應用英文系研究所

碩士學位論文

以語言學角度分析臺灣饒舌歌中的
文化價值觀：語碼轉換與面子威脅行為
Unfolding Cultural Values Hidden in Taiwan Rap
Songs from the Linguistic Point of View:
Codes-witching and Face-threatening Speech Acts

研究生：洪佳宇

指導教授：洪媽益 博士

中華民國一百零七年一月
 Abstract (Chinese)

論文名稱：以語言學角度分析台灣饒舌歌中的文化價值觀：語碼轉換與面子威脅行為
頁數：一百二十一頁
校所別：國立臺北科技大學 應用英文系研究所
畢業時間：一零六學年度 第一學期
學位：碩士
研究生：洪佳宇
指導教授：洪媽益 博士
關鍵詞：語碼轉換、面子威脅行為、饒舌歌、文化、情緒、語氣

語碼轉換現象可於對話中及歌曲多發現，此現象是受發話者的文化背景的影響而產
生，因而這樣的轉換發生時往往會攜帶額外的意涵(Myers-Scotton, 1993; Bentahila &
Davies, 2002)給聽話者。饒舌歌是一種介於說與唱之間的音樂類型，而臺灣饒舌歌承襲
了黑人音樂的特色，也加入了許多臺灣文化中特有的多語言轉換。此外，在危脅到面子
的衝突情況中，也有研究顯示語言轉換現象不僅能夠深化衝突(Gross, 2000)，也夠緩和
這樣的衝突情形(Su, 2001)。因此，本研究以前述這些研究為基礎，來探討臺灣饒舌歌具
有衝突語言行為的歌詞中，語言轉換行為的目的與功能。本研究蒐集了 579 個具面子威
脅行為的語言轉換字詞句，並依據歌詞的情緒語氣分類，來加以分析語言轉換在衝突語
言行為中的目的與功能，進而理解語言轉換時的表現如何受文化影響。研究分析發現，
語言轉換現象不只能作為字詞借用(Albakry & Hancock, 2008)或押韻及意義傳達(Davies
& Bentahila, 2008)，也能夠表現不同的情緒，並在特定情緒中加強語氣，以蓄意達到面
子威脅的結果。此外，本研究也發現，除了如同 Gross (2000)提出語言轉換在對話中能
夠暫時產生權力翻轉的效果，以掌控對話主權；也發現語言轉換能產生強調權力差距的
效果，以彰顯發話者的強勢與優勢。

i
 Abstract (English)

Title: Unfolding Cultural Values Hidden in Taiwan Rap Songs from Linguistic Point of View:
Codeswitching and Face-threatening Speech Acts
Pages: 121
School: National Taipei University of Technology
Department: Department of English
Time: January 2018
Degree: Master
Researcher: Chia-Yu Hung
Advisor: Michael Tanangkingsing, Ph.D.

Keywords: Code-switching, Face-threatening, Rap, Music, Culture, Emotions, Tones

Codes-switching (hereafter CS) deployed in conversations and songs indexes some rights
and obligations sets stimulated by one’s cultural and historical meanings of the languages
(Myers-Scotton, 1993; Bentahila and Davies, 2002). Rap music in Taiwan, a music genre lying
between spoken form and literary form, inherits the rebellious and confronting attributes from
its Afro-American predecessor, and also blends in the traits of the spoken and literary CS.
Additionally, in a confronting scenario, CS can be adopted as a strategy for face-attacking to
gain control in a conversation (Gross, 2000) or as mitigation to deal with it (Su, 2001).
Grounded on these previous studies, 579 tokens of code-switching in Taiwan rap music were
used to examine the CS employed in each kind of emotional tones of face-threatening lyrics to
see the purposes and functions of CS stimulated by the rap performer’s cultural values. The
findings show that marked codes not only serve as the lexical borrowing (Albakry and Hacock,
2008) or poetic functions (Davies & Bentahila, 2008) such as rhyming. Code-switching
expressions also asserts different emotions to intensify the certain moods to attain face-
threatening acts. Further, it could cause damage to face through either overturn (Gross, 2000)
or consolidate the power disparity between speakers and hearers to claim the authority of
utterances.

ii
 Acknowledgements

還記得大約三年前，北科大應英所碩士考試的前一天我染了急性腸胃炎上吐下瀉，
考試當天早上雖然吃了止瀉藥，但還是在捷運站廁所待了一下子。解決了生理問題之後
好不容易進到了校園，卻在考試開始前五分鐘發現自己走錯考場，於是跟個奇行種一樣
在校園迷路崩潰狂奔，幸好抓到一個在路邊的考場工作人員才順利壓線進教室。
這樣的奇葩行徑恍如昨日，而這段記憶中的昨日與今日之間相隔了兩年半。
兩年半間遇到了非常聰明優秀的同學，大家來自各種領域，也擁有各種豐富的經歷，
多虧有這些高端同學們相提攜，自己才能在這片學術的叢林存活下來。也遇到了許多很
棒的教授們，教授們的學識見聞與胸襟結合其引人入勝的教學，在我的求知路上開闢了
一條此生未聞的開闊大道。在後半段窩在家裡寫論文的這段時光，非常謝謝我的同門同
學、系辦人員們的相助 ，也非常謝謝家人們、朋友們、老師們的鼓勵。大家都推了我一
把。
謝謝蒞臨口試指教的林含怡教授以及黃瑞恆教授，這份論文因而能夠更加精進。更
謝謝我的指導教授 Michael，在他最繁忙的時候仍然能仔細改我的論文，檢查得可能比
我還仔細，也撥冗回答了我許多問題，當然可能也了包含蠢問題，謝謝老師的幫助與包
容。
最後，再次謝謝所有精神上及物質上幫助過我的人，也謝謝所有對這樣的研究有興
趣的讀者。

iii
 Table of Contents

Abstract (Chinese) ..................................................................................................................... i

Abstract (English) .................................................................................................................... ii

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iii

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iv

Lists of Tables .......................................................................................................................... vi

Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Development of Rap Songs in Taiwan ............................................................................. 2
1.2 Research Motivations ....................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................... 10

Chapter 2 Literature Review .............................................................................................. 12

2.1 Code-switching............................................................................................................... 12
2.1.1 Code-switching for Aesthetic Effects in Pop and Rap Music ................................. 14
2.1.2 Culture and Identities Marker in Pop and Rap music ............................................. 16
2.1.3 Globalization and Emotion Marker in Pop and Rap Music .................................... 18
2.2 Face-threatening Acts and Impoliteness ......................................................................... 21
2.3 Code-switching as A Strategy for Face-threatening Acts ............................................... 23
2.4 Language and Speech Acts of Rap Music ...................................................................... 27

Chapter 3 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 29

3.1 Data of the Study ............................................................................................................ 30
3.2 Data Collection and Categorization ............................................................................... 31
3.2.1 Gathering of Code-switching Instances .................................................................. 32
3.2.2 Categorization of Tones........................................................................................... 39
3.3 Data Analysis Procedure ................................................................................................ 45

Chapter 4 Findings and Discussion ................................................................................... 49

4.1 Code-switching to English ............................................................................................. 53
4.1.1 English Code-switching in Confident/Boasting Tone ............................................. 61
4.1.2 English Code-switching in Mocking Tone .............................................................. 65

iv
 4.1.3 English Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone ................................................ 69
4.1.4 English Code-switching in Flirting Tone ................................................................ 73
4.1.5 English Code-switching in Sad/Lost Tone .............................................................. 75
4.1.6 English Code-switching in Happy/Hopeful Tone ................................................... 78
4.1.7 Discussion of English Code-switching in Face-threatening Lyrics ........................ 79
4.2 Code-switching to Taiwanese ......................................................................................... 85
4.2.1 Taiwanese Code-switching in Confident/Boasting Tone ........................................ 87
4.2.2 Taiwanese Code-switching in Mocking Tone ......................................................... 89
4.2.3 Taiwanese Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone ............................................ 91
4.2.4 Taiwanese Code-switching in Flirting Tone ............................................................ 93
4.2.5 Taiwanese Code-switching in Sad/Lost Tone.......................................................... 94
4.2.6 Discussion of Taiwanese Code-switching in Face-threatening Lyrics .................... 96
4.3 Code-switching to Mandarin .......................................................................................... 99
4.3.1 Mandarin Code-switching in Confident/Boasting Tone .......................................... 99
4.3.2 Mandarin Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone ........................................... 100
4.3.3 Mandarin Code-switching in Sad/Lost Tone ......................................................... 102
4.3.4 Discussion of Mandarin Code-switching in Face-threatening Lyrics ................... 103
4.4. Code-switching to Hakka, Indigenous languages and Japanese ................................. 105
4.4.1 Hakka Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone ................................................ 105
4.4.2 Code-switching to Indigenous Language in Angry/Criticizing and Sad/Lost Tone
........................................................................................................................................ 108
4.4.3 Japanese Code-switching in in Angry/Criticizing and Sad/Lost Tone .................. 110
4.4.4 Discussion of Code-switching to Hakka, Indigenous Languages, and Japanese in
Face-threatening Lyrics .................................................................................................. 111

Chapter 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 113

5.1 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................... 113
5.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study ............................................................. 115

References ............................................................................................................................. 117

v
 Lists of Tables

Table 1 Tokens of each language in face-threatening lines ...................................................... 30

Table 2 Tokens in face-threatening lines/verses ....................................................................... 31
Table 3 The categories of features of code-switching tokens .................................................. 46
Table 4 The functions and definitions of code-switching ........................................................ 47
Table 5 The number of tokens of the common functions/features in each tone (English) ....... 54
Table 6 The features and functions of code-switching in confident/boasting tone (English) .. 62
Table 7 The features and functions of code-switching in mocking tone (English) .................. 66
Table 8 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing tone (English)...... 70
Table 9 The features and functions of code-switching in flirting tone (English) ..................... 73
Table 10 The features and functions of code-switching in sad/lost tone (English) .................. 76
Table 11 The features and functions of code-switching in happy/hopeful tone (English) ....... 78
Table 12 The distribution of English code-switching tokens in different tones ....................... 80
Table 13 The percentage of features and functions of confident/boasting tone (English) ....... 81
Table 14 The percentage of features and functions of mocking tone (English) ....................... 82
Table 15 The percentage of features and functions of angry/criticizing tone (English) .......... 83
Table 16 The percentage of features and functions of sad/lost tone (English) ......................... 83
Table 17 The percentage of features and functions of flirting tone (English) .......................... 84
Table 18 The number of tokens of the common functions/features in each tone (Taiwanese) 86
Table 19 The features and functions of code-switching in confident/boasting tone (Taiwanese)
.......................................................................................................................................... 88
Table 20 The features and functions of code-switching in mocking tone (Taiwanese) ........... 90
Table 21 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing tone (Taiwanese)92
Table 22 The features and functions of code-switching in flirting tone (Taiwanese) .............. 94
Table 23 The features and functions of code-switching in sad/lost tone (Taiwanese) ............. 95
Table 24 The distribution of Taiwanese code-switching tokens in different tones .................. 97
Table 25 The percentage of features and functions of mocking tone (Taiwanese) .................. 97
Table 26 The percentage of features and functions of angry/criticizing tone (Taiwanese) ...... 98
Table 27 The features and functions of code-switching in confident tone (Mandarin) ........... 99
Table 28 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizings tone (Mandarin)
........................................................................................................................................ 101
Table 29 The features and functions of code-switching in sad/lost tone (Mandarin) ............ 102

vi
Table 30 The distribution of Mandarin code-switching tokens in different tones ................. 103
Table 31 The percentage of features and functions of angry/criticizing tone (Mandarin) ..... 104
Table 32 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing tone (Hakka) ... 106
Table 33 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing and sad/lost tone
(Yami) ............................................................................................................................. 108
Table 34 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing and sad/lost tone
(Japanese) ....................................................................................................................... 110

vii
 Chapter 1 Introduction

The thesis centers on the study of the language uses in Taiwan rap songs. The study looks

into the code-switching (CS) in the lyrics consisting of face-threatening speech act (FTA) –

defined by Brown and Levinson (1987) – and non-face-threatening speech act (non-FTA), and

examine the correlation between different languages and the degree of FTA in Taiwan rap songs

and the reasons of that relationship. The data are extracted from the rap songs nominated and

awarded Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA, 金音創作獎) and classified by FTA contents

and the language combination. Grounded on the assumption that Taiwan rap songs belong to

the narrative genre through which the songs tell the stories of this island from the singers’ point

of view (Schweig, 2013), the study puts forward the claims that some historical and cultural

values are hidden in the songs through switching and combination of the languages rendered

with diverse emotions, and that some of the languages in Taiwan would enhance the degree of

FTA.

Before proceeding to the analysis in the later chapters, the study will introduce the research

background in 1.1, and the research motivation in 1.2 to provide required and detailed context

for the analysis. 1.1 elaborates on the history and current situation of Taiwan hip-hop, and 1.2

explains how the study is motivated to take FTA and CS as the main research elements for the

data.

1
1.1 Development of Rap Songs in Taiwan
Hip-hop culture originated from the streets at South Bronx in New York City in the 1980s,

consisting of four main realms – MCing (orality), DJing (aural and sound practicing), b-boying

(movement and dancing), and graffiti art (visual) (Alim & Pennycook, 2007). Rap music – or

hip-hop music, one of the genres of hip-hop culture, refers to the rhythmic speech chanted in

rhymes with flows1 and punchlines. By means of television and radio, hip-hop culture was

popularized in North America before the Internet era, and gradually disseminated with

American pop music to the world.

