. Haruka: nooooooooooooooooooo73. Haruka: oh...i'm losing motivation again... >< how

dangerous!74. Ayaka: sorry i am じゃま ing(= bothering) you75. Ayaka: ↑code switching??76. Haruka: btw, may i ask u a favor?77. Ayaka: ?78. Haruka: i'm writing a draft about ryugaku(= studying

abroad) for seishin's ko-ho- (= our university’s official report.)

79. Haruka: can u check how should i rewrite?80. Ayaka: OK. wow! Great!81. Haruka: thanks~~82. Ayaka: おいらでええのかえ?? (= Is myself ok to check it?)83. Haruka: of course!84. Ayaka: ならばＯＫ (= so, ok.)85. Haruka: "原稿.doc" の転送が完了しました。(= finish to send

document)86. Ayaka: こんな感じでちょっと添削してみました。あんまりしてへんけ

どね(= I castigate like this a little bit. I didn’t do it so much.)

87. Haruka: no, thanks a lot~88. Ayaka: みてのとおり、赤で直してます(= As you can see it, I

checked it with red.)89. Ayaka: today is Ina's birthday!!!!! I went to Ina's

web page90. Haruka: oh, i c. happy birthday!

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91. Ayaka: yeah.92. Ayaka: まじ、押しかけて(迷惑）祝いたいよ～～～ (= I really

want to visit him and celebrate his birthday.)93. Haruka: do it! did u send a birthday mail to him?94. Ayaka: I will send it at 9 A.M. because 時差 (= time

difference) is 9 hours.95. Ayaka: Ina is in London!!!!!96. Haruka: oh, ok. I c..97. Haruka: so r u gonna stay up all night long?98. Ayaka: no. I will sleep そのうち(= soon)。99. Haruka: ok100. Haruka: I will go sleep, so see you.101. Ayaka: ok, good night. See you.102. Haruka: bye bye.

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