A SOCIOLINGUISTIC REVIEW OF CODE SWITCHING AND CODE MIXING IN SELECTED JENIFA’S DIARY EPISODES

A SOCIOLINGUISTIC REVIEW OF CODE SWITCHING AND CODE MIXING IN SELECTED JENIFA’S DIARY EPISODES

Background to the study

The employment of more than one language, variety, or style by a speaker within an utterance or discourse, or between various interlocutors or contexts, is referred to as code-switching (Romaine, 1992:110). In linguistics, code-switching happens when a speaker switches between two or more languages, or language varieties, within a single discussion (Richard, 2005). Wardhaugh (2012: 103), on the other hand, claims that code mixing happens when a conversant uses both languages concurrently to the point where they switch from one language to the other in the course of a single speech. It simply implies that the conversationalist alters some of the components in their statement. Code mixing occurs without a shift in topic and can involve several levels of language, such as morphology and lexical elements. Because of its use and social position, code-mixing and code-switching are essential parts of sociolinguistics. The ongoing investigation of many aspects of code change is not surprising, as it has consequences that go beyond (socio)linguistic, anthropological, and psychological implications. To the extent that people's speech is an expression of their personal, social, cultural, and other identities, it is not an exaggeration to say that it affects the majority of the world's population; and, while code-switching has often been stigmatized as a stigmatized form of bilingual discourse, there is no doubt that learning more about the underlying rules of code-switching can only contribute to greater awareness among speakers from opposite poles (Adetuyi and Jegede, 2016).

Numerous writers and academics have proposed various explanations for why individuals mix code and code switch. It is apparent that they have both detrimental and beneficial consequences on language usage. It is consequently vital that these concepts relating to human society and our educational system receive adequate attention in order to be recognized and applied successfully where they are required. In a multilingual culture, there is generally one language that is organically impacted by others. Multilingualism has a variety of impacts, including code mixing and code change, bilingualism, diglossia, and so on. When a speaker comes into touch with two or more languages, he might begin using them jointly, even if not with equal skill. These languages, however, impact each other and frequently result in code mixing and code flipping (Kuntze, 2000). Jenifa Diary contains an example of a common setting in which speakers mix or switch codes. Jenifa's Diary, on the other hand, is a Nigerian television comedy series developed by Funke Akindele. The series is part of the Jenifa franchise and is based on the same-named naïve and amusing heroine. Jenifa's Dairy has over 11 (maybe 13) seasons of operation and is presently operational and ongoing (Ikeke, Nkem, 2017). This series depicts the story of a local rural girl who is anxious to escape her harsh way of life. In her desperation, she flees her town and travels to Lagos in order to obtain a visa to migrate to the United States. Despite the fact that her visa application was denied, she decided to stay in Lagos and live a better life. She subsequently ends herself in the University of Lagos, thanks to a lady she met, Toyo baby (Olayode Juliana), and Kiki (Lota Chukwu), who assist and accommodate her (Izuzu Chidumga, 2017). Jenifa's education is a failure, but she finds a job at the Nikki'o salon on the island with the assistance of her buddy kiki and becomes a huge success in her hair styling business. At Nikki'o saloon, she meets another stylist, Segun (Folarin 'Falz' Falana), who gets attracted in her, but she initially rejects him, but eventually accepts his proposal when he travels to America and they both become engaged (Ikeke, Nkem, 2017). People all throughout the country were continually looking forward to the next episode of the show, and the anticipation had almost reached fever pitch. Even elderly men and women were ardent supporters. But that's not the most incredible aspect. The most astounding aspect is how young people all around the country, particularly ladies, have resorted to speaking in the manner of Jenifa, the series' main heroine, whose main selling point was her perverted version of English (Anozie, 2017). Imitated speech, on the other hand, can be utilized due to communicative setup. It should be emphasized that Jenifa's Diary enables for dramatic speech; it may construct, correlate, and contrast several voices. By doing so, it mimics real-life scenarios of several languages being deployed in a normal oral dialogue among Nigerians. But, on a lighter yet more serious note, while this tendency isn't necessarily negative, it certainly isn't constructive. And why waste time doing something ineffective when you might be doing the opposite? And for those who argue that English is not our mother tongue, while it is not our mother tongue, it is still the official language. And it is still a required topic in o'levels and other types of exams (Anozie, 2017). On that point, the purpose of this study is to discover what drove code switching and code mixing in some of the characters in Jenifa's Diary Episodes, as well as why.

1.2       Statement of the problem

A few research on bilingual English speakers have been conducted. Some research focus on how English code speakers swap and mix between multiple language codes in their regular dialogues or discussions. All of these research gathered their data from real-world situations. None of them looked at the usage of code switching and blending in dramatized utterances. Investigating code switching and code mixing in Jenifa's Diary Episodes will help us figure out how these occurrences are employed among Nigerians. This is the void that this research aims to fill.

1.3       Aims and objectives

This research work intends to investigate code switching and code mixing in selected Jenifa’s Diary Episodes. This study sets to achieve the following objectives:

1. To examine the languages used in the production of movies in Nigeria with particular emphasis on Jenifa
2. To assess the evidence of multilingual practice in Nollywood movies with specifics on Jenifa’s diary.
3. To examine the level of indigenous languages utilization in the production of Nigerian movies

1.4 Research questions

The following questions have been prepared for this study

1. What are the languages used in the production of movies in Nigeria with particular emphasis on Jenifa?
2. Are there  evidence of multilingual practice in Nollywood movies with specifics on Jenifa’s diary?
3. What is the level of indigenous languages utilization in the production of Nigerian movies?

1.5       Significance of the study

The research will x-ray the possible social relevance of code switching and code mixing in TV soap opera in a multilingual Nigeria. The results of the study will assist in creating a better understanding of the code switching and mixing phenomenon amongst Nigerian bilinguals. Finally, it is hoped that this study will serves as a reference material for further research in this area.

1.6 Scope of the study

This study will  examine the languages used in the production of movies in Nigeria with particular emphasis on Jenifa. The study will also assess the evidence of multilingual practice in Nollywood movies with specifics on Jenifa’s diary. Lastly, the study will  examine the level of indigenous languages utilization in the production of Nigerian movies. Hence the study will be delimited to Jenifas diary sitcom.

1.7 Limitation of the study

for the researcher.This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows:

 just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data

Financial constraint , was faced by  the researcher ,in getting relevant materials  and  in printing and collation of questionnaires

Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy

1.8 Research methodology

Research methodology deals with the different ways or methods the researcher applied in order to carry out the research as well as the instrument used for gathering the data.  There are several research methodologies appropriate for answering the research questions. The type of research methodology used in this research to gather data and relevant information is the historical research and the study will adopt descriptive method of data collection. This will involve the collection of materials from secondary sources, such as books, journal articles, magazines, internet sources, international and national conference proceedings, published and unpublished articles.

1.9 Organization of the study

To achieve the purpose of this research. The study is divided into five inter-connected chapters, ranging from chapter one to five. In this chapter one the researcher has been able to give an introduction to the work, state the problem that necessitate this study, outline the questions this work seek to answer as well as the objectives it hopes to achieve. The scope and limitations of this study were outlined as well as the methodology that was used for the study.

Chapter two deals with language and bilingualism, definitions and descriptions of bilingualism, degree of bilingualism domains of language use etc. Chapter three discuss the code switching and code mixing, theoretical models to code-switching, social and cultural factors to cs and cm , pedagogical study on sitcom and verbal humour  etc. Chapter four delves into the motivational factors to code-switching and code-mixing contrived intentional humour in jd.

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