EVALUATION OF THE USE OF CODE MIXING AND CODE SWITCHING IN NIGERIAN MOVIES

ABSTRACT: Some scholars observe that code-switching is a rule-governed variety used by members in accordance with certain norms, and often functions as a powerful in-group identity marker (Jacobson, 1977, 1998; Myers-Scotton, 1993). But Code-switching as seen in conversation is quite different from that in song lyrics. Code-switching in movie is by no means a recent phenomenon, motivated by the expansion of mass media that provides unprecedented opportunities for people all over the world to be exposed to movies originating in cultures other than their own (Davies and Bentahila, 2006: 368). Code-switching is a more deliberate style used by the actors and actresses who would have packaged, edited and reflected upon their choices and selection of the linguistic features of the language to be used in the conversation of the movie before its release. Over the years, Nigerian artistes made use of a combination of English and one or more indigenous languages in their movie making. Many of these actors import linguistic features of other language(s) into the movie and uses English as the base of their conversation since English is the official language in Nigeria. This process can be described as code-switching in movie. Considering Nigerian setting, code-switching involves English and one (or more) of the three major languages in Nigeria, which are Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo but Yoruba appears to be the most frequently used among the Nigerian languages and indeed, the titles of some movies attest to this fact. In this study, Pidgin is also seen as a local language in this context. In Nigeria, pidgin cuts across tribes, background and culture. It bridges the gap between the literate and the illiterate in the country, and its use allows easy communication. Therefore , actors who seek commercial success and popularity use code-switching as a stylistic innovation in their movie roles.