Functions of Code-Switching: A Case Study of a Mixed Malay- Chinese Family in the Home Domain

In the social environment of Malaysia various languages are used in daily communication. It is common for Malaysians of the same linguistic background or Malaysians of different ethnicities, educational background or social strata to pepper their conversation with linguistic interference, interlingual code-mixing and code-switching. Code switching is a phenomenon that occurs in both formal and informal settings. Since the population of Malaysia is ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous, intercultural marriages among Malaysians occurs regardless of ethnic background and religious orientation. Marriage is viewed differently by couples of interracial marriages. The different perspective on marriage may reflect the linguistic choices of couples when they communicate with their spouses in the home. Studies have found that code-switching in interracial marriages in Malaysia occurs in informal settings in the home domain especially in verbal communication regardless of the family’s ethnic background, be it Malay, Chinese or Indian. This research focusses on the types and functions of code-switching in a mixed Malay-Chinese family in the home domain. The types of code-switching were analysed using Poplack’s (1980) types of code-switching while the functions of code-switching were further analysed using a conceptual framework developed by the researcher that was adapted from Appel and Muysken’s (2005) functional model of code-switching and Hoffman’s (1991) functions of code-switching. .