Taiwan, on the other hand, was hindered from the hip-hop trend by the martial law until

1987. Before the 1990s when martial law was promulgated in Taiwan because of the war with

China, publishing and broadcasting – music included – were strictly censored. According to

Schweig (2013), people in Taiwan had very limited options for entertainment confined to local

pop music and American mainstream artists on Billboard charts. Further, the party places like

clubs or dance halls were prohibited due to the nightly curfew, so the ways to access hip-hop

music were either through the underground dance halls, or through the secret importers of the

black music.

Chang’s (2015) research on the establishment and development of Taiwan rap music,

argued that the development of rap songs in Taiwan can be structured chronologically into four

phases – sprouting period (萌芽期) in the 1980s, imitating period (模仿期) in the 1990s,

molding period (形塑期) in the beginning of the 2000, and developing period (發展期) after

2005. This structure well divided the development of rap music in Taiwan into different periods,

1
Rap flows refer to the drum patterns over an instrumental converted into word form.

2
some of which overlapped with the time when certain policies were issued or public events took

place. The language uses in the songs, meanwhile, were subject to those important events.

In the 1980s, or sprouting period, the type of the “rap songs” were closer to Shulaibao

‘clever tongue’, the Taiwan folk art where verses are read in rhythm to present humor but

different from the flows and cynicism of hip-hop music (Chang, 2015, pp. 33-34). Additionally,

the government’s national language movement and radio and television policies2 prohibited all

the local languages, except Mandarin, in both written and spoken forms, so consequently very

few songs contained code-switching before the martial law was lifted in 1987. In 1989,

Blacklist Studio released an album, Zhuakuang Ge ‘Crazy Song’, with a fusion of rock n’ roll

and hip-hop in its music style, distinct from the preceding rap songs in its cynical tone towards

the government and the diverse languages chanted in the songs (Chang, 2015, p. 34). Aside

from the first attempt to the Western rock n’ roll and hip-hop elements in their compositions,

they inherited the critical and ironic way of expressing the anger in songs. Fennu Zhiai ‘Love

of Anger’, for example, yelled the anger for the students who were sitting-in calling for

democracy at the Memorial Hall Plaza during the Wild Lily student movement in 1990.

Blacklist Studio’s works can be regarded as a first cry of Taiwan hip-hop, bridging the gap from

the time of confinement to the next era along with the sprouting democracy in Taiwan.

In 1992, L.A. Boyz, a group of American Born Taiwanese singers, imported a more

authentic American hip-hop culture – including English-codeswitched rapping, singing,

dressing, and dancing – in their song, Tiao ‘Jump’, to this island, acquainting the local audience

with American hip-hop and R&B music. However, it was the legalization of cable televisions

2
National Language Movement (國語運動), the decree issued in 1945 by the nationalist government to
enforce the use of Mandarin on local people in Taiwan, where people of different groups communicated in
Japanese before that. Radio and Television Policy (廣播電視法), declared in 1976, said that the broadcasting
language on the air should be Mandarin, and the ratio of other local languages in Taiwan should be decreased.

3
in 1993 that officially drew a start line for imitating period of hip-hop culture in the 1990s

(Chang, 2015, p. 36), and the expansion of the Internet accelerated the growth of population in

the hip-hop world. Owing to the music channels, more and more Western music became

accessible, and thus the rapping singers and groups could learn from those exotic music

elements from the music broadcast on TV programs and radio stations before creating their own

styles in hip-hop. In this period, rap music in Taiwan, though still filled with Taiwan traditional

style of Shulaibao or liām-gua ‘reading song’, was gradually adopting the hip-hop way of

flowing the rhythm, and showing the cultural diversity by codeswitching in the lyrics. Chu Tou

Pi’s (豬頭皮) albums in 1995, tshiò-khui liām-gua ‘Funny Rap’ series – showed these changes.

As Chang (2015, pp. 36-37) indicated, Chu tended to stress the end of the sentence in the flow

of his song, although the hip-hop portion took up less in his songs compared to the Taiwanese

folk elements (Schweig, 2013, p. 68). His songs were also characterized by codeswitching

between multiple languages, including Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, Bunun, etc., and, most of

all, by the ironic tone of addressing controversial issues in Taiwan. In 1997, MC Teacher Lin

and his high school classmate founded an Internet club, Master U, to provide a cyber

community for discussion and sharing associated with rap music, facilitating the exchange of

insightful information and inspiration for composition. The establishment of Master U kindled

mass interests in hip-hop culture and nurtured plenty of potential rap performers in the

following years, when “new core members of Taiwan’s burgeoning hip-hop community began

to experiment with their approaches to making up rap music” (Schweig, 2013, p. 72).

Master U and some other online resources engendered the rap music that seethed with

Taiwanese culture wrapped in American hip-hop flow. Molding period from 2000 to 2005 that

Chang (2015, p. 38-40) proposed suggests a “more aggressive stance” (Schweig, 2013) in the

4
tone of rappers’ voice and lyrics that initiated the hard-core hip-hop music genre for the later

rap performers, and could be represented by MC Hotdog and Dwagie (a.k.a., Dog G, 大支),

who were known for their outstanding rapping songs on Master U, in the beginning of 2000.

MC Hotdog taunted the Mandopop and K-pop singers in the rap songs, Ranwo Rap ‘Let Me

Rap’ and Hanliou Laixi ‘The Invasion of Korean Pop’, questioned the test-oriented educational

system in Bu Bu Bu ‘Cram Cram Cram’, and reproached the sex worker in Shisanhao Tianshi

‘Angel No.13’ by collaborating with Dwagie and codeswitching in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and

English. Some performers or groups, such as Jay Chou and Machi, also incorporated rap

elements into pop music, bringing a new look to Mandopop music.

Taiwan rap music at this moment bloomed with multiculturality – more specifically,

multilinguality – in combination with its rebellious and playful attributes in nature. At the

beginning of the millennium, the island was undergoing the rapid transformation under the

influence of domestic affairs intertwined with international incidents which exerted an indirect

but substantial influence on rap music in terms of cultural identification. The Nativist had been

advocating a “Taiwanese consciousness” that people should pay more attention to the culture,

languages, and races exist on this island since the martial law was lifted, as opposed to the

sinocentric consciousness held by the nationalist government that every person living in Taiwan

is a Chinese. When Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), part of the Nativists, won the

presidential election in 2000, the temporary success of becoming the ruling party brought out

more activists and movements that quested for the Hakka or indigenous cultural revival policies.

The aboriginal political movements and Hakka committee founded in 2001 have strived for the

rectification, cultural and language rejuvenation, political interests and welfare for people from

those groups. These long-suppressed Taiwan indigenous cultures were thus issued from

5
prohibition and ignorance to the preponderant Chinese-centered culture in Taiwan society,

reaffirming the consciousness of being a Taiwanese. Meanwhile, the government in China

seemed to go ballistic because of DPP government and the rising of Taiwanese-centered

consciousness, ratifying Anti-Session Law to assure Taiwan to be a part of China’s territory

and otherwise using “non-peaceful means” as a response to the independence. The decree,

however, failed to intimidate the nativistic consciousness; instead, it consolidated the pride of

being Taiwanese and brought about a demonstration against the policy with around one million

people gathering in Taipei. Languages in literature, music, and art were diversified thanks to

the TV channels and radio programs aired, the obligatory courses in schools, and the

consciousness of being a part of Taiwanese. Some performers who tends to rap in Taiwanese

or Hakka, such as Dwagie, were likely to be prompted by such consciousness.

Taiwan rap music, the cynical and sarcastic genre different from other milder ones, finally

reached a wider audience through Golden Melody Awards (GMA, 金曲獎) awarded to several

rap performers in the developing period after 2005 (Chang, 2015, p. 40-41), and the rapper’s

cultivation could also be credited to the establishment of Kung Fu Entertainment (人人有功練)

and KAO!INC (顏社), the two dominant hip-hop music company in Taiwan, founded in 2004

and 2005. In this period, among Taiwan hip-hop music abounded with hardcore tones,

Softlipa’s (蛋堡) rap songs blew people away with a distinct style of “light rap (輕饒舌)”,

which renders laid-back music and flows. Guo Cheng ‘process’, for instance, the rapper’s

attitudes toward life is encapsulated in the relaxing flow and jazzlike music, inducing huge

resonant with the listeners.

6
 In 2010, Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA) was founded to compensate the music

categories absent in GMA3, such as hip-hop, metal, electronic music, and jazz, and thereby has

nominated and solicited quite a few rap creations in various languages and with more

comprehensive themes, and styles. Now Taiwan rap music encompasses political, humanity,

and ecological problems such as Kou Chou Ching’s Huise Haianxian ‘The Grey Coastline’,

and depicts urban life, campus life, and family life, like DJ Didilong’s Tâi-pak ti̍ t-ti̍ t long

‘Ramming in Taipei’ or PoeTek’s Zai Lianluo ‘Keep in Touch’. Taiwan rap music, the narrative

form of music, voices all these stories from different perspectives in diverse languages, became

intriguing enough to explore.

1.2 Research Motivations

FTA and CS are taken as the main themes of the thesis chiefly because of the

characteristics of rap songs, which tend to be expressive along with cynical, confronting, or

even exclusive tones. Further, some rap songs incline to incorporate different marked languages

in the unmarked one, which stands for the common language used in conversations (Myers-

Scotton, 1993). The rap song, Xinao Jiaoyu ‘Brainwashing Education’, best epitomizes these

traits, and became the impetus for this study. In 2012, when the protest against the moral and

4
national education was raging in Hong Kong, Taiwanese hip-hop singer, Dwagie.

collaborated with the Hong Kong hip-hop singer, MC Yan, in the rap song, Xinao Jiaoyu

3
The two main music categories for GMA are popular music and traditional music, and are divided by gender,
and languages.
4
Moral and national education (德育及國民教育) was the new curriculum for primary and middle school
students in Hong Kong, and became controversial for the Communist government praising and democracy
denouncing.

7
‘Brain-washing Education’, where some provoking phrases are sung in three languages –

Mandarin, Cantonese, and English:

(1) Xinao Jiaoyu by Dwagie ft. MC Yan (Mandarin, Cantonese, English)

[Mandarin lyrics by Dwagie]
台灣香港是華人自由堡壘所在
taiwan xianggang shi huaren ziyou baolei suozai

台灣人一定會一直與你們同在
taiwanren yidinghui yizhi yunimentongzai

香港的朋友你們真的超屌
xianggangde jiemeidixiong nimen zhende chaodiao

加油一定要吹響勝利號角
jiayou yidingyao chuixiang shengli haojiao

(Taiwan and Hong Kong is the only place where freedom exists. Taiwanese people would
be supporting you all the time. Friends in Hong Kong, you’re such a badass. Don’t give up,
you must triumph in this battle.)

[Cantonese lyrics by MC Yan]

你哋唔好諗住反抗 唔好問我點解
nei5 de6 m4 hou2 nam2 zyu6 faan2 kong3 m4 hou2 man6 ngo5 dim2 gaai2

你哋唔好諗住改變 遊戲唔會洗牌
nei5 de6 m4 hou2 nam2 zyu6 goi2 bin3 jao4 hei3 m4 wui5 sai2 paai4

建設比一切大 你咪搞破壞
gin3 cit3 bei3 yat1 cai3 daai6 nei5 mei1 gaau2 po3 waai6

無理由 幾個細路背後會無外人唆擺

8
 mou4 lei5 jau4 gei2 go3 sai3 lou6 bui6 hau6 wui5 mou4 ngoi6 jan4 so1 baai2

(Don’t you try to be rebellious, don’t you even ask me why. Don’t you try to struggle
because the rules won't change. Economic development is everything and don’t ruin it.
You students must have been incited by some outsiders.)

[English lyrics is the recording of the protesting students]

Leave them kids alone.

Mandarin, one of the communicative languages between Taiwan and Hong Kong, not only

stands for Taiwan people’s perspective, the bridging language also signifies the support from

the other side of Taiwan Strait. On the other hand, Cantonese is spoken in a sarcastic tone and

English a reprobating one. The two official languages in Hong Kong – current and formal – are

obviously showing a sense of exclusiveness between the people and the government, and the

special status of Hong Kong which used to be part of The Great Britain, a nation utterly different

in the form of state and government from China. The fact that all excerpts in the three languages

pose a threat to the negative face (Brown and Levinson, 1987) of the Hong Kong people and

Hong Kong government thus bring about an inference that what a codeswitching rap song is

trying to convey probably has something to do with the languages it uses.

Similar to Hong Kong, Taiwan is abundant in history and culture due to the immigration

and the ruling government of different periods in the past. Based on this assumption, the study

argues that the historical and cultural connotation can be generated from the combination of the

languages or the origin of the language itself in the Taiwan rap songs which tend to be

performed in sarcasm, cynicism, and other face-threatening moods. Therefore, it is interesting

9
to find out CS patterns and usages in face-threatening lyrics and non-face-threatening lyrics

respectively, and then figure out whether certain codes are in relation to the weightiness of FTA.

The study thus puts forth a research questions: what the purposes and functions of CS are

in face-threatening lyrics? The study will examine the purposes and functions of CS in the face-

threatening songs by looking into the language use in different tones. The attitudes towards the

languages and the cultural values behind it are the aims of this study by means of figuring out

the code-switching patterns in different types of utterances.

1.3 Significance of the Study

CS as a strategy to deal with face-threatening situations has been discussed in Gross (2000)

and Su (2001), and is observed to be stimulated by cultural factors, including social distance

and power disparity. This study aspires to the cultural values attached to the linguistic codes

switched specifically in face-threatening lyrics of Taiwan rap music in which the rappers

intentionally switch linguistic codes to express their face-attacking ideas. Built on the previous

studies, extensive discussion would be done by using different data to examine the purposes

and functions of CS in the face-threatening contents and the weightiness of FTA (Brown &

Levinson, 1987) which varies due to the use of certain marked codes.

