English single content morphemes in Persian structure: Applying the Matrix Language Frame Model (MLF) and 4M Model

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-453
Author(s):  
Marzieh Hadei ◽  
Rita AR Ramakrishna

Aim and objective: The aim of this study is to show how different English single content morphemes, in particular nouns and adjectives, occur in the Persian structure by applying the Matrix Language Frame and 4M models. Methodology: The data collection in the present study includes tape-recordings of spontaneous conversations involving 12 Persian–English bilingual speakers at a public university in Malaysia. The IELTS participants’ scores were 6.0 or higher and they were between 20 and 40 years old. Data and analysis: Qualitatively, 8 hours of tape-recorded conversations were transcribed and coded carefully according to the Canonical Trilinear Representation. Quantitatively, the English content morphemes, especially nouns and adjectives, were analysed syntactically and morphosyntactically to show how they grammatically occur in the bilingual complementiser phrases. Findings and conclusions: The findings of this study reveal that code-switching was permissible even when it led to structural dissimilarity. Wherever it was required by a Persian principle, the inserted English elements, particularly nouns and adjectives, received different Persian markers. They may also appear without any Persian marker where required by the Persian grammar. Moreover, the data supported the Matrix Language Frame and 4M models’ principles, Morpheme order principle and System morpheme principle, and no counterexample appeared against the mentioned models. Originality/significance/implication: There are few studies on code-switching between Persian and English that focus on typological differences between the languages involved and the use of the Matrix Language Frame model and 4M model. Thus, the present study contributes knowledge in the field of code-switching between Persian and English and discusses how English single content morphemes, particularly nouns and adjectives, occur in the Persian structure by applying both the Matrix Language Frame model and 4M model as references.

1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena M. Savić

ABSTRACTThis study investigates how the process of structural convergence common in many bilingual communities (cf. Clyne 1987, 1994) interacts with the process of code-switching. Data on Serbian/English code-switching indicate that there the process of structural convergence is reshaping the Serbian variety spoken by bilingual speakers. This process is reflected in code-switching situations in the form of what Myers-Scotton 1993b calls “matrix language” (ML) turnover: the matrix language in code-switched utterances can only be assigned if one considers the process of structural convergence occurring in Serbian. These data indicate that code-switched utterances in which the diachronic ML turnover is under-way present a very useful source of information not only for the analysis of code-switching, but also for the analysis of language change under conditions of contact. The findings of this study strongly suggest that any theoretical model of code-switching which aims at achieving universality needs also to take into consideration the results of the structural convergence that affects linguistic varieties in many code-switching bilingual communities. (Structural convergence and language change, Serbian, code-switching, Matrix Language Frame model)


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Marzieh Hadei

<p class="1"><span lang="X-NONE">The present study aims to show whether or not English single word insertions in Persian can be considered as code-switching or established borrowing. A mixed method design is chosen for the study. Data for the present study were collected from 12 Persian-English bilingual speakers in different tape-recorded spontaneous conversations. The findings of the study revealed that English single word insertions cannot be considered as established borrowing for several reasons:  a) They are not integrated phonologically into the Persian frame b) They behave similarly to phrasal insertions with different Persian markers c) They are not fixed in the mental lexicon of the bilingual Persian-English speakers and are used without any awareness and d) English verbs cannot integrate into the Persian frame- neither morphologically nor syntactically. <span>Overall, the present study agrees with Myers-Scotton’s (2002) </span>that borrowing arises originally as code-switching, and borrowed forms and code-switched forms tend to fall across a continuum.</span></p>


Author(s):  
Eva Duran Eppler ◽  
Adrian Luescher ◽  
Margaret Deuchar

AbstractThis paper presents a comparative evaluation of three linguistic frameworks, the Minimalist Programme (MP), Word Grammar (WG) and the Matrix Language Frame Model (MLF), regarding their predictions of possible combinations in a corpus of 187 German–English code-switched (CS) determiner–noun constructions. The comparison revealed a significant difference in the accuracy of the predictions between the MP and WG, but not between the other frameworks. We draw attention to the fact that while WG and MP deal with the processes of feature agreement between determiner and noun, the MLF is concerned with a broader notion of agreement in language membership. We suggest that advances in our understanding of grammaticality in code-switching will be achieved by combining the insights of all three frameworks instead of considering them in isolation.


