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【Abstract】Code-Switching （CS） is an interesting linguistic phenomenon which refers to the use of two or more linguistic varieties in the same conversation or interaction. The films of Rush Hour involves a great deal of CS and thus becomes an ideal material to study the linguistic phenomenon. This paper is dedicated to analyzing CS in films of Rush Hour with Myers-Scotton’s Markedness Model.
【Key words】Code-Switching; Rush Hour; Markedness Model
Introduction
1.Research Background and objectives
Since the 1970s， CS has become a heated research topic for linguists. Over the past decades， globalization has witnessed a sharp rise of CS. It can be easily found in everyday life. For example， “What are you 弄啥嘞？” has been spread as a network buzzword for it impresses people with funniness.
The popular Rush Hour films made a good use of CS （English， Chinese， Cantonese and Japanese） to achieve an effect of humor. Characters in it switch their codes according to different language environments， purposes and so on. Therefore， Rush Hour can be taken as an ideal case to study CS phenomenon.
This thesis is meant to conduct a theoretical study of CS with Myers Scotton’s Markedness Model and is dedicated to find out underlying mechanisms and functions of CS. In details， this thesis aims to solve the following questions：
（1） What are the causes of CS in Rush Hour？
（2） What characteristics does CS in Rush Hour have？
（3） What are the functions of CS in Rush Hour？
2. Literature Review
2.1 The Definition of CS
The term CS refers to “the alternate use of two or more languages within the same utterance or during the same conversation” （Hoffmann，1991）. CS， a cover term for language or code alternations， is an extremely common occurrence and a favored strategy， especially in oral discourse （Verschuren，1999）.
2.2 Previous Studies on CS
In the 1970s， Blom and Gumperz distinguished two types of CS in Social Meaning in Structure： CS in Norway. They made a distinction between situational and metaphorical CS. In 1983， Myers-Scotton put forward his Markedness Model. The concept “markedness” was first put forward by Jakobson. Scotton put this concept into the study of language variation and thought that the choice of code also had a distinction between “marked” and “unmarked”.
3. Theoretical Foundation
With extensive linguistic theory basis， Markedness Model is a development of markedness theory in cognitive pragmatic aspect （Zhu Changhe， 2005）. In Markedness Model， members in the same linguistic community have the consensus of what the suitable code is， and the knowledge that choosing marked codes in certain situations will lead to special effects. Scotton presumes that markedness metric， speakers’ competence to identify marked codes， is contained in Chomsky’s pragmatic competence. The cognitive system in speakers’ mind will obtain the capability of understanding markedness through speakers’ interaction experience in his or her speech community. 3.1 Indexicality and Effect
Two fundamental notions in Markedness Model are indexicality and effect. Based on indexicality， a code is included into marked or unmarked categories according to the expectations a speech community have in specific language settings. The choice that can be predicated by social norms is unmarked. However， whether a code is marked or not is a matter of continuum and there is no clear cut between them.
Effect is linked to how the listener process the speakers’ intention. Scotton considered that intention， the indirect meaning in an utterance， can also be expressed through CS. In her Codes and Consequences， lots of examples show that speakers may express certain intention by means of CS.
3.2 Rights and Obligations and Negotiation Principle
Scotton proposed a “Rights and Obligations” principle （the RO set）， which refers to the mutual attitudes and expectations participants have for each other in a conversation. Unmarked code choices form a set of unmarked “rights and obligations” while marked choices are manifestations of negotiation.
3.3 Rational Actor Model
Code choices are calculated by speakers in order to gain maximum benefits. Firstly， as rational acts attach importance to cost-benefit analysis， choices are necessarily related to purposes. Secondly， rationality is also the mechanism to account for how choices are made. The reasons for speakers to choose certain code is that they want to get benefit from the choice of themselves.
4. The Analysis of CS in Rush Hour by Markedness Model
In the following dialogues， all speakers in the dialogues have a consensus which guides them to choose marked or unmarked code under different circumstances. And speakers’ act of switching codes is a rational and leads to some ends. Particularly， CS as a marked choice is a process of negotiating to abolish the current Rights and Obligations set， and meanwhile， constructing a new set of Rights and Obligations the speaker wants the listener to accept.