CS in rap music has also invited in-depth discussion in many studies (Pennycook, 2003;

Bentahila & Davies, 2002; Davies & Bentahila, 2006, 2008; Sarkar & Winer, 2006); however,

little has looked at the relationship between CS and FTA in rap music. Since rap music tends

to expose the “core”, or individuality (Rose, 1994) and the identity of the rapper (Krims, 2000)

in a cynical way, CS is likely to foreground both the rapper’s personalities and attitudes. The

engaged codes would reveal the intention of the speaker since each code assigns the rights and

10
obligation sets (hereafter RO sets, Myers-Scotton, 1993; 1998) from the speaker to the hearer.

The marking of the code would accordingly be obvious. Namely, how the speaker considers

the code switched in the utterance under what context would show the role the switched code

is playing. The incorporation of different languages also presents the purposes and

characteristics of those languages, along with the culture those languages represent. For

instance, As Gross (2000) puts it in the study of code-switching conversations between people

of different status, CS complements the power disparity between the interlocutors in the

conversation because it is used as a face-attacking strategy against the hearer with higher status

in protecting the speaker’s face. In face-threatening lyrics, it is also intriguing to see whether

the marked codes in Taiwan serve as similar effects.

The thesis includes five chapters that have detailed discussion on the regarding topics. The

first chapter briefs the development of Taiwan hip-hop music along with Taiwan contemporary

history after 1980s, and the reasons for choosing CS and FTA as the main research elements.

Chapter 2 reviews the major literatures associated with CS and FTA utilized in both spoken and

literary form, and the intersection of these two linguistic elements. Chapter 3 explains the

methodology of the study, including the overall description of the data and rappers, and the data

analysis. Chapter 4 then deals with the findings of this thesis, which will be discussed concluded

in Chapter 5.

11
 Chapter 2 Literature Review

This study aims at finding out the purpose and functions of code-switching used in the

face-threatening lyrics in comparison with code-switching in the non-face-threatening lyrics,

so these two linguistic features would be highlighted in search for the previous studies. This

chapter reviews the previous studies that focus on the two crucial linguistic features of this

study, and would discuss the studies of code-switching in 2.1 to look at the possible patterns of

CS in difference settings, and of FTA in 2.2 to define FTA in this study. We would then review

the studies which accounts for code-switching as a strategy to solve or exacerbate face-

threatening situations in 2.3 to refer to the similarities and develop new idea on the connection

of CS and FTA in this study. Finally, the language and speech acts would be discussed in 2.4.

2.1 Code-switching
It is common that bilinguals engage in code-switching (CS) in the discourses, which may

imply some other purposes that the predominant language doesn’t tell. The social motivation

of CS – including both intra-sentential and inter-sentential – was first discussed by Blom and

Gumperz (1972). In line with Blom and Gumperz (1972), Myers-Scotton (1983) also indicated

the existence of different right-and-obligation sets in each code choice. More attention was paid

to the social and psychological factors that contribute to CS in discourses (Bentahila & Davies,

1992), Myers-Scotton (1993) developed a markedness matrix that accounts for both social and

structural factors in CS. The social motivations and features of CS has thus been analyzed

extensively from various multilingual spoken or non-spoken contexts in the later studies based

12
on these previous studies, including literature (Albakry & Hancock, 2008; Montes-Alcala,

2015), TV commercials or advertisements (Lee, 2006; Dimova, 2012; Kathpalia, Ong & Keng

2015), computer-mediated communication (Tsiplakou, 2009; Piirainen-Marsh, 2010), or pop

songs (Bentahila & Davies, 2002; Davies & Bentahila, 2008; Chan, 2009).

In general, aside from the lexical borrowing (Albakry & Hancock, 2008) and the purpose

to enhance the efficiency of the conveyance (Kathpalia, Ong & Keng 2015), language

alternation is culture-bounded. There is a tendency to switch among different language codes

in a conservation to index one’s ethnicity and show affinity to a certain group or community

that demonstrates the cultural or class identities and ideological consciousness (Slabbert and

Myers-Scotton, 1997; Auer, 2005; De Fina, 2007; Bhatt, 2008; Chen, 2008). CS is also

exploited to produce optimal effects in the interactions (Nishimura, 1995; Bolonyai, 2005) or

for the lexical and semantic creativity (Albakry and Hancock, 2008; Dimova, 2012); and, in

some cases, to present the interactional power with the influence imposed by the different status

of another marked choice engaged in (Bolonyai, 2005; Gross, 2000; Schendl, 2015), or to

present the political strategy in negotiation between different ethnic groups (Heller, 1988; 1992;

1995; 1999). Various studies have also suggested that CS in textual form is similar to that in

spoken form (Gardner-Chloros & Weston, 2015). The employment of written CS can be

referred to mitigating a face-threatening situation (Su, 2001; Tsiplakou, 2009), expressing the

solidarity (Auer, 1999), and demonstrating a mix of social identities (Woolard, 2004; Auer,

2005; Androutsopoulos, 2006; Bhatt, 2008). Some also point out that the texts adopting CS in

computer-mediated discourse result from one’s characteristics (Tsiplakou, 2009), and, in some

in-game communication, are regarded as common semiotic resources to increase the efficiency

13
while the players have to signal transitions or negotiations among one another (Piiranen-Marsh,

2010).

Among all these issues concerned, much efforts have also been paid to the analysis on

language alternations in music, especially pop and rap music. 2.2.1 first goes through how the

poetic devices of CS works in the music lyrics to reach aesthetic effects. The previous studies

on culture and identity marker in the pop or rap music lyrics would be presented in 2.2.2, and

then global and emotion marker of English in 2.2.3.

2.1.1 Code-switching for Aesthetic Effects in Pop and Rap Music

Different from the conversational CS, textual CS and literary CS has been inviting

comprehensive analyses so far. Grounded on the previous studies on the artistic codemixing

(Picone, 2002), Davies & Bentahila (2008) point out the two organized characteristics of CS

with respect to poetic devices in the songs code-switched between French and Arabic,

suggesting the switching is deployed in the lines in terms of the lyric structures and meanings.

First, it is observed that CS can be well exploited through rhyming and juxtaposition to

highlight the meaning of the lyrics the composer aims to express. Such exploitation is also

evident in the analysis of the multilingual CS in Quebec rap music (Sarkar & Winer, 2006) and

the discussion on the CS between English and Cantonese in Hong Kong pop music (Chan,

2009). Furthermore, some similar phonological features of the code-switched languages can

mutually affect one another, leading to the mutual assimilation of the pronunciation of the

languages engaged (Moody & Matsumoto, 2003; Moody, 2009).

The other poetic device states that code-switched words or phrases are able to facilitate

the conveyance of the lyrics (Davies & Bentahila, 2008, p. 18). The study indicates from the

14
switching between Arabic and French that CS serves as the repetition, segmentation, opposition,

or vocative of the dominant language of the lyrics to enrich the contents. Excerpt (2) presents

the CS of semantically opposite phrases “the future” and “the memories” to emphasize the

prominence (p.14).

(2) ‘Tetha lgalb ‘I gave her my heart’ by Cheb Akil (Arabic-French)

’Tetha lgalb wa newit l’avenir
kulsˇi ngleb ’lijja, ma ’arftsˇ kindir
mais llah Ralb, Radruni les souvenirs

hada mktub rrab, je n’ai rien a dire

(I gave her my heart and I planned the future. Everything turned upside down for me, I
didn’t know what to do. But, as God is the victor, the memories betrayed me. This is fate,
God, I have no complaints.)

Other previous and succeeding studies on the associated topics about pop and rap music

(Pennycook, 2003; Stanlaw, 2004; Lee, 2004; Moody & Matsumoto, 2003; Sarkar & Winer,

2006; Chan 2009; Moody, 2009) suggest these two poetic devices in pop and rap music seems

to be universal. Excerpt (3) taken from Chan (2009, p.119) explains the poetic devices about

how the CS is adopted to rhyming and facilitating the conveyance by directly referring to the

name of the famous stars, and how the English sound is assimilated to Cantonese. (3) is rhymed

with [-ong], including the sound of “Bond,” which is pronounced as [bong] because of the

assimilation of Cantonese. The reference of a celebrity’s name, James Bond, also enables

listeners to directly generate a positive image of a mature and heroic man.

15
(3) Zeoi3 gaai1 paak3-dong3 ‘Best Partners’ by Sam Hui (Cantonese-English)
nei5 meng2 giu3 din1-dong1 go3 joeng2 ci5 mat5-tong4
ping4 ji6 gan6 jan4 cing1-san1 hoi1-long5
ngo5 meng2 giu3 King Kong go3 fun2 ci5 James Bond
zeoi3 gaa1 paak3-dong3

(Your name is “Ding Dong”; you face is like honey. [You’re] friendly, refreshing and
bright. My name is King Kong; my appearance is like James Bond’s. [We’re] best
partners.)

2.1.2 Culture and Identities Marker in Pop and Rap music

In accordance with the culture-marked language switching in conversations, CS in pop

music and rap music is also motivated by the speaker’s cultural backgrounds and identities.

This statement stems from the proposition of we code and they code by Gumperz (1982) and is

developed in the markedness model by Myers-Scotton (1983; 1993; 1998). Such pattern tends

to be applied to the switching among the languages spoken within a country or area, or the

languages the composers are competent in. The study of language use in pop music by Bentahila

& Davies (2002) suggests that CS between a local language and a foreign language is able to

incur a sense of nativeness towards the unmarked code in relation to the marked ones. The

intersperse and recreation of the in-group languages connects these in-group bilinguals who

share the same bonds to the culture of the languages, and therefore the outsider of the culture

would be tentatively excluded from the lines (2002, p. 198). Such switching signals or conveys

in-group solidarity to the audience of the same community, or the outsiders who possesses some

in-group characteristics (Davies & Bentahila, 2006, p. 390). However, language switching can

also reach an opposite effect because the language diversity in the songs, instead, channel the

composers’ thoughts through the insertion of different languages to a wider audience with

16
associated backgrounds (Davies & Bentahila, 2006). The switching here seems to be able to

consolidate people from different communities, especially when some minority groups are

opposing the majority group.

Each language interwoven in some bilingual or multilingual songs can represent a distinct

role that not only conveys the message of the song, and it at the same time explicates the

message in a way whereby the members of that culture is molded by that language (Davies &

Bentahila, 2006) and forms the identities. The bilingual or multilingual song writers –

equivalent to the rappers themselves in this case – thus possess these roles in the meantime. As

Sarkar and Winer put it in analyzing Quebec hip-hop music, the rappers are actually performing

“emerging new, hybrid identities” through multilingual rapping (Sarkar & Winer, 2006, p. 188)

after going through an incessant struggle, including reception, negotiation, acceptance, or

rejection, with all the cultural elements they have encountered (Leung et al, 1997). Meanwhile,

people diving into such process is also pondering the identities and the image projected by the

rap music (Sarkar & Allen, 2007). Therefore, the language diversity in the rap songs is

suggested to be the epitome of the rapper’s culture and identities.

Some multilinguality of Taiwan rap music also seems to share such performance of “the

hybrid identities.” The emotion of the songs would familiarize the audience with the interwoven

roles played by each language, and such mixture of the languages not only makes the emotion

more tangible, but also explains how the rapper express it. Tâi-pak ti̍ t-ti̍ t long ‘Ramming in

Taipei’ by DJ Didilong, for instance, codeswitched in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English,

expresses the struggle of the rapper in a fast-paced modern city. In (4), while the intersperse of

17
English represents the self that has been adapted to the environment, the refrain5 in Taiwanese

(italic line) stands for the perplexed self.

(4) Tâi-pak ti̍ t-ti̍t long ‘Ramming in Taipei’ by Didilong (Mandarin-Taiwanese-English)

我直直撞 [repeating 8 times]
guá ti̍ t-ti̍ t long [repeating 8 times]

Crossin' down the street with my moto

台北市的馬路總是坑坑洞洞
taibeishi de malu zongshi kengkengdongdong

一路上的綠燈把握時間穿梭
yilushang de ludeng bawo shijian chuansuo

(I’m ramming. Crossing down the street with my moto. The roads in Taipei city are always
rugged. The roads in Taipei city are always rugged. Seizing the chance to run through the
whole-way green lights.)

2.1.3 Globalization and Emotion Marker in Pop and Rap Music

Switching to English in Asian pop or rap music has been vastly discussed in recent decades.

English code-switching does not project Western identities of the Asian people (Pennycook,

2003), while it does in some pre-colonial places like Hong Kong (Chan, 2009). English is

extensively connected to globalization or liberalization (Pennycook, 2003; Lee, 2004; Lee,

2006). Additionally, English as a marked code can also be the outcome of mimicking

Westerners, showing trends, magnifying or hiding the emotions, and creativity (Pennycook,

2003; Stanlaw, 2004; Lee, 2004; Kachru, 2006; Chan, 2009).

5
Refrain refers to the repeated lines in a song.

18
 East Asian pop music – Japanese and Korean pop music (hereafter J-pop and K-pop music)

for example, the insertion of English phrases or sentences is due to the influence of Western

culture. As Moody and Matsumoto indicate in the study of code-switching phenomenon in J-

pop, the insertion of English in the Japanese lyrics can be regarded as a tribute to the English

pop songs (Moody, 2001; Moody and Matsumoto, 2003). English phrases and sentences in K-

pop music also suggests the liberal and open-minded globality which challenges the

conservative attributes of Korean culture, and further indicates that the identities of young

people swing between the traditional and the liberal ones (Lee, 2004; 2006).

