Tagalog-English Codeswitching in Scripted Television Shows

Tagalog-English Codeswitching in Scripted Television Shows

Kristy Estabalaya

Code switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages in the context of a single conversation. This is typical among bilingual speakers. Tagalog is an Austronesian language that belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian subfamily, with influences from Malaya and Chinese, and later from both Spanish and American English. For the purpose of this study the term Tagalog will be used to describe the native language of the Philippines. When they combine the internal language with the vernacular language it becomes a customary practice among Filipinos both in rural and in urban scenarios (Deocampo, 2011). Media has influenced the Philippines and the Filipino culture. Scripted television shows are very popular to the country. Oh My G! and Ningning are two very highly rated scripted television shows. These television shows were chosen because they display two different storylines. This study determines how code switching is depicted in these shows and how often it is used, as well as explain the different situations in which code switching occurs. This study shows, that the language used such as Tagalog and English is highly influenced by the characters socioeconomic status.