Bahasa Indonesia-English Code Switching in Indonesian Personal

Blogs

Ashika Prajnya Paramita

07/254559/SA/13958

Submitted for the partial fulfillment of

The Linguistic Seminar Class
Yogyakarta, January 2010
 1. Introduction
This paper aims at describing code switching found in Indonesian
personal blogs run by several Indonesian bloggers. It will also analyze the
types of code switching occurred and the reasons of the language switch done
by the writers. This study is expected to give constructive contributions to the
Sociolinguistics theory, particularly in the field of code switching. The
findings of this study are expected to give useful insights to English
Department students in order to understand the use of code switching done by
Indonesian bloggers. This paper consists of four main parts, which are the
introduction, data and methods, results, and conclusion.
A bilingual person, as defined by Spolsky, is ‘A person who has some
functional ability in second language’1. Multilingual is another terminology
for the ability to speak more than one language. Wikipedia defines a
multilingual person, in a broad definition, as a person ‘who can communicate
in more than one language, be it actively (through speaking, writing, or
signing) or passively (through listening, reading, or perceiving)’2. Although
this ability may be different from one bilingual to another, they can change
their choice of language to suit the situation, condition, or even the mood in
order to communicate effectively. To put it shortly, bilinguals can choose
what language they are going to use. Frequently, bilinguals even feel more
comfortable discussing a particular subject in one language rather than
another. Spolsky (1998) agrees, by saying that bilinguals like to shift their
language for convenience. This might be the fundamental reason of why
people code switch.
According to Hoffman, the most general description of code switching
is that it involves the alternate use of two languages or linguistic varieties
within the same utterance or during the same conversation3. Code switching is
also defined as ‘the alternating use of two languages in the same stretch of

1 B. Spolsky. Sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press. Oxford: 1998. Page 45.

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutilingualism
3 C. Hoffman. An Introduction to Bilingualism. Longman. New York: 1991. Page 111.
 discourse by a bilingual speaker’4 and ‘the ability on the part of bilinguals to
alternate effortlessly between their two languages’5. In simpler words, code
switching is the ability to switch language quickly.
Code switching is a dominant topic in the study of bilingualism and a
phenomenon that generates a great deal of pointed discussion in the public
domain6. Code switching significantly portrays bilinguals behavior, since it is
exclusive to bilinguals. However, code switching is not an indicator of the
bilinguals’ ability to separate their languages or a lack of competence in their
languages. Code switching is more like an extra resource for communication
available to bilinguals.
It is difficult to definitively characterize code switching. First, its
linguistic manifestation may extend from the insertion of single words to the
alternation of languages for larger segments of discourse. Second, it is
produced by bilinguals of differing degrees of proficiency who reside in
various types of language contact settings, and as a consequence their CS
patterns may not be uniform. Finally, it may be deployed for various of
reasons7.
The basic disctinction of code switching, according to Wikipedia.org
are:
• Inter-sentential switching (outside the sentence or the clause level)
• Intra-sentential switching (within a sentence or a clause)
• Tag-switching (the switching of either a tag phrase or word, or both, from
one language to another)
• Intra-word switching (within a word itself, such as at a morpheme
boundary)
Hoffman adds up another type of code switching, namely emblematic
switching (it is tags or exclamation as an emblem of the bilingual character,
establishing continuity with the previous speaker, involving a change of
4 Barbara E. Bullock and Almeida Jacqueline Toribio. The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Code-
Switching. First Edition. Cambridge University Press. Cambride, 2009.
5 Barbara E. Bullock and Almeida Jacqueline Toribio, op.cit., page 1.
6 Ibid.
7 Barbara E. Bullock and Almeida Jacqueline Toribio, op.cit., page 2.
 pronunciation; the switching occurs at the phonological level, involving a
word within a sentence – this form of code switching is uttered within a
sentence involving nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.)8.
Also according to Hoffman (1991: 116), there are seven reasons for
bilinguals to switch their languages. The seven reasons are as follows:
1) Talking about a particular topic
2) Quoting somebody else
3) Being emphatic about something
4) Interjection
5) Repetition used for clarification
6) Intention of clarifying the speech content for the interlocutor
7) Expressing group identity.
Other than the reasons proposed Hoffman, other reasons are also
suggested by Saville-Troike (1986: 69). They are:
1) Softening and strengthening request or command
2) Because of real lexical need, either if the speaker knows the desired
expression in one language cannot be satisfactorily translated into second
3) To exclude other people when a comment is intended for only a limited
audience.
Even though the study of digital code switching on the internet may
well inform us about linguistic aspects on contemporary societies, digital code
switching has not been studied extensively. One of the potential fields through
which code switching can be studied through the internet is weblog.
Around the world, including Indonesia, blog is a new trend. These
days, more and more people use blog for many different purposes. Primarily,
a blog is a lot cheaper, easier to make, and easier to manage than a website.
Among various kinds of blogs, is personal blog. Personal blogs contains
people’s stories and thoughts, through which they communicate with their
readers. The language used in personal blogs is unique because it
demonstrates features of both oral and written speech – it is informal, and it

8 C. Hoffman, loc. cit., page 112.

 contains a lot of features that are usually associated with spoken language. As
a result of its informal nature, code switching can be found almost everywhere
on weblogs.