In addition, in East Asian pop music, the liberal image of English enables composers to

express something too exposed or intensive in their culture through a language of freedom (Lee,

2004; Chan, 2009). Excerpt (5), a Korean pop song extracted from Lee (2004, p.438), is an

example of sexual description code-switched in English.

(5) Hundule ‘Shake it’ by Yang Dong Geum (Korean-English)

Kunye kwiey bow wow
My know how hanpeney
knock out palo ponay peliko
…
Kukelo mancok mothay oh yeah
Shake them and give me some
I guess I wish
poinun nenun feel so good

(I whisper bow wow into her ear. With my know-how, she gets knock out with one try
[instantly]. I can’t be satisfied with that, oh yeah. Shake them and give me some. I guess I
wish that you would feel so good.)

19
 Although English CS of Taiwan rap music is similar to that of Asian pop music in terms

of expressing globalization, liberalization, and Western imitation, it does not always function

as the replacement for the phrases that are improper or impolite in Taiwanese culture. Since the

rap is rebellious itself, those phrases can be intentionally and straightforwardly rapped out

without the language’s image of freedom. For instance, in (6), instead of mocking the wife’s

love affairs in English, the rapper is even obviously intended to infuriate the listener in

Taiwanese (italics part), which also leads to the other discussion about face-threatening speech

acts intensified by certain marked codes.

(6) thau khè-hiann ‘Having a lover’ by Wantong MJ116 (Mandarin-Taiwanese)

拎某偷客兄 拎某偷客兄
lín bóo thau khè-hiann lín bóo thau khè-hiann

不信你去問小春他也說 拎某偷客兄
buxin ni qu wen xiaochun ta ye shuo lín bóo thau khè-hiann

不信你去問大淵他也說 拎某偷客兄
buxin ni qu wen dayuan ta ye shuo lín bóo thau khè-hiann

不信你去問瘦子他也說 拎某偷客兄
buxin ni qu wen shouzi ta ye shuo lín bóo thau khè-hiann

(Your wife has a lover; your wife has a lover. If you don’t believe it, ask xiaochun, he’ll
also say your wife has a lover. If you don’t believe it, ask dayuan, he’ll also say your wife
has a lover. If you don’t believe it, ask shouzi, he’ll also say your wife has a lover.)

20
2.2 Face-threatening Acts and Impoliteness
Although sharing a similar linguistic application of codeswitching with pop music, hip-

hop music, filled with more idiosyncrasy of the rappers themselves, “foregrounds identity with

an explicitness well-nigh unprecedented even in the ethnically and gender-loaded world of

popular musics (Krims, 2000, p. 9).” The way to express those identities and thoughts, therefore,

can be fierce or sarcastic enough to cause damage to the face of some individuals or groups.

Accordingly, the face-attacking elements in hip-hop music becomes one of the prominent

features for the analysis.

Brown & Levinson (1987) defines face-threatening acts (FTAs) as flouting the positive or

negative face wants of the hearer in an interaction, and also decodes the factors which are likely

to enhance the “weightiness” of a FTA. The speech acts that impose on others or ignores the

feelings and wants of others belong to FTA, which consist of negative FTA and positive FTA.

Brown and Levinson explain the two distinct FTA:

“Those acts that primarily threaten the addressee’s (H’s) negative face want, by indicating

(potentially) that the speaker (S) does not intend to avoid impeding H’s freedom of action, including
orders and requests, suggestions, advice, remindings threats, warnings, dares, offers, promises,

compliments, expressions of envy or admiration, expressions of strong (negative) emotions toward

H.

…Those acts that threaten the positive-face want, by indicating (potentially) that the speaker

does not care about the addressee’s feelings, wants, etc. — that in some important respect he doesn’t

want H’s wants, including expressions of disapproval, criticism, contempt or ridicule, complaints

and reprimands, accusations, insults, contradictions or disagreements, challenges, expressions of

violent (out-of-control) emotions, irreverence, mention of taboo topics, bringing bad news about H

or good news (boasting) about S, raising of dangerously emotional or divisive topics, blatant non-

cooperation in an activity, use of address terms and other status-marked identifications in initial

encounters.

21
 …Note that there is an overlap in this classification of FTAs, because some FTAs intrinsically
threaten both negative and positive face.” (1987, “3.2.1 First distinction: Kinds of face threatened.”)

To avoid causing a bald-on-record FTA, the speaker can seek to the positive and negative

politeness – the off-record FTA – for maintaining the positive and negative face of the hearer

and, in some cases, the speaker (1987, “3.3 Strategies for doing FTAs”). Specifically, the

speaker can redress the direct FTA by expressing his or her in-groupness or commonness with

the hearer to meet the hearer’s need of positive face, or showing his or her respect for the hearer

to refrain from impeding on the hearer’s negative face.

In satisfying each other’s face wants, Brown & Levinson (1987) highlights the strategies

of positive or negative politeness, but it is also mentioned that turning to FTA can be another

feasible choice to protect the face of one’s own when his or her face is threatened (1987, “3.1

Face.”). Based on this choice in Brown & Levinson (1987), Culpeper (1996) develops the

impoliteness strategies from several confrontational interactions, such as zero-sum games and

mock impoliteness in intimate relationships. The positive and negative impoliteness proposed

(pp. 357-358) are opposite to the positive and negative politeness in Brown & Levinson (1987).

In other words, the speaker deliberately excludes another individual from the group to deprive

that person of the positive face, or does something disrespectful for that person, who would

thus lose the negative face.

In addition to the acts that directly causes FTAs, it is also indicated in Brown & Levinson

(1987) that the power disparity, social distance, and absolute rank imposition between the

speaker and the hearer to some extent positively affects the intensity of FTA (1987, “3.4.2.1

Computing the weightiness of an FTA.”). The gap between the interlocutors would contribute

22
to the FTA degree when the speaker with lower status verbally challenges the face of the hearer

with higher status, and thus puts more pressure on the hearer’s face.

Brown & Levinson (1987) have had comprehensive analyses on FTAs of the interlocutors

in conversational interactions, and invited more studies for extensive discussion on this topic

in various settings (Pearson, 1988; Matsumoto, 1989; Zajdman, 1995; Wilson et al., 1998);

nevertheless, the speech acts in rap music which threatens the faces of certain hearers seem to

be rarely touched on. The aforementioned interactants doing FTAs in asymmetrical status can

not only be applied to the rappers and the audience or other individuals, but also the linguistic

codes employed in the songs. It is also possible that the interactions and negotiations between

language and language would influence those between people and people (Myers-Scotton,

1998), or vice versa. Accordingly, how the alternation of languages is used as a strategy in the

discourse, and how the face-threatening interactions among people define the role of the

languages engaged becomes the crucial references for this study, and would be the main theme

for the literature review of the next section.

2.3 Code-switching as A Strategy for Face-threatening Acts

Code-switching, as Myers-Scotton (1993; 1998) indicates, encodes the Rights and

Obligations sets (RO sets) between the speaker and the hearer to imply speaker’s intentions

carried by the switching. Similarly, CS is likely to give rise to different effects in face-

threatening situations. s

CS can be the mitigation in an intensive face-threatening situation. Su (2001) indicates in

the study of code-switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese that the RO sets attached in the

unmarked and marked codes would maintain both the righteousness of the face-threatening

23
request by the participant, and the solidarity between the participant and her interlocutors –her

families. The irregular use of intra-sentential and inter-sentential CS in the conversation

prevents imposing too much pressure from the reiteration of the RO sets on the interlocutors,

“allowing the participant to constantly negotiate interpersonal distance and to achieve the

communicative goals (p. 445).” In referring to the codes, the role represented by each code

would make the message from the speaker more comprehensible and less aggressive.

Gross (2000) also accounts for CS exploited as a mitigating strategy for the face-

threatening situations, especially when the participants are at equal status. If the interlocutors

with imbalanced power are engaged in a conversation, however, CS is likely to turn into a

potential face-attacking strategy. Based on Brown & Levinson (1987) that the weightiness of

FTA is subject to status difference, Gross (2000) proposes that the marked codes can be utilized

as a face-threatening strategy in asymmetrical relationships so as to dominate the conversation,

or to “reverse the power disparity” (p. 1300). The use of a marked code which the hearer fails

to understand is likely to cause negative face-lost to the hearer and give more opportunities for

the speaker with lower status to counterattack the hearer with higher status (p.1286), so the

speaker would in return succeed in reversing the outcome in the conversation. In the meantime,

the hearer is also able to grasp the purpose of the switching to a marked code that he or she

doesn’t understand by virtue of a sense of face-lost (p, 1291).

Some Taiwan rap songs, especially those addressing topics related to politics or the

government, tend to highlight the power disparity with switching to some marked codes. The

interview of several rappers in Schweig (2013) reveals that the history background of Taiwan

sometimes turns Mandarin into an “oppressor’s language (p.279)”, while the other local

languages are the oppressed one. Such idea has brought those local languages a sense of

24
resistance. (7) uses Taiwanese and Yami – italics part, an indigenous language from Yami tribe

in Lanyu island – to accuse the government of negligence on protecting the ocean ecology.

Compared to the official language, Mandarin, Yami, as well as Taiwanese, both belong to

language minorities. The minorities would try to take hold in the conversation with lingual

power that the people with higher status are lack of (Gross, 2000). Accordingly, in the rap music,

the minority languages are also likely to be considered instrumental to such function.

(7) Huise Haianxian ‘The Grey Coastline’ by Kou Chou Ching (Taiwanese, Mandarin, Yami)
天然 海岸 台灣島是剩無一半
thián-jiân hái-huān tâi-uân-dó sī tsun bō ji̍t-puàn

為著開發攏會駛毋管別人兮死活
uī-tio̍h khai-huat lóng ē-sái m̄-kuán pa̍t-lâng sí-ua̍h

咱只有海產文化 無海洋文化
lán tsí-ū hái-sán bûn-huà bô hái-iûnn bûn-huà

環境悲劇 毋知當時會當來收煞
khuân-kíng pi-kio̍k m̄-tsai tang-sîtsiah-ē lâi siu-suah

ko na gya jita o awa da

a noka kwa ye

(Nature and coast, there’s not much left. The economic development outweighs the lives
here. We only have seafood culture, not ocean culture. The environment is a tragic. Not
knowing when it would come to an end. I can’t see our ocean. That ocean in the old
days.)

However, in Taiwan rap music, enhancement of FTA weightiness is not solely resulted

from power disparity. Excerpt (6) in 2.1.3, which initiated the discussion on CS as a face-

25
threatening strategy, exemplifies this statement. The song was written on the basis of the movie,

Jiazhuang Yi Niuche ‘An Ox-cart for Dowry’, mocking a man that still chooses to turn a blind

eye to his unfaithful wife while all people in the town have known her love affairs (Wantong

MJ116, personal Interview with Makesi, 2014). Since the speaker and the listener does not

seem to stand on the asymmetrical status, the switching to the marked code is thus not motivated

by the intention to gain control of the conversation in asymmetrical relationship. Instead, it

seems that such switching is more related to social distance, based on Brown& Levinson

(1987)’s proposition on the variables of FTA degree. Plus, Culpeper (1996) also indicates the

liking degree determines how much concern the speaker would have for the hearer’s face. As a

result, the switching, without close social distance and genuine concern for saving face, turns

into a salty ridicule which brings additional shame on the listener.

These studies consolidate the reference that the purposes of code-switching vary under

face-threatening situations. Su (2001) and Gross (2000) look into the effects of switching from

an unmarked code to another marked code, and also contrast the face-threatening conversations

under equal and adverse power balance between the participants, indicating the intentionality

as the speaker employs CS in the utterances. The aforementioned studies about CS in face-

threatening situations would be the crucial references for this study to determine the what

contributes to face-threatening weightiness in Taiwan rap music. CS can serve as the mitigating

device for interlocutors with equal power in a face-threatening conversation (Su, 2001), while

as face-attacking device for those with power disparity (Gross, 2000).

26
2.4 Language and Speech Acts of Rap Music
Grounded on Austin (1962), meaningful utterances “is, or is a part of, doing an action

(p.5),” which could be analyzed in terms of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary

aspects of the utterances. Illocutionary speech act, in particular, referring to the attitudes of the

utterances, is further discussed in Searle (1969), which indicates that illocutionary acts are rule-

governed. Considered to be qualified as meaningful, rap lyrics should also be governed by some

rules in terms of different aspects of speech – especially the intertwine of the languages in this

study.

Compared to musical elements, lyrics carry copious amount of meaningful message

delivered by the rap singers through the utterances in the rap songs. Similar to its Afro-

American counterpart, Taiwan rap music inclines to be speech-effusive flow (Schweig, 2013),

which means the rapper’s vocal prowess takes up the crucial part for the construction of the

fluid and the meaning delivery in a song. Plus, Taiwan rap music also succeeds in the social

role of its local musical counterpart, liām-gua, to “document the challenges of daily life, to

comment on the ramifications of events, and to make recommendations for the furture based

on [the rapper’s] wisdom and insights” (Schweig, 2014, p.45). Therefore, to interpret a hip-hop

song, the speech and language facilitate the understanding about the song (Alim, 2009).

Taiwan rap music is also prominent in language choices deployed by multilingual rappers.

Language choice both results from the rapper’s identity (Krims, 2000), and the purposes of

attaining aesthetic effects – like the Mandarin and Taiwanese rhyming in excerpt (8), and

pragmatic coherence (Schweig, 2013), as in the language from an oceanside tribe exploited in

(7).

