A Case Study of Malaysian Radio Announcers’ Code-Switching

Abstract

This study explores the code-switching patterns among Malaysian radio announcers, particularly the respective types and functions, focusing on bilingual radio announcers from Malaysia radio stations. Despite the frequency of code-switching studies in Malaysia, limited studies have focused on the use of code-switching in the context of broadcast media. The study draws on qualitative approach with a case study design to explore the code-switching patterns among Malaysian radio announcers. Data were collected from the respective online radio platforms, Hitz FM and Mix FM, where the instances of code-switching were transcribed. Utilising the typology of code-switching by Poplack (1980), the research identifies tag switching as the most prevalent form of code-switching, followed by intra-sentential switching with a preference for Malay nouns. By incorporating the theory of conversational functions of code-switching by Gumperz (1977), it was revealed that Malaysian radio announcers mainly use code-switching for interjections, followed by qualifying messages, reiteration, and quotation. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that emphasising the role of code-switching as a communication strategy is important for catering to a diverse audience.