 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Constructing Identity through Code-Switching in Social Media Contexts
TU Jie
Full-Text PDF
XML 35 Views
DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2025.06.008
Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China
This study focuses on Chinese social media platforms (Weibo and Douyin), adopting a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative research to explore patterns of code-switching in online language and its role in identity negotiation among internet users. Quantitative analysis of 208 valid questionnaires and subsequent qualitative discourse analysis reveal that 83% of users unconsciously engage in Chinese-English code-switching, primarily demonstrating intra-sentential switching patterns where English words embed as salient “figures” against the Chinese “ground.” Results of the Chi-square test indicate significant correlations between code-switching frequency, types, and users’ identity dimensions (p<0.05). Data identified three identity functions: cultural belonging, in-group signaling, and persona curation. The study confirms that code-switching in digital contexts has transcended the level of linguistic efficiency to become an important social infrastructure for internet users to construct their identities.
social media, code-switching, identity, Figure-Ground Theory, online language
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, June 2025, Vol. 15, No. 6, 497-501
Blom, J. P., & Gumperz, J. J. (1972). Social meaning in linguistic structure: Code-switching in Norway. In J. J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in sociolinguistics. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4-5), 585-614.
González Rojas, B. (2025). Code-switching as identity negotiation in multilingual communities. Bulletin of Language and Literature, 2(1), 13-23.
Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hall, S. (1996). Introduction: Who needs identity? In S. Hall & P. du Gay (Eds.), Questions of cultural identity (pp. 1-17). London: Sage Publications.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993). Social motivations for codeswitching: Evidence from Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.