27
(8) Bu Chi Zaocan ‘Not Eating Breakfast’ by MC Hotdog ft. Softlipa
不吃早餐是我的本色
buchi zaocan shi wode bense

可是我本身呢 就是一個垃圾
keshi shuo zhende wo benshen ne jiushi yige pùn-sò

(Not eating breakfast is one of my characteristics. Well, but to be honest, I myself is a

trash.)

It is also common that the rappers engage in a conversation in Taiwan rap music. Such

communication can be conducted in different languages, through varied vocal timbre, different

flows of lyrics, and the exchange between culture to culture in the same song in order to bring

up an issue that the rappers are concerned (Chang, 2015). The oceanic problems of Huise

Haianxian in (7), or the humanity issues of Dwagie’s collaboration with Nobel Prize winner,

Dalai Lama, and American hip-hop singer, Nas, evinces that the issues they call for the attention

on are cross-cultural.

All the emotions aroused by the lyrics are carefully planned and expected (Negus and

Velázquez, 2002). Combining with a mix of different languages in describing diverse emotions,

the lyrics of rap music possess the intentionality that aims to incur some emotional responses

to the song with not only the ethos of the rapper’s vocal prowess, but also the language

considered pertinent to a certain emotion. Therefore, the speech in rap music, which lies

between speaking and singing, is abundant in elements for cultural research.

28
 Chapter 3 Methodology

The cultural values hidden in Taiwan rap songs are going to be analyzed in terms of two

linguistic elements – code-switching and face-threatening speech acts (FTA). These elements

generate an underlying research questions from the several associated studies – how CS is

employed in face-threatening rap songs, foregrounding the purposes of language switchings in

the lyrics.

The study looks into the purposes and functions that codeswitching is used in the face-

threatening songs. The switching from an unmarked language to another marked language,

dialect, or style in the spoken interaction shows people have such code-choosing patterns (Gross,

2000), and such pattern has been termed markedness metric (Myers-Scotton, 1998). In current

Taiwan, where CS can occur as either a marked choice or an unmarked one, in resorting to CS

in conversations, the speakers are either stimulating a different identity, or making attempt to

change the social distance (Myers-Scotton, 1993, pp. 482-484). In literary form, the songs

written in two or more languages demonstrate more historical or cultural meanings, which

results from the elements of the languages intertwining in the song (Bentahila & Davies, 2002)

or the origin of the language itself. Proportionate to the literary form and spoken form, rap

music is likely to encompass such patterns of code choices in both colloquial expressions and

literary works. Plus, although Taiwan rap music is inclined to the content of pop music which

caters to the public so as to gain commercial profits, it still massively inherits the rebellious and

critical attributes from its Afro-American counterpart (Chang, 2015). Therefore, Taiwan rap

music presents the possibility to reveal the culture and identity which bring about these code-

29
choosing patterns with its language diversity in the face-attacking contents under a Taiwan-

based context.

To figure out the possible answers to the question, the data consisting 80 face-threatening

hip-hop songs are collected and classified by language and tones, and will be examined by

language and tones to analyze the purposes. The following sections will explain the data of the

study in 3.1, the data collection and categorization in 3.2, and present the data analysis

procedure in 3.3.

3.1 Data of the Study

The study collected code-switching and face-threatening songs from the annual best rap

songs and the annual best rap albums, both the nominated and the awarded by Golden Indie

Melody Award (GIMA) in Taiwan from 2010 to 2016. Table 1 shows the 579 tokens of the 6

languages in face-threatening lyrics.

Table 1 Tokens of each language in face-threatening lines

Language Tokens in FT lines

English 462
Taiwanese 64
Hakka 14
Mandarin 35
Indigenous languages 2
Japanese 2
Total 579

30
 The tokens are also categorized into 6 main tones in Table 2, including Confident/Boasting,

Mocking, Angry/ Criticizing, Flirting, Sad/ Lost, and Happy/ Hope, and thereby the distribution

of the switching of different languages becomes obvious. The study would refer to the 579

tokens in face-threatening songs to explicate the usage of CS in various tones which are

included in the face-threatening rap songs. In accordance with the data aforementioned, it is

feasible to discuss the purposes of CS in face-threatening hip-hop songs.

Table 2 Tokens in face-threatening lines/verses

Confident/ Angry/ Sad/ Happy/

Mocking Flirting
Boasting Criticizing Lost Hopeful
English 247 97 44 45 28 1
Taiwanese 5 33 22 2 2 0
Hakka - - 14 - - -
Mandarin 1 - 33 - 1 -
Indigenous
- - 1 - 1 -
languages
Japanese - - 1 - 1 -

3.2 Data Collection and Categorization

This section explains the criteria of code-switching instances in 3.2.1, and explains the

categorization of the tones with ostensive instance in 3.2.2.

31
3.2.1 Gathering of Code-switching Instances
The 579 code-switching tokens picked up would be exemplified in the data collection part,

including the justification of a token and both inter-sentential and intra-sentential CS. Some rap

songs composed of other syntactical structure in CS would also be brought up for discussion.

Further, some exceptions of CS would also be mentioned in this part.

Additionally, whether the lyrics is face-threatening or not is justified by the definition of

both positive and negative face-threatening in Brown & Levinson (1987, “3.2.1 First distinction:

Kinds of face threatened”), which writes,

“Those acts that primarily threaten the addressee’s (H’s) negative face want, by indicating

(potentially) that the speaker (S) does not intend to avoid impeding H’s freedom of action, including

orders and requests, suggestions, advice, remindings threats, warnings, dares, offers, promises,

compliments, expressions of envy or admiration, expressions of strong (negative) emotions toward

H.

…Those acts that threaten the positive-face want, by indicating (potentially) that the speaker

does not care about the addressee’s feelings, wants, etc. — that in some important respect he doesn’t

want H’s wants, including expressions of disapproval, criticism, contempt or ridicule, complaints

and reprimands, accusations, insults, contradictions or disagreements, challenges, expressions of

violent (out-of-control) emotions, irreverence, mention of taboo topics, bringing bad news about H
or good news (boasting) about S, raising of dangerously emotional or divisive topics, blatant non-

cooperation in an activity, use of address terms and other status-marked identifications in initial

encounters.”

The criterion of a token refers to a switching from a common language to the other

language, except for the repeated stanzas. The excerpt (9) below is a chorus elicited from Ahh

Yeah by Softlipa. The refrain, “Ahh Yeah”, is counted as 2 tokens of CS since the language is

changed twice from the main language of the song, Mandarin, to English. However, if another

32
stanza with the same lyrics and the structure as this one is sung again, the tokens will not be

considered legitimate.

(9) Ahh Yeah by Softlipa (Mandarin-English)

Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

我想跟你 Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

woxiang genni Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

散發著拿捏地剛好的幽默
sanfazhe naniede ganghaode youmo

這是剛好的收穫
zheshi ganghaode shouhuo

(Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah…I wanna Ahh Yeah with you… I’m moderately humorous. This is
the best result.)

(10) and (11) demonstrate the intra-sentential and inter-sentential codes-switching. In (10),

the intra-sentential switching phrase, “Fuck up”, from Mandarin to English, is regarded as one

English token. (11) is the chorus part wholly in Taiwanese switched from Mandarin. Since no

language is altered in the refrain, the refrain is counted as one Taiwanese token.

33
(10) High and Low by MC Yaozong (Mandarin-English)

女孩別隨便發卡 我會說 F**k up

nuhai biesuibian faka wohuisho f**k up

狗眼看人低也只能維持到我發達
kouyankanrendi yezhineng weichidao wofada

(Girls, don't turn me down easily, or I would say f** up. You can only look me down until I
succeed.)

(11) tsin tu lān ‘Pissed off’ by Softlipa (Mandarin-Taiwanese)

我金賭蘭 我金賭蘭
guá tsin tu lān guá tsin tu lān

我金賭蘭 我真正蓋賭蘭
guá tsin tu lān guá tsin-tsiànn kài tu lān

(I’m so pissed off. I’m so pissed off. I’m so pissed off. I’m so really pissed off.)

Inter-sentential CS refers to the code change by sentence to sentence from a common

language to another language, as shown in (11). However, the common language can be

seemingly obscure in some inter-sentential code-switching songs, which is usually collaborated

by several rappers from different ethnolinguistic groups. In the rap song (12), we would find

each stanza in each code is rapped in equal amount by different vocals. Interestingly, the

common language – or the unmarked code choice– becomes covert. In this case, the whole

stanza of a language would be counted as one Taiwanese token, one English token, and one

Mandarin token, resulting from an inter-stanza language alternation.

34
(12) Guanbiminfan ‘Civil Revolt’ by Kou Chou Ching (Mandarin, English, Taiwanese)

[Taiwanese part]
…
山頂刣到山跤 大刀對著炮彈
suann-tíng thâi-kàu suann-kha, tuā-to tuì-tio̍h phàu-tuânn

無奈最後猶原是悲劇來收束
bô-nāi iu-guân sī pi-kio̍k lâi siu-suah

逃的逃 死的死 掠著攏判重刑

tô-ê tô sí-ê sí lia̍h-tio̍h-ê long phuànn-tāng-hîng

菜寮公廨的神位 紀念彼段悲情
tshài-liâu kong-ka-ê sîn-uī kì-liām hit-tuānn pi-tsîng

(Blades versus shells, from the top to the bottom of the hill. There’s no way to have happy
ending. The defeated martyrs were killed, dispersed, and put to trial. The epic sorrowful
history is written on the memorial tablets.)

[English part]
…
Time to pick up the blade and let's fuck the police.
It was written in the prophecy.
They study battle tactics in the temple.
Farmers are vengeful warriors with sickles and shovels.
Worship the gods and remember the blood.

[Mandarin part]
…
事隔多年 這一切早已掩埋
shigeduonian zheyiqie zaoyi yanmai

歷史故事沒有記載 也不在課堂教材
lishigushi meiyou jizai yebuzai ketangjiaocai

35
 透過歌詞來把事情說明白
touguo geci laibashiqing shuomingbai

從這故事鑑往今來 莫忘那過去失敗
congzhegushi jianwangjinlai mowang naguoqushibai

(The footprints are all ruined after years. The story is untold on textbooks and history. Today
we recognize the memories by lyrics. Today we recognize the memories by lyrics. We learn
the lessons by the past.)

Additionally, switching to another language also happens within an inter-stanza CS, which

has no common language. The stanza (13) is sung in Hakka, while the underlined phrase,

Guoshueiju ‘Tax Administration’, is in Mandarin. The stanza thus has one Mandarin token and

two Hakka tokens. The Mandarin token comes from the switching from Hakka to Mandarin.

The Hakka tokens includes one, which is the inter-stanza CS itself, and the other one, which is

switched from Mandarin back to Hakka.

36
(13) Jinguang Shanshan ‘Glittering’ by Kou Chou Chin (Hakka, Taiwanese, Mandarin)

騙錢 騙汝介錢
pien55qien11 pien55 n11gie55qien11

用麼介方法拿汝介錢
iung55 ma31ge55 fong24fab2 na24n11gie55qien11

一下係國稅局介官員
id2ha55 he55 guoshuiju gie55 gon24ien11

一下又係教汝賺大錢
id2ha55 iu55he55 gau24 n11 con55tai55qien11

(Scamming. Scamming you for money. How do they scam you for money? Sometimes
they are taxation officials. Sometimes they would tell you how to make a killing.)

All the language change of the utterance in the rap music would be counted as qualified

CS, except the unrhythmic conversation of the vocals in the songs. Take Dwagie’s Nanxing de

Biaobai ‘A Man’s Confession’ for example in (14). (14) is the initial narration of the song in

Taiwanese. The mere narration would be excluded from the discussion of this study.

(14) Nanxing de Biaobai ‘A Man’s Confession’ by Dwagie (Mandarin-Taiwanese)

阿桃 我是明華
a-thô guá sī bîng- huâ

接下來要說的這些話我已經吞忍太久太久啊
suà-lo̍h-lâi beh-kóng-ê tsia-ê-uē guá í-king thun-lún thài-kú thài-kú-ah

做著男性 最要緊的就是要有志氣
tsò-tio̍h lâm-sìng siōng-iàu-kín-ê tio̍h-sī ài-ū tsì-khì

37
 男性偉大的力量 你永遠不通忘記卡好
lâm-sìng uí-tāi-ê li̍ k-liōng lííng-uán m̄-thang buē-kì-tit khah-hó

今天這首 男性的表白 我送給你啦

kin-á-li̍ t tsit-tiâu lâm-sìng-ê piáu-pi̍ k guá sang-hōo-lí-lah

(A-To, I’m Minghua. I’ve always wanted to say what I wanna say next. As a man, the
most important thing is to be ambitious. The almighty power of men, you should never
forget. Today, this song called A Man’s Confession is for you.)

Besides the unrhythmic narration, the CS would be excepted if the purpose of the

switching is clear. At the end of the song, Ren ‘Human’, by Dwagie, the rapper presents the

dialogue in English between himself and Dalai Lama. Since English is the only communicative

language between Dwagie and Dalai, who speak different languages, the reason of CS here

becomes simple and obvious, as in (15). Therefore, despite the switch from the unmarked code

choice to a marked code choice in the song, it will be excluded from the qualified CS data.

(15) Ren ‘Human’ by Dwagie (Mandarin-English)

(Dwagie Part)
There are people doing positive things,
But compare to those negative ones,
We are still outnumbered by a lot.
The change we can make are so insignificant,
Of course I know we have to keep the faith,
But do you think we can change the world?

(Dalai Part)
There is no other alternative.
This is not a question.