2. Data and Methods

A. Data
This is a descriptive study aiming to describe code switching
found in Indonesian personal blogs written by Indonesian bloggers.
The reasons for using internet data, specifically weblog, are:
• Weblogs are easily accessible
• The background of the authors can be retrieved
• The texts consist of a very diverse nature
• The language used in personal blogs are very close to spoken
language and highly similar to natural conversation.
The data used in the paper are 15 written blog posts from various
Indonesian bloggers. The data were collected by browsing the internet
for Indonesian personal blogs that contain Bahasa Indonesia-English
code switching. The data were then saved to be analyzed.
B. Methods
The main instrument in this research was the researcher herself
as the key-human instrument. The data were collected by browsing
the internet for blogs owned by Indonesian bloggers, selecting blog
posts consisting Indonesian-English code switching and coding the
selected code switching by grouping them to help make easier
analysis. The blog posts were typed in three kinds of forms: regular for
Indonesian language, bold-italic for the English or Indonesian-English
code switching that was analyzed, and italic for English code
switching that was not analyzed. The data were analyzed by
classifying any forms of code switching based on the types and finding
out the reasons of the use of the code switching based on the data.
The first step of the research methodology was converting the
 samples’ format into texts. Taking personal blogs as research samples
naturally would bring about several problems like irregular text
formatting and typography. Therefore, the next thing to do after
converting was fixing the text format. The typography was not
changed in order to keep the text itself original. The third step was to
code the text consisting code switching by italicizing every code
switching and later make the text that were not going to be analyzed
bold. The code switching data were then grouped according to the five
types of code switching mention in the previous chapter to be
analyzed.

3. Results
The collected and analyzed data are presented in two tables. Table 4.1
below shows that the type of Bahasa Indonesia – English code switching
occurred the most in Indonesian personal blogs is the intra-sentential
switching (43.26%). Code switching of the inter-sentential switching are in
the second position (28.37%), and tag switching in the fourth position
(16.74%). The last type of code switching that is used the least by Indonesian
bloggers are emblematic switching (6.51%).

Table 3.1 The frequency of the occurrences of the types of code switching in
Indonesia personal blogs
Presentages
No Types Frequency
28.37
1 Inter-sentential Switching 61
43.26
2 Intra-sentential Switching 93
5.12
3 Intra-word Switching 11
16.74
4 Tag Switching 36
6.51
5 Emblematic Switching 14
100
TOTAL 215
 Table 3.2 The frequency of the occurrences of the reasons of code switching
in Indonesian personal blogs done by Indonesian bloggers
Percentages
No Reasons Frequency
9.17
1 Talking about a particular topic 22
(4.58)
Love (11)
(4.58)
Emotions (11)
1.67
2 Quoting somebody else 4
3.33
3 Being emphatic about something 8
6.25
4 Interjection 15
-
5 Repetition used for clarification -
Intention of clarifying the speech -
6 content for the interlocutor -
2.08
7 Expressing group identity 5
Softening and strengthening
meanings, requests, and 5.41
8 commands 13
22.92
9 Inserting a lexical need 55
Inserting sentence fillers or 10.42
10 sentence connectors 25
Particular discursive aims (style 38.75
11 of writing) 93
100.00
TOTAL 240

