The Matrix Language Frame model and Spanish/English codeswitching in fiction
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2002
Publisher
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
The Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model of structural constraints on codeswitching was presented by Carol Myers-Scotton in her 1993 book Duelling Languages (Myers-Scotton, C., 1993. Duelling languages. Clarendon Press, Oxford). This article reports on a test of the model using a written corpus. The corpus consists of novels and short stories containing Spanish/English codeswitching published in the United States between 1970–2000. The analysis reveals relatively few counterexamples to the MLF model; the majority of codeswitches found in these texts can be accounted for by Myers-Scotton's model of grammatical structure. The application of a model formulated for speech to a written corpus has implications for the relationship between spoken and written data and the use of the latter in linguistic analyses. The most salient feature of the data is a high incidence of Matrix Language (ML) shifts at mid-sentence. Modifications to the original exposition of the model are proposed in regard to the flexibility of the ML and the constituent types possible.
Recommended Citation
Callahan, L. (2002). The Matrix Language Frame model and Spanish/English codeswitching in fiction. Language & Communication, 22(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5309(01)00018-0