38
 I often tell people,
You should think right or wrong,
Then once you feel it’s rightful, and can achieve,
Not complete but at least some portion,
That is achievement!
You should carry out work,
And should not think that research materialized within our lifetime or not.
This is not a question.
We must make efforts, make some contribution, and start beginning.

3.2.2 Categorization of Tones

To facilitate the analysis on the language use in face-threatening lyrics, the tokens are

further categorized into 6 tones and emotions, including Confident/Boasting, Mocking,

Angry/Criticizing, Flirting, Sad/Lost, Happy/Hopeful. The tone would be classified by the

semantic environment of the CS token – namely, by the verse or the line where a CS token is

inserted. The verse and the line would cover the meaning initiation and completion, such as

excerpt (16).

(16) Super Duper by MJ116 (Mandarin-English)

HOT CHICK HOT GIRL

她就是這樣的惹火 就像那偷心的小偷
tajiushi zheyangde rehuo jiuxiang natouxinde xiaotou

悄悄的把我的心給掌握
qiaoqiaode bawodexin geizhangwo

(Hot chick. Hot girl. She is so enchanting, like a thief that stoles hearts, and stealthily takes
my heart away.)

39
 In Confident/Boasting tone, the verses or lines have expressions presenting the rapper’s

confidence in his/her felling, wealth, talent, achievements, or the place where s/he is familiar

with. It can also show the pride, flaunting, and boasting that intentionally to distinguish

something from others. The lyrics that emphasize one’s own inviolable rules as if s/he were the

most influential person are classified as Confident/Boasting as well. Miss Ko’s Dapo Ta ‘Break

it’ in (17), explains this tone.

(17) Dapo Ta ‘Break it’ by Miss Ko (Mandarin-English)

女生饒舌歌手打破他們印象
nusheng raoshegeshou dapo tamen yinxiang

讓他們 recognize me
rangtamen recognize me

進去也不需要 I.D.
jinqu yebuxuyao I.D.

(A female rapper breaks their stereotype. Let them recognize me, so there no need to check
my I.D.)

Mocking tone, as its literal meaning, refers to those verse and lines that ridicule something

or somebody with contempt. The verse and lines can describe the behaviors or phenomena that

the rapper think is reproachable, as in (18). Blatant or indirect schadenfreude is also considered

as Mocking.

40
(18) Likai ‘Leave’ by MC Hotdog ft. Ayal Komod (Mandarin-English)

在 Real World 我用真名說假的話

zai Real World woyong zhenming shuojiadehua

Another World 我用假名說真的話

Another World woyong jiaming shuozhendehua

(In the real world, I use a real name to lie. In another world, I use a fake name to be honest.)

Flirting shows the rapper’s intent to pursue a girl by complimenting on her good looks or

shape that has turned him on. It has a tendency to include the sexual insinuation, as indicated

in excerpt (9) and (16).

(9) Ahh Yeah by Softlipa (Mandarin-English)

Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

我想跟你 Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

woxiang genni Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah (Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah)

散發著拿捏地剛好的幽默
sanfazhe naniede ganghaode youmo

這是剛好的收穫
zheshi ganghaode shouhuo

(Ahh Yeah Ahh Yeah…I wanna Ahh Yeah with you… I’m moderately humorous. This is
the best result.)

41
(16) Super Duper by MJ116 (Mandarin-English)

HOT CHICK HOT GIRL

她就是這樣的惹火 就像那偷心的小偷
tajiushi zheyangde rehuo jiuxiangna touxinde xiaotou

悄悄的把我的心給掌握
qiaoqiaode bawodexin geixhangwo

(Hot chick. Hot girl. She is so enchanting, like a thief that stoles hearts, and stealthily takes
my heart away.)

Angry/Criticizing signifies the obviously critical remarks which is usually said in obvious

anger, such as (12) and (13).

(12) Guanbiminfan ‘Civil Revolt’ by Kou Chou Ching (Mandarin, English, Taiwanese)

[Taiwanese part]
…
山頂刣到山跤 大刀對著炮彈
suann-tíng thâi-kàu suann-kha, tuā-to tuì-tio̍h phàu-tuânn

無奈最後猶原是悲劇來收束
bô-nāi iu-guân sī pi-kio̍k lâi siu-suah

逃的逃 死的死 掠著攏判重刑

tô-ê tô sí-ê sí lia̍h-tio̍h-ê long phuànn-tāng-hîng

菜寮公廨的神位 紀念彼段悲情
tshài-liâu kong-ka-ê sîn-uī kì-liām hit-tuānn pi-tsîng

42
(Blades versus shells, from the top to the bottom of the hill. There’s no way to have happy
ending. The defeated martyrs were killed, dispersed, and put to trial. The epic sorrowful
history is written on the memorial tablets.)

[English part]
…
Time to pick up the blade and let's fuck the police.
It was written in the prophecy.
They study battle tactics in the temple.
Farmers are vengeful warriors with sickles and shovels.
Worship the gods and remember the blood.

[Mandarin part]
…
事隔多年 這一切早已掩埋
shigeduonian zheyiqie zaoyi yanmai

歷史故事沒有記載 也不在課堂教材
lishigushi meiyou jizai yebuzai ketangjiaocai

透過歌詞來把事情說明白
touguo geci laibashiqing shuomingbai

從這故事鑑往今來 莫忘那過去失敗
congzhegushi jianwangjinlai mowang naguoqushibai

(The footprints are all ruined after years. The story is untold on textbooks and history.
Today we recognize the memories by lyrics. We learn the lessons by the past.)

43
(13) Jinguang Shanshan ‘Glittering’ by Kou Chou Chin (Hakka, Mandarin, Taiwanese)

騙錢 騙汝介錢
pien55qien11 pien55 n11gie55qien11

用麼介方法拿汝介錢
iung55 ma31ge55 fong24fab2 na24n11gie55qien11

一下係國稅局介官員
id2ha55 he55 guoshuiju gie55 gon24ien11

一下又係教汝賺大錢
id2ha55 iu55he55 gau24 n11 con55tai55qien11

Sad/Lost includes the feeling of sadness, depression, and even disappointment, like (19).

Further, the lyrics that recount one’s lost or confusion in something or somewhere are regarded

as Sad/Lost.

(19) 19470228 by Dwagie (Taiwanese-English)

Just take me Don’t you let it go 賣放棄

Just take me Don’t you let it go mài-hòng-khì

我不是那種不能吃苦的查某
guá m̄-sī hit-tsióng buē-tàng tsia̍h-khóo-ê tsa-bóo

不同的世界渡過 相同的風雨
bô-kâng-ê sè-kài tōo-kuè sio-kāng-ê hong-hōo

(Just take me. Don’t you let it go. Don’t give up. I’m not that kind of woman who can’t
endure the hardship. We are in the different worlds, but we go through the same wind and
rain.’)

44
 Happy/Hopeful takes up minor percentage of the total tokens. This tone tends to be used

to describe some pleasing settings or memories which would contrast the later depiction of

desperation or misery. The expression of celebration or the use of the mantra of Buddhism are

categorized as Happy/Hopeful. Excerpt (20) is the Mantra of Tara from Tibetan Buddhism, and

inserted in the lyrics of Ren ‘Human’ by Dwagie.

(20) Ren ‘Human’ by Dwagie ft. Dalai Lama (Mandarin-English-Sanskrit)

Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā

3.3 Data Analysis Procedure

The analysis aims at discover attitudes and values towards the languages through looking

into the purposes and functions of code-switching in the face-threatening lyrics. The discussion

would begin with contextualization of the tokens in different languages, which is categorized

into several groups as the features, as defined in Table 3. The 11 features are classified

according to the environment of the tokens, including Inviting, Localization, Objectionalization,

Onomatopoeia, Profanity, Quotation, Request, Salience, Salience on contrast, and Salience on

I.

45
Table 3 The categories of features of code-switching tokens

Feature Definition
Compliment Showing the admiration of the appearance or body shape with
relation to sexuality towards another individual.
Inviting Showing a passionate invitation to the hearers, usually at the settings
of parties.
Localization Emphasizing some attributes and perspectives of a certain
ethnolinguistic group.
Objectionalization Uttering from another point of view.
Onomatopoeia The vocal imitation of the sound.
Profanity Swear words.
Quotation Direct quotation of names, titles, idioms, or sayings.
Request The request from a rapper to a female, especially in flirting tone.
Salience Emphasis on a certain theme of the stanza of the song.
Salience on contrast Emphasis and comparison on contrast between one thing and another.
Salience on I Emphasis on the personal behaviors and special styles of rapper
him/herself.

In examining each token of each feature, the function of the token would also be taken

into account for discussion. In Table 4, referring to the definition from some previous studies,

the functions of code-switching could specify on what account the switchings are interspersed

in the lyrics. Some functions adopted from the previous studies are boundary making,

Expressive, Interjection, Intimacy, Message qualification, Persuasive, Poetic, Referential, and

Replacement, and others are from the common usage, including Habitual words and Nonce

borrowing.

46
Table 4 The functions and definitions of code-switching

Function Definition Defined by

Boundary Code-switching is used for social exclusion. Chen, 1996;
making Wei, 2003
Expressive Code-switching is used for expressing emotional passion. Chen, 1996;
Lee, 2004
Habitual The loan words, phrases, or sentences that tend to be
word uttered in the original language.
Interjection Code-switching as an interjection in order to alone as a Gumperz, 1977
sentence, or as a sentence filler.
Intimacy Code-switching is used for showing intimacy among the Wei, 2003
in-group members.
Message Code-switching serves as the explanation of the main Gumperz, 1977
qualification message in the original language.
Nonce The borrowing of a word from another language whose
borrowing meaning is vague in the first language.
Persuasive Code-switching is used for ease of convincing, or Chen, 1996
directing the attention of the interlocutor.
Poetic Code-switching in songs serves as rhyming and ease of Chen, 1996;
meaning conveyance. Rhyming includes rhymes - Davies &
correspondent terminal sounds, and alliteration - Bentahila, 2008
correspondent initial sounds.
Referential Code-switching is used for identifiable quotation. Chen, 1996;
Gumperz, 1977
Replacement Code-switching is used as a neutral code to avoid direct Chen, 1996;
expression in original language. Lee, 2004

It is also noted that a token can have more than one features and more than one functions.

Therefore, the examination of the features and functions of the tokens offers a more

comprehensive way to realize both the purposes and the attitudes towards the languages. In the

47
next chapter, a more detailed discussion would be provided with the exemplification in each

tone of each language.

48
 Chapter 4 Findings and Discussion

This study aims at revealing the lingual culture in Taiwan rap music by finding out the

purposes of codeswitching in face-threatening lyrics. As indicated in Table 1 in 3.1 repeated

below, the 579 code-switching tokens of the 6 languages to be examined occurred in face-

threatening lines or stanzas. Table 2 demonstrate the distribution of the tokens of each language

in every type of tone – Confident/Boasting, Mocking, Angry/Criticizing, Flirting, Sad/Lost, and

Happy/Hopeful.

Table 1 Tokens of each language in face-threatening lines

Language Tokens in FT lines

English 462
Taiwanese 64
Hakka 14
Mandarin 35
Indigenous languages 2
Japanese 2
Total 579

49
Table 2 Tokens in face-threatening lines/verses

Confident/ Angry/ Sad/ Happy/

Mocking Flirting
Boasting Criticizing Lost Hopeful
English 247 97 44 45 28 1
Taiwanese 5 33 22 2 2 0
Hakka - - 14 - - -
Mandarin 1 - 33 - 1 -
Indigenous
- - 1 - 1 -
languages
Japanese - - 1 - 1 -

Again, according to the explanation in 3.3, in looking into different code-switching

instances, the study would scrutinize the features and the functions of the tokens. Table 3

demonstrates the overall groups of features of the tokens in different code-switchings, which

are categorized according to the usage of the code-switching tokens and the contexts where the

tokens are interspersed.

50
Table 3 The categories of features of code-switching tokens

Feature Definition
Compliment Showing the admiration of the appearance or body shape with
relation to sexuality towards another individual.
Interjection An interjection can stand alone as a sentence, or as a sentence filler.
Inviting Showing a passionate invitation to the hearers, usually at the settings
of parties.
Localization Emphasizing some attributes and perspectives of a certain
ethnolinguistic group.
Objectionalization Uttering from another point of view.
Onomatopoeia The vocal imitation of the sound.
Profanity Swear words.
Quotation Direct quotation of names, titles, idioms, or sayings.
Request The request from a rapper to a female, especially in flirting tone.
Salience Emphasis on a certain theme of the stanza of the song.
Salience on contrast Emphasis and comparison on contrast between one thing and another.
Salience on I Emphasis on the personal behaviors and special styles of rapper
him/herself.

Since the tokens are classified by the tones and the features, the functions of the tokens

would then become obvious. The functions of the tokens would refer to some other studies

which deals with code-switching in terms of pragmatic usage, as indicated in Table 4.

