Code-switching online - A case study of Swedish-English code-switching in the blog Charlotta Flinkenberg

Abstract

This study investigates the form and function of Swedish-English code-switching within Swedish pop culture online through a case study of the fashion blog Charlotta Flinkenberg. Code-switching can be found in a multitude of written data; however, research has primarily focused on code-switching in spoken language. This study seeks to explore written code-switching, and to answer the questions of when, how and why the writer utilizes code-switching in her blog posts. To facilitate this, a total of 310 blog post published between February 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013 were examined. The data was analyzed to see if any patterns of code-switching occurred as well as to examine what types of words were code-switched. The results show that the writer code-switches most frequently when she is writing about fashion and when answering questions from readers about fashion. The results further show that the most frequent type of code-switching was intra-sentential code-switching, with a high frequency of code-switched nouns, reflecting the fashion community’s focus on clothes and accessories. The theories applied show that the writer’s code-switching may be a way for her to establish an identity as an integral part of the fashion community and to connect with her readers.