Patterns of Code-switching in the Amharic Media

Abstract

This study examines patterns of Amharic-English code-switching in the Amharic media language use. It employed a qualitative descriptive approach, which helped break down the recordings and transcripts into intelligible units that helped explain the various language use forms created by code-switching in the Amharic media. Thus, five Amharic media outlets focusing on sport, medical science, and science and technology were purposively selected to study language use in the Amharic media. Hence, 1090 examples which have both Amharic and English elements were selected. A generic step of data analysis was made so as to classify the different types and patterns of code-switching instances. The findings indicated that the three different types of code-switching, namely tag switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching, are found in the Amharic media language use. Moreover, it was found that there are different patterns of code-switching from English to Amharic. Thus, it is shown that Amharic is the matrix language and is quite resistant against any change of its basic word order. It can also be seen that the mixed constituents found in the Amharic media confirm that the matrix language frame (MLF) model can satisfactorily explain the patterns of Amharic-English code-switching.

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