51
Table 4 The functions and definitions of code-switching

Function Definition Defined by

Boundary Code-switching is used for social exclusion. Chen, 1996;
making Wei, 2003
Expressive Code-switching is used for expressing emotional passion. Chen, 1996;
Lee, 2004
Habitual The loan words, phrases, or sentences that tend to be
word uttered in the original language.
Interjection Code-switching as an interjection in order to alone as a Gumperz, 1977
sentence, or as a sentence filler.
Intimacy Code-switching is used for showing intimacy among the
in-group members.
Message Code-switching serves as the explanation of the main Gumperz, 1977
qualification message in the original language.
Nonce The borrowing of a word from another language whose
borrowing meaning is vague in the first language.
Persuasive Code-switching is used for ease of convincing, or Chen, 1996
directing the attention of the interlocutor.
Poetic Code-switching in songs serves as rhyming and ease of Chen, 1996;
meaning conveyance. Rhyming includes rhymes - Davies &
correspondent terminal sounds, and alliteration - Bentahila, 2008
correspondent initial sounds.
Referential Code-switching is used for identifiable quotation. Chen, 1996;
Gumperz, 1977
Replacement Code-switching is used as a neutral code to avoid direct Chen, 1996;
expression in original language. Lee, 2004

Since a token is likely to have more than one feature and function, the total number of the

tokens presented in the tables in the following sections would not be correspondent to Table 1

of the total number of tokens of various code-switching languages. In addition, the excerpt for

each example would also be provided with the code-switching languages in that song. Take

52
code-switching languages of the two songs in the brackets below for instance. The code-

switching languages in the first example connected with hyphens mean that Taiwanese is the

common language of that song, and switches to English and Mandarin at certain phrases or

stanzas. On the other hand, the code-switching languages linked with commas refers to a lack

of common language in that song, so the song is sung in Taiwanese, Mandarin, and Yami by

different stanzas. A more detailed explanation to such pattern of code-switching is in excerpt

(12) of 3.2.1.

 Hexie ‘Nuclear Devil’ by Laodongfuwu (Taiwanese-English-Mandarin)

 Huise Haianxian ‘The Grey Coastline’ by Kou Chou Ching (Taiwanese, Mandarin,

Yami)

In the following sections, the tokens would be examined by looking into the numbers of

the code-switching tokens with different features and functions in each language. English

switching tokens in different tones would be discussed in 4.1, Taiwanese in 4.2, Mandarin in

4.3. The tokens in Hakka, indigenous languages, and Japanese would be presented in 4.4.

4.1 Code-switching to English

English code-switching tokens take up the majority of the switching tokens in the rap

songs, with 462 tokens in the lines/stanzas considered as face-threatening. According to Table

4, the tokens are most highly concentrated in confident/boasting tone, with second most in

mocking tone. It could mean that English is considered a confident language with higher status

53
for Taiwanese people. On the other hand, the tokens are evenly distributed in flirting and

angry/criticizing tones, which could be inferred that English play some specific roles in dealing

with these emotions. All the inference would be discussed in the following part.

Among the 462 tokens, some differ in the purposes by the tones, while some demonstrate

similar usage regardless of different tones. Some switching tokens have single feature, whereas

others have multiple. First, the beginning of 4.1 would present the common types of code-

switching, as the number of the tokens summarized in Table 5, and the sub-sections of the 4.1

would be dedicated to the rest of the purposes and features of English code-switching in each

tone.

Table 5 The number of tokens of the common functions/features in each tone (English)

Function/Feature Habitual Poetic Interjection Nonce Profanity

Tone word borrowing
Confident 45 45 20 17 7
Mocking 29 20 10 8 9
Angry/criticizing 8 9 2 4 3
Flirting 4 12 8 2 1
Sad/lost 5 7 3 0 0
Happy/hopeful 0 0 0 0 0

First, habitual word is a prominent feature in almost all the tones. Habitual words refer to

the English phrases that have correspondent meaning in Mandarin, but the rappers are more

used to the English forms than the Mandarin ones. Rap star and rock star in (21) and hatas and

high in (22) shows the habitual usage of certain phrases.

54
(21) Rap Star by MJ116 (Mandarin-English)

音樂不會跑拍 我們是 rap star 不是 rock star

yinyue buhui paopai womenshi rap star bushi rock star

再搞錯我要音樂全部都 stop
zaigaocuo woyao yinyue quanbudou stop

(Music would not be off the beat. We are the rap star, not rock star. If you mistake again
I’ll have music all stop.)

(22) Welcome Back by Witness (Mandarin-English)

Yo 那些懷疑我的 hatas die

Yo naxie huaiyiwode hatas die

我的音樂讓大家 high
wode yinyue rangdajia high

(Yo those haters who doubt me die. My music would make everybody high.)

Since rhyming is regarded as a crucial element in hip-hop music, the poetic function of

code-switching (Davies &Bentahila, 2008) is frequently rendered in Taiwan hip-hop music. To

fit the rhyme, some English words would be used in the Mandarin lines. (23) and (24) in Flirting

and Confident/Boasting tones both account for the typical rhyming in Taiwan Mandarin rap

songs. (23) and (24) not only show the need to fit the double-syllabic rhyming (雙押) by

switching the last two Mandarin words or two English syllables from Mandarin to English, but

also indicate a phenomenon that the switching words must be coherent to the former or later

lines.

55
(23) Buchi Zaocan ‘Not Eating Breakfast’ by MC Hotdog (Mandarin-English)

早餐的英文叫做 Breakfast
zaocande yingwen jiaozuo Breakfast

我不吃早餐 我也不見得會餓死
wobuchi zaocan woye bujiande huiesi

(Zaocan in English is breakfast. I won’t starve to death if I don’t eat breakfast.)

(24) Lianhuanhui ‘The Party’ by Miss Ko (Mandarin-English)

讓你懷疑 這人來自哪裡
rangni huaiyi zheren laizi nali

說我腔調一點 funny
shuowo qiangdiao yidian funny

但我只覺得你是 dummy
danwo zhishi juede nishi dummy

(Make you doubt where she’s from. You said my accent is funny, but I just thought you’re
dummy.)

It is common that the rappers use English interjections to show personal style or to express

certain emotions. In (25), yoyo is an interjection that is frequently rendered in both Eastern and

Western hip-hop music. In (26), Nah shows a more native-like and playful denying by

switching to English.

56
(25) Bala by Dwagie ft. MC Hotdog (Mandarin-English)

對一般人來說饒舌就數來寶 就吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮頂多加 yoyo

duiyibanren laishuo raoshe jiushulaibao jiu chiputao butu putaopi dingduo jia yoyo

吃葡萄 YO! 不吐葡萄 YO! 皮

chiputao YO! butu putao YO! pi

(For common people, rap songs are like shulaibao. It’s like eat grapes but not spitting grape
peels, and add yoyo at most. Eat grapefruits but not spitting grapefruit peels.)

(26) Daodan ‘Tricks’ by Miss Ko (Mandarin-English)

翹個二郎腿 Nah 我才不裝美

qiaoge erlangtui Nah wocaibu zhuangmei

別以為我浪費因為我服裝貴
bieyiwei wolangfei yinweiwo fuzhuanggui

(Crossing my legs. Nah I’m not pretending to be pretty. Don’t think I’m wasting money,
cuz my clothes are expensive.)

Another common feature is nonce borrowing, which refers to borrowing a word from

another language whose meaning is vague in the first language, and is rendered frequently in

the English switching tokens. Huai Linju ‘The Bad Neighbor’ by MJ116 and Yuanzougaofei

‘Going Far Away’ by MC Yaozong (MC 耀 宗 ) in (27) and (28), in Mocking and

Angry/Criticizing tones respectively, both exemplify these traits. The borrowing word, SHOT,

in (27) and poser in (28) has no direct and corresponding word in Mandarin, the unmarked

linguistic code of these two songs.

57
(27) Huai Linju ‘The Bad Neighbor’ by MJ116 (Mandarin-English)

我說 XUE 了 XUE 了 XUE 了 XUE 了 我家是你家

woshuo XUE le XUE le XUE le XUE le wojia shinijia

我說 XUE 了 XUE 了 XUE 了 XUE 了 給我一盤 SHOT

woshuo XUE le XUE le XUE le XUE le geiwo yipan SHOT

(I say xuele xuele xuele xuele, my home is yours. I say xuele xuele xuele xuele, give me a
plate of shots.)

(28) Yuanzougaofei ‘Going Far Away’ by MC Yao Zong (Mandarin-English)

話說謾罵的 poser 垃圾話說到嘴破

huashuo manmade poser lesehua shuodao zuipo

(I say the invective poser trash talking till their mouth bleeding.)

English profanity is also frequently found in Taiwan rap songs, especially in certain tones,

including Confident/Boasting, Mocking, Angry/Criticizing, Flirting. Some are used for being

expressive in emotions and passions, as indicated in (29) and (30).

(29) Dapuo Ta ‘Break it’ by Miss Ko (Mandarin-English)

如果台灣嘻哈有 M.V.P.
ruguo taiwan xiha you M.V.P.

我就是饒舌的鄧麗君 motherf***er
wojiushi raoshede denglijun mother**er

(If there’s a MVP for Taiwan hip-hop. I must be the Teresa Teng of hip-hop world.
Motherf**er. )

58
(30) Ting ‘Listen’ by Lai Ci Hong (Mandarin-English)

你喜歡你就聽 不喜歡就別聽
nixihuan nijiuting buxihuan jiubieting

你幹嘛聽你不喜歡的東西
niganmating nibuxihuande dongxi

再拔掉耳機 再批評著別人的歌有多麼難聽
zaipadiao erji zaipipingzhe bierendege youduome nanting

Go f*** yourself F*** yourself F*** you

(If you like it, just listen. If you don’t, just don't. Why do you listening to what you don't
like and take off the headphone criticizing how bad it is? Go f*** yourself F*** yourself
F*** you)

These rap songs also exhibit another interesting usage of English profanity. The English

swear words tend to be taken as the replacement for a bad thing in avoiding saying it in

Mandarin, such as excerpt (31), (32), and (33). Bullsh** in the three excerpts all refer to

something negative which are considered improper to directly say in Mandarin.

(31) Hold Your Dream by MC Yao Zong (Mandarin-English)

不起而行做 說再多都是 bullsh**

buqierxing zuo shuozaiduo doushi bullsh**

(No action, only words are bullsh**.)

59
(32) Feeling Good by Barry Chen (Mandarin-English)

他說我的歌詞 總是毫無內容
tashuo wode geci zongshi haowu nairong

唱一樣的 Bullsh** 全部都是在呼嚨

changyiyangde Bullsh** quanbu doushizai hulong

(He said my lyrics are empty. Singing the same old bullsh**. All lying.)

(33) Ba Suoyou Fannao ‘All the Worries Be’ by Leo Wang (Mandarin-English)

雞鳴狗盜之輩不要跟我爭
jiminggoudaouzhibei buyao genwozheng

但是我喜歡的女生也有可能是喜歡女生
danshi woxihuandenusheng yeyoukenengshi xihuan nusheng

甚麼藍色大門 別再跟我 bullsh** 我可是很認真的

sheme lansedamen biezaigenwo bullsh** wokeshi henrenzhende

(Losers don’t compete with me. But the girl I like is also likely to like girls. No Blue Gates
Crossing. Don't say something bullsh**. I’m serious now.)

The common features of English code-switching in rap songs has so far been introduced,

and are universally in accordance with those of other code-switching combinations discussed

in Chan (2009), Davies & Bentahila (2008), Lee (2004), and Sarkar & Winer (2006). Many

Some of the features of English switchings, such as interjections and profanity, are linked more

to the social purpose of code-switching than the features like habitual word, rhyming, and nonce

borrowing. English switching is also exploited for the other purposes differentiated by the tones.

The following sub-sections would present the findings of the features in the 5 categorized tones.

60
4.1.1 English Code-switching in Confident/Boasting Tone
Aside from the aforementioned common features in most of the tones, English code-

switching in confident/boasting tone includes several noticeable attributes, as indicated in Table

6 6 , which are Salience on I, Salience, Quotation, Inviting, Salience on contrast, and

Onomatopoeia. Each kind of feature is also likely to function differently. For instance, it is

possible that a token belongs to both the features Salience on I and Quotation, if the token is an

English brand name which is used to describe how valuable the rapper is. Further, the tokens

with the feature of Salience on I may serve as either persuasion or message qualification, or

possess the characteristics of both of them. A more detailed explanation would be given in the

following parts of this section by some examples.

In confident/boasting tone, it is obvious that the majority of code-switching tokens are

concentrated in Salience on I and Salience, and mainly function as persuasion that intends to

emphasize or convince the hearers, or attract the attention of the hearers (Chen, 1996). Code-

switching to English in Quotation and Inviting has the same persuasive function, except that

Quotation can also simply be the reference that indicates other people or objects.

6
Since a token is likely to have more than one feature and function, the total number of the tokens in Table 6 do
not correspond the total tokens of the confident tone of English code-switching, and so do other feature tables of
other tones in other sections.

61
Table 6 The features and functions of code-switching in confident/boasting tone (English)

Feature Token Function Token

Salience on I 59 Persuasive 59
Message qualification 2
Salience 55 Persuasive 47
Message qualification 11
Quotation 32 Persuasive 18
Referential 15
Inviting 21 Persuasive 21
Salience on contrast 16 Persuasive 16
Onomatopoeia 3 Poetic 3
Total tokens 247

The code-switchings in excerpt (34) and (35) belongs to Salience on I, but function slightly

differently. In (34), We beat the pussy up and they call me P.I.M.P. stress how unique and

phenomenal the rappers are, indicating the persuasion of switching to English that can convince

the hearer that the rappers are better than any other else. I don’t need no help in (35) not only

emphasize the exceptional behavior of the rapper, but also serves as the message qualification

that explains and supports other lyrics conveyed in Mandarin.

(34) Fresh Gang by MJ116 (Mandarin-English)

We beat the pussy up 你還在停留原地

We beat the pussy up nihai tingliuzai yuandi

我搞了這番田地 they call me P.I.M.P.

wogaole zhefantiandi they call me P.I.M.P.

(We beat the pussy up and you’re still standing there. I’m so achieved they call me P.I.M.P.)

62
(35) Feeling Good by Barry Chen (Mandarin-English)

我感覺自我良好
woganjue ziwolianghao

I don't need no help

(I feel so good. I don’t need no help.)