As can be seen in table 4.2, reason number 1, talking about a particular

topic, have 22 data (9.17%). Reason number 1 is divided fairly between two
topics: love (4.58%) and emotions (4.58%). The topic of love occurs in the
samples are all written by female bloggers. The other topic, emotion, covers
every emotion explicitly expressed in the blog posts.
Quoting somebody else, the second reason of code switching, has only
4 data available (1.67%). This is the least number among other code switching
reasons discussed in this paper. The small amount of times the second reason
in used, is maybe caused by the type of blogs being analyzed. Since the
samples are taken from personal blogs, which usually express the bloggers’
thought, there is a very little need to quote somebody else, unless, of course,
there are dialogues written in the posts, which is the case found in the samples
taken.
Being emphatic about something, which is the third reason for code
switching in Indonesia personal blogs, occurs 8 times (3.33%). Interjection (or
exclamation), which is reason number 4 for code switching in Indonesian
personal blogs, has 15 data (6.25%). Reason number 5 and 6, repetition used
for clarification and intention for clarifying the speech content for the
interlocutor, do not occur at all in the samples taken. Expressing group
identity, which is reason number 7, has 5 data (2.08%). The eighth reason,
softening and strengthening meanings, request, and commands, has 13 data
(5.41%).
Reason number 9, inserting a lexical need, occurs 55 times (22.92%)
and is the most used code switching after reason number 11. The amount of
times this type of code switching occurs is most likely caused by the nature of
certain expressions that cannot satisfactorily be presented in one language,
especially for people who are able to communicate using more than one
language. The other reason is perhaps because expressions for one thing
cannot be found in one language but is available in another language, or
probably Indonesian bloggers cannot translate several expressions into Bahasa
Indonesia, which is why they use English expressions instead. The next reason
is inserting sentence fillers or sentence connectors, which has 25 data
(10.42%).
There is another reason for code switching in Indonesian personal
blogs outside from the existing theory. It is reason number 11, particular
discursive aims (style of writing). Presumably, Indonesian bloggers code-
switch the language they use in their blogs from Bahasa Indonesia into
English only for the sake of their style, and/or attract readers, especially
teenagers, who see English as ‘the new thing’ and more attractive.
4. Conclusion
Code switching occurs in Indonesian personal blogs run by Indonesian
bloggers mostly belong to the type of intra-sentential switching. Intra-
sentential switching seems more preferable for some Indonesian bloggers
because it is easier to code-switch only a phrase or word within a sentence,
since they will not have to be concerned about the grammatical structure of an
English sentence. According to an observation of the samples taken, most of
the code switching under the label of inter-sentential switching is not
grammatically well structured. Intra-word switching appears the least in this
study because Indonesian bloggers tend to code-switch either a word or a
phrase instead of a morpheme within a word.
From the five types of code switching discussed earlier in the paper,
every type has its data, because even though this study is not the study of code
switching in spoken language, the type of language used in personal blogs is
part spoken and written language, which is why the language is highly similar
with that of the spoken language.
Among eleven reasons for code switching in Indonesian personal
blogs used to analyze the data, only nine reasons are found in the study, the
most eminent being the reason number 11, particular discursive aims (style of
writing). Presumably, Indonesian bloggers code-switch the language they use
in their blogs from Bahasa Indonesia into English only for the sake of their
style, and/or attract readers, especially teenagers, who see English as ‘the new
thing’ and more attractive.
Repetition used for clarification and intention of clarifying the speech
content for the interlocutor, are not found at all. The former reason is not
found, perhaps, because Indonesian bloggers assume all of their readers to be
able to understand the code switching they use, while the latter reason is not
found in the data because it belongs in the study of spoken language and
cannot be forced to occur in the hybrid of written and spoken language.
The findings lead to a conclusion that Indonesian bloggers do code
switching for the sake of their style of writing. This is done, as mentioned
 above, to attract readers, especially teenagers, who see English as ‘the new
thing’ and more attractive. Another reason is probably that Indonesian
bloggers want to show their audience that they are able to use both Bahasa
Indonesia and English and switch between the two languages effortlessly. Not
many code switching under the category of quoting somebody else occur in
Indonesian personal blogs because there is hardly any need to quote
somebody else, for personal blogs are mostly narration about the writer’s
thoughts. However, this kind of code switching does appear in one of the
samples because the author is expressing a direct sentence said by another
person.
It is hoped that the results of this study contribute to the knowledge of
Sociolinguistics student in particular and English Department students in
general on the types of code switching used by Indonesian bloggers in
Indonesian personal blogs and the reason of the occurrence of the Bahasa
Indonesia-English code switching. Since this study does not involve all
aspects of code switching and there are more to reveal about the subject,
expectantly the future researchers can discuss more aspects of code switching.

5. References
Bullock, Barbara E. and Almeida Jacqueline Toribio. 2009. The Cambridge
Handbook of Linguistic Code-Switching. Cambride: Cambridge
University Press.

Gardner-Chloros, P. 2009. Code-Switching. Cambride: Cambridge University

Press.

Hoffman, C. 1991. An Introduction to Bilingualism. New York: Longman.

M.O., Ayeomoni. 2006. “Code Switching and Code Mixing: Style of

Language Use in Childhood in Yoruba Speech Community”. Nordic
Journal of African Studies 15 (1). 90-99. Ife-ife, Nigeria: Obafemi
Awolowo University.

Nadar, F.X. 1998. “Indonesian Learners’ Requests in English: A Speech Act-

Based Study.” Humaniora. 9. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Cultural Sciences,
Gadjah Mada University.
Savile-Troike, M. 1986. The Ethnography of Communication: An
Introduction. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Spolsky, B. 1998. Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wikipedia. 2009. Internet, (online),

(htpp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualism. Internet. Html, accessed
on January 2nd, 2010)