1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keumsil Kim Yoon

AbstractThis article explores typology-based differences in patterns of bilingual behavior by analyzing code-switches of Korean-English bilingual speakers, a language group that has not received much study so far. Data collected from 20 balanced bilinguals was analyzed to address the issues of linguistic constraints on code-switching and applicability of the concepts of nonce borrowing, language assignment, and neutrality to the phenomena observed. Two interesting code-switching phenomena were found: a change of the part of speech in the process of making small-size nonequivalence constituent switches and an introduction of Korean “operating verbs,” which are inflected to indicate the degree of respect to the interlocutor. Four subjects (two males, two females), who were taped in two different contexts, showed a reduction in social code-switching and a higher rate of English monolingual sentences when talking to their spouses than to an acquaintance.


Author(s):  
Małgorzata Kniaź

The study aims to answer the question of whether lone English items that occur in Arabic-English code-switching are borrowings or code-switches. This is based on empirical data collected at the American University in Cairo. The data were analyzed within the framework of the Matrix Language Frame model. 3443 bilingual projections of complementizer (CP) were investigated. They were divided into two types: (1) CPs with Arabic as the Matrix Language (ML) and (2) CPs with English as the ML. The analysis shows a clear discrepancy between categories of items used in the two types. In Arabic CPs, the most frequently switched category concerns English nouns related to the field of study and academic life as well as Standard Arabic in monolingual discourse. The interviews conducted with the participants in the study revealed that they were mostly used due to the lack of Arabic equivalents at the speakers’ disposal. In English CPs, mainly Arabic conjunctions and discourse markers appear. We claim that this categorial and functional variation between Arabic and English results from the linguistic situation in the Arab world. For bilingual speakers in Arabic diglossic communities, educated in schools with instruction in English and non-proficient in Standard Arabic, English items are the only means to communicate in many fields. Such items become part of their mental lexicon and thus should be considered as borrowings even if they are not established loans.


1983 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajendra Singh

Gumperz (1976) claims that the direction of a code-switch provides important clues regarding the intended illocutionary force of an utterance and that oppositions like warning/personal appeal and casual remark/personal statement can be seen as metaphoric extensions of the we/they code opposition. “What at the societal level,” he observes, “are seen as norms of language usage or symbolic affirmations of ethnic boundaries are transformed here and built upon in conversation to affect the interpretation of speakers' intent and determine effectiveness in communication” (39–40). His hypothesis was corroborated by his Hindi-English bilingual speakers who felt that whereas a shift to the “they” code (English) suggested more of a threat, a shift to the “we” code (Hindi) signified more of a personal appeal. Code choice, according to Gumperz, is a device that determines the interpretation of an utterance (at least as far as its illocutionary force is concerned).


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
SARAH FAIRCHILD ◽  
JANET G. VAN HELL

Code-switching is prevalent in bilingual speech, and follows specific syntactic constraints. Several theories have been proposed to explain these constraints, and in this paper we focus on the Minimalist Program and the Matrix Language Frame model. Using a determiner-noun picture naming paradigm, we tested the ability of these theories to explain determiner-noun code-switches in Spanish–English bilinguals. The Minimalist Program predicts that speakers will use the determiner from the gendered language, whereas the Matrix Language Frame model predicts that the determiner will come from the language that dominates the syntactic structure in a code-switched utterance. We observed that the bilinguals had slowest naming times and decreased accuracy in Spanish determiner - English noun conditions (‘el dog’), and that adding a Matrix Language did not modulate this pattern. Although our results do not align with either theory, we conclude that they can be explained by the WEAVER++ model of speech production.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1581-1591
Author(s):  
Margarita A. Burdygina ◽  

The paper proposes a linguistic approach to studying code-switching in IT discourse of Moscovian IT specialists. The topic is of special interest since nowadays code-switching dominates in a number of professional spheres such as informational technologies, marketing and telecommunications. It also becomes a new language for the modern generation and moreover, a necessary tool for establishing contacts and demonstrating community affiliation. This new code exists not only within workplaces but also beyond them, that is why the aim of the article is to present an in-depth research into how IT discourse shapes Russian digital language on the whole. The methodology used for research is the Matrix Language Frame Model by C. Myers-Scotton (1993). The language units, which are represented by code-switches, are also analyzed in terms of their syntactic, morphological features and pragmatic functions. The research carried among more than 200 IT‑specialists provided a thorough understanding of linguistic features and pragmatic functions of the collected code-switches and what is more, proved the impact of the sociolect on the Russian digital language


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