Sinhala-English Code-Switching in Text Messaging: A Study Based on Undergraduates of Two State Universiti es in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This research investi gates Sinhala-English codeswitching in text messaging among undergraduates from two state universiti es in Sri Lanka. Despite the widespread occurrence of code-switching in spoken and writt en communicati on, there is a signifi cant gap in research addressing this phenomenon in writt en forms, parti cularly within text messaging. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the functi ons of code-switching for eff ecti ve communicati on in a bilingual context. A sample of 40 undergraduates from the University of Colombo and the University of Kelaniya was selected using strati fi ed random sampling. The primary data comprised 1500 text messages. Qualitati ve content analysis was employed to examine the messages, focusing on identi fying the functi ons of code-switching and its role in facilitati ng communicati on. The analysis was guided by Myers-Scott on’s Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model, which diff erenti ates between the matrix language and the embedded language in bilingual utt erances. The fi ndings revealed seven key functi ons of code-switching: socio-cultural and religious functi ons, greeti ngs, academic, scienti fi c and technical terms, idioms and expressions, aff ecti ve functi ons, quotati ves and politeness markers. The results indicate that parti cipants switch between the two languages to meet their communicati ve needs eff ecti vely. Code-switching to English mostly serves functi ons related to academic and technical terms, greeti ngs, socio-cultural contexts and politeness markers, while code-switching to Sinhala is mostly used for aff ecti ve functi ons, expressions and quotati ves. This study contributes to the relati vely unexplored area of writt en code-switching, off ering insights into how bilingual undergraduates in Sri Lanka use code-switching in text messaging.