University undergraduates’ attitudes on code-mixing and sex stereotypes

Abstract

An empirical investigation of the code-mixing phenomena frequently observed in Taiwan, where Mandarin Chinese is the official, "high" language although the influences of Taiwanese ("low" language), Japanese, & English are substantial. In contemporary Taiwanese society, code mixes of Mandarin-Taiwanese, Mandarin-Japanese, Mandarin-English, & pure Mandarin are commonplace. Examined here are S perceptions derived from these code mixes, & gender differences. Ss (N = 2 males & 2 females) recorded utterances on a neutral topic in each of the four codes. A group of university students (N = 39) were then provided with 7-point semantic differential scales & requested to record their perceptions of each of the 16 code sequences. Neither the actual number of speakers nor their gender was explicitly mentioned. The differential scales were statistically analyzed. The conduct & results of a second study - intended to be a replication of the first, with some modifications - are also outlined. 16 Tables, 24 References. P. A. Bain