19 November 2010

Code-Switching in Malaysia

What is Code-Switching?

Code-Switching refers to the use of two languages (or dialects) within a sentence or discourse. This is a natural process that often occurs between multilingual speakers that share two or more languages in common. Code-switching involves the substitution of a word (or phrase) from one language within a sentence in another language. The ability to produce and comprehend sentences with code-switching is seamless and its use in multilingual communities is widely accepted and often goes unnoticed.

Definition taken from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/psy457_ksmal/home

Question to ponder:
What are the reasons Malaysians do code switching? What affects their choice of code switching?

Assignment:

Listen to the following song. Provide a proper full English translation. Submit in class next week.




17 November 2010

Accents in Malaysia

Observe this video. Comment on whether you agree or disagree with it.



Further discussion:
Do you speak with an accent? If yes, what kind of accent do you have?