Dialogue 1
【Key words】Code-Switching; Rush Hour; Markedness Model
Introduction
1.Research Background and objectives
Since the 1970s， CS has become a heated research topic for linguists. Over the past decades， globalization has witnessed a sharp rise of CS. It can be easily found in everyday life. For example， “What are you 弄啥嘞？” has been spread as a network buzzword for it impresses people with funniness.
The popular Rush Hour films made a good use of CS （English， Chinese， Cantonese and Japanese） to achieve an effect of humor. Characters in it switch their codes according to different language environments， purposes and so on. Therefore， Rush Hour can be taken as an ideal case to study CS phenomenon.
This thesis is meant to conduct a theoretical study of CS with Myers Scotton’s Markedness Model and is dedicated to find out underlying mechanisms and functions of CS. In details， this thesis aims to solve the following questions：
（1） What are the causes of CS in Rush Hour？
（2） What characteristics does CS in Rush Hour have？
（3） What are the functions of CS in Rush Hour？
2. Literature Review
2.1 The Definition of CS
The term CS refers to “the alternate use of two or more languages within the same utterance or during the same conversation” （Hoffmann，1991）. CS， a cover term for language or code alternations， is an extremely common occurrence and a favored strategy， especially in oral discourse （Verschuren，1999）.
2.2 Previous Studies on CS
In the 1970s， Blom and Gumperz distinguished two types of CS in Social Meaning in Structure： CS in Norway. They made a distinction between situational and metaphorical CS. In 1983， Myers-Scotton put forward his Markedness Model. The concept “markedness” was first put forward by Jakobson. Scotton put this concept into the study of language variation and thought that the choice of code also had a distinction between “marked” and “unmarked”.
3. Theoretical Foundation
With extensive linguistic theory basis， Markedness Model is a development of markedness theory in cognitive pragmatic aspect （Zhu Changhe， 2005）. In Markedness Model， members in the same linguistic community have the consensus of what the suitable code is， and the knowledge that choosing marked codes in certain situations will lead to special effects. Scotton presumes that markedness metric， speakers’ competence to identify marked codes， is contained in Chomsky’s pragmatic competence. The cognitive system in speakers’ mind will obtain the capability of understanding markedness through speakers’ interaction experience in his or her speech community. 3.1 Indexicality and Effect
Two fundamental notions in Markedness Model are indexicality and effect. Based on indexicality， a code is included into marked or unmarked categories according to the expectations a speech community have in specific language settings. The choice that can be predicated by social norms is unmarked. However， whether a code is marked or not is a matter of continuum and there is no clear cut between them.
Effect is linked to how the listener process the speakers’ intention. Scotton considered that intention， the indirect meaning in an utterance， can also be expressed through CS. In her Codes and Consequences， lots of examples show that speakers may express certain intention by means of CS.
3.2 Rights and Obligations and Negotiation Principle
Scotton proposed a “Rights and Obligations” principle （the RO set）， which refers to the mutual attitudes and expectations participants have for each other in a conversation. Unmarked code choices form a set of unmarked “rights and obligations” while marked choices are manifestations of negotiation.
3.3 Rational Actor Model
Code choices are calculated by speakers in order to gain maximum benefits. Firstly， as rational acts attach importance to cost-benefit analysis， choices are necessarily related to purposes. Secondly， rationality is also the mechanism to account for how choices are made. The reasons for speakers to choose certain code is that they want to get benefit from the choice of themselves.
4. The Analysis of CS in Rush Hour by Markedness Model
In the following dialogues， all speakers in the dialogues have a consensus which guides them to choose marked or unmarked code under different circumstances. And speakers’ act of switching codes is a rational and leads to some ends. Particularly， CS as a marked choice is a process of negotiating to abolish the current Rights and Obligations set， and meanwhile， constructing a new set of Rights and Obligations the speaker wants the listener to accept.
Dialogue 1