Feeling’s alright in excerpt (36) belongs to Salience, and function as persuasion and

message qualification. The sentence highlights the importance of free will and further explains

the reason why one needs to hang out by switching to English.

(36) Haihai Rensheng ‘High High Life’ by MC Hotdog (Mandarin-English)

想出來就出來 Feeling's alright

xiangchulai jiuchulai Feeling’s alright

High high 人生要 high 就要趁現在

High high rensheng high jiuyao chenxianzai

(Hang out if you want. Feeling’s alright. High high life. If you want high life just seize the
day.)

The rappers would also quote some names or phrases in English in the lyrics, which can

simply refer to a person or an object, or at the same time serve as a metaphor or emphasis on

certain image with its persuasive function. (37) demonstrates such quotation which contains

both persuasion and reference. Goyard, Gucci, Versace are the luxurious brands quoted to

describe how valuable and legendary the rapper is.

63
(37) Fly Out by Xiongdi Bense (Mandarin-English)

Hustling everyday I hustling Goyard Gucci Versace

我就像是奢侈品 締造歷史傳奇
wojiuxiangshi shechipin diazo lishiqiji

(Hustling everyday I hustling. Goyard, Gucci, Versace. I’m like luxuries, being legendary.)

Inviting is a specific feature that mostly occurs in confident tone with English code-

switching. In inviting the hearer or encouraging the hearer, especially at the setting of a party,

to do something together, the rapper tends to use English to express such inviting. Therefore,

switching to English with this feature seems to possess persuasive function to be convincing

and mitigating in a face-threatening request, as exemplified in (38).

(38) Dapota ‘Break It’ by Miss Ko (Mandarin-English)

哈, rock the party, don't stop

Ha, rock the party, don’t stop

手都放到空中 大家一起在晃
shou doufangdao kongzhong dajia yiqi zaihuang

(Ha, rock the party, don’t stop. Put your hands up, shake with everybody.)

Salience on contrast is similar to Salience and Salience on I in the emphasis, but it focuses

more on the uncoolness of the other individuals. In (39), it switches to English when blaming

the frumpiness of the hearer, which has killed the mood the of audience.

64
(39) Nerd with Attitude by PoeTek (Mandarin-English)

Why don't you give me the mic. Bitch you're killing the vibe.

乖乖牌還玩什麼饒舌 快快回家彈你的陶喆

guaiguaipai haiwansheme raoshe kuaikuai huijia tannide taozhe

管你 來自什麼嘻研社 又不是杜振熙來自顏社
guanni laizisheme xiyanshe youbushi duzhenxi laizi yanshe

(Why don't you give me the mic. Bitch you’re killing the vibe. Good kid don’t rap. Go
home to play your David Tao. It doesn’t matter if you’re from what hip-hop club. You’re
not even Softlipa from KAO!INC.)

The last feature of English code-switching in confident tone is Onomatopoeia, and the

switchings with this feature is mainly used for the mimicking of sounds, as indicated in (40).

(40) Nerd with Attitude by PoeTek (Mandarin-English)

他們汲汲營營 比誰 bling bling 你聽 chi ching 獎學金的聲音

tamen jijiyingying bishei bling bling niting chi ching jiangxuejinde shengyin

(They’re struggling to see who is more bling bling. Listen, chi ching, that’s the sound of
scholarship.)

4.1.2 English Code-switching in Mocking Tone

Slightly different from confident tone in distribution of the tokens in various features,

English code-switching is inclined to be employed for Salience and Quotation in mocking tone;

on the other hand, Salience on contrast, Salience on I, and Inviting become secondary features.

65
In mocking tone, switching to English can be employed to stress the contradiction and

ridiculousness, and schadenfreude purposefully aroused by the lyrics.

Table 7 The features and functions of code-switching in mocking tone (English)

Feature Token Function Token

Salience 19 Persuasive 14
Expressive 5
Message qualification 4
Quotation 12 Referential 12
Persuasive 3
Expressive 2
Salience on contrast 9 Expressive 6
Persuasive 3
Message qualification 2
Salience on I 8 Persuasive 7
Message qualification 1
Expressive 1
Inviting 6 Persuasive 6
Total tokens 97

English code-switching with Salience feature in mocking tone, similar to the one in

confident tone, serves as persuasion and message qualification, as indicated in excerpt (41) and

(43). Further, it also has expressive function that gives vent to the rapper’s emotion, and thus

enhance the degree of mocking, up up up in excerpt (42), for instance.

66
(41) Likai ‘Leave’ by MC Hotdog ft. Ayal Komod (Mandarin-English)

在真實的世界你說 Life is a struggle

zaizhenzhide shijie nishuo Life is a struggle

在虛擬的世界 一切都像是一場秀
zaixunide shijie yiqie douxiangshi yichangshou

(In the real world, you say life is a struggle. In the virtual world, everything is like a show.)

(42) Huai Linju ‘Bad Neighbor’ by MJ116 (Mandarin-English)

音響燙燙燙 噪音 UP UP UP 鄰居被轟炸
yinxiang tangtangtang zaoyin UP UP UP linju beihongzha

(The stereo hot hot hot. The noise up up up. The neighbor is bombed.)

(43) Crossroad by PoeTek (Mandarin-English)

十字路口 下個轉彎是不是死胡同? who knows

shizilukou xiagezhuanwan shibushi sihutong who knows

路都是上頭鋪的 為何你的特別顛簸?
ludoushi shangtoupude weihenide tebiedianbo

(The crossroad. Is the next turn a dead end? Who knows. The road is given from the God,
but why is yours so tough?)

Quotation is the second most repeated tokens in mocking tone. As opposed to being

persuasive in boasting oneself, such switching is likely to be expressive in irony that adds

further vividness to the descriptions. In (44), One Night in Beijing is the name of a song sung

67
by a Taiwanese singer, while the rapper is questioning the singer about patriotism by changing

the name into One Night in Beigang, with the insertion of a famous location in Taiwan, Beigang.

(44) Lan Ba Ci ‘Poem Lanba’ by Dwagie (Mandarin-English)

為什麼唱 one night in 北京

weisheme chang one night in beijing

為什麼不唱 one night in 北港

weisheme buchang one night in beigang

(Why do they sing one night in Beijing? Why don’t they sing one night in Beigang?)

Salience on contrast in mocking tone functions more expressively and aggressively. The

interrogation, what you gonna do, in (45) is sung in a contemptuous mood, and shows additional

aggressiveness with the English profanity.

(45) Ting ‘Listen’ by Lai Ci Hong (Mandarin-English)

What you gonna do

Oh f**k again

給那些自以為是的蠢豬
geinaxie ziyiweishide chunzhu

腦子醫不好的話就像馬桶被屎給堵住
naozi yibuhaodehua jiuxiangmatong beixhigeiduzhu

(Whay you gonna do? Oh f**k again. For those arrogant swines. If your brain doesn’t get
over, it would be like a toilet clogged by sh**.)

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 Whereas most of the features function slightly differently from the ones of the

confident/boasting tone, switching to English in mocking tone for Salience on I and Inviting

are found to be the same, serving as persuasion. As indicated in excerpt (46) with Salience on

I, the mocking seems to be built on the confidence of the rapper himself, and thus the switching

can be regarded as persuasive.

(46) Buchi Zaocan ‘Not Eating Breakfast’ by MC Hotdog ft. Softlipa (Mandarin-English)

不用上班 我幹麻早起吃早餐
buyong shangban woganma chizaocan

I got no job but I still fly

(I don’t need to work, so why I have to get up early for bearkfast? I got no job but I still
fly.)

4.1.3 English Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone

Table 8 shows that English code-switching in angry/criticizing tone, similar to mocking

tone, is prominent in Salience, and majorly functions as emotional expression. The switching

is also deployed for Salience on contrast, Quotation, Salience on I with minor tokens. Although

the last feature, objectionalization, has only 2 tokens, it is worth noting that the rapper would

use English as a third-person perspective for the narration so as to be more convincing.

Since expressive and persuasive function of English code-switching are in nearly equal

quantity of tokens, it is inferred that English code-switching in angry/criticizing tone can assert

the strong emotions with ease, or directing attentions by the convincing attribute of English

itself. In addition, as a foreign language to most of the Taiwanese people, English code-

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switching is also found to be able to represent an objective perspective, and thus making the

content of the utterance more persuasive. The inference above would be exemplified by the

following given excerpts.

Table 8 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing tone (English)

Feature Token Function Token

Salience 18 Expressive 12
Message qualification 7
Persuasive 4
Salience on contrast 6 Expressive 4
Persuasive 3
Message qualification 1
Quotation 6 Referential 5
Persuasive 3
Salience on I 3 Persuasive 3
Message qualification 2
Objectionalization 2 Persuasive 2
Expressive 2
Total tokens 44

Switching with Salience feature is mainly for facilitating the conveyance of the emotion,

anger, in this case. Therefore, STOP in (47) not only expresses he urgent want to cease the

current undesirable situation, but is also able to deliver the forceful mood in one single syllable.

(47) Xiaoren Guo ‘Kingdom of Kids’ by Xiaoren (Mandarin-English)

受夠大人 要你 讀書 然後 讀書 除了 讀書 還是 讀書 我們 STOP！
Shougoudaren yaoni dushu ranhou dushu chule dushu haishi dushu women STOP!

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 (You’ve had enough that adults ask you to study, study, and study. Let’s stop!)

Tokens with Salience on contrast also carry more expressive function of code-switching.

Hater still same in (48) indicates the complaint about the impugnment on the Internet, as well

as the message qualification that explains the repeated lame behaviors from those haters.

(48) Feeling Good by Barry Chen (Mandarin-English)

從 Diss song 到 Youtube 留言

cong Diss song dao Youtube liouyan

Hater still same 還是講我是非

Hater still same haishi hiangwo shifei

(From diss song to youtube comments. Hater still the same, speaking ill of me.)

The quotation of the term of the weapon in (49), AK – referring to AK-47, is a powerful

weapon, and is used to contrast the child soldiers employed by the armies in some countries.

Such ridiculousness aims to inciting the anger and empathy of the hearer, and therefore the

switching not only possesses referential function to an object, but also giving a clear concept

of how fatal the object is to be held in the hands of the children.

(49) Ren ‘Human’ by Dwagie (Mandarin-English)

軍隊訓練一位又一位才十幾歲 離家沒幾夜的娃娃兵拿起 AK
jundui xunlian yiweiyouyiwei caishijisui lijiameijiyede wawabing naqi AK

(The army trained the teenager, one by another, who just left home for a few days, to hold
AK.)

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 Having only 2 tokens and both from the lyrics of the same song, English code-switching

for objectionalization still shows some importance about the role of English. Excerpt (50) is a

complete stanza from Kou Chou Ching’s Guanbiminfan ‘Civil Revolt’, which tells the history

of Taiwan during Japanese colonization. The rapper mimics the tone of a third party at the first

half of the stanza, and turns into the contemporary people’s tone at the second half. The anger

is channeled through the objectiveness of English, which would thus render the stanza more

eloquent.

(50) Guanbiminfan ‘Civil Revolt’ by Kou Chou Ching ft. Chang Jui-chuan (Mandarin, English,

Taiwanese, Hakka)

1895, a war with the empire of Japan ended.

China defeated but Formosams paid the price.
Betrayed and sold by the Ching Dynasty.
Formosa turned into a Japanese colony.
Into a police state.
Man, woman, and child enslaved.
For wood, rice, and sugarcanes.
Farms and land were taken away.
Tyranny coerced on us through police brutality.
What's it gonna be?
We can take it no more so let's fuck the police.
Time to pick up the blade and let's fuck the police.
It was written in the prophecy.
They study battle tactics in the temple.
Farmers are vengeful warriors with sickles and shovels.
Worship the gods and remember the blood.

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4.1.4 English Code-switching in Flirting Tone
Although the most prominent feature is still Salience, Request and Compliment are also

noticeable features of English code-switching in flirting tone. Additionally, more replacement

and expressive tokens are encompassed in the functions, which indicates English code-

switching is utilized differently when interspersed in the lyrics aiming at pursuing girls.

The role of English is likely to be more qualified in a flirting setting than that of Mandarin

is. As Chen (1996) and Lee (2004) indicate in the studies, one of the attributes of English code-

switching is to serve as the replacement for what is embarrassed or rude to say in the original

languages – in their cases, Mandarin and Korean respectively. In line with these studies,

switching to English in Taiwan rap songs, especially in the flirting lyrics, corroborates such

saying. The flirts in the lyrics would become more straightforward by switching to English.

Table 9 The features and functions of code-switching in flirting tone (English)

Feature Token Function Token

Salience 13 Replacement 7
Expressive 5
Persuasive 3
Message qualification 3
Request 12 Expressive 10
Replacement 10
Message qualification 7
Persuasive 2
Compliment 7 Expressive 6
Replacement 6
Persuasive 1
Quotation 1 Expressive 1
Message qualification 1

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 Salience on I 1 Persuasive 1
Total tokens 45

Switching to English with Salience in flirting tone can either be alternative or expressive,

or both. I want you in (51), which possesses the features of Salience and Request, both

distinguishes the awkwardness of conveying the want in the original language, and also vents

the desire of the rapper.

(51) I Want You by Softlipa (Mandarin-English)

我說 喝完酒的那個不是我
woshuo hewanjiude nage bushiwo

怎麼說呢 因為他敢承認
zenmeshuone yinwei tagan chengren

Want you! I want you! I want you!

I want you! I want you girl!

(I say the guy who got drunk is not me. How to say it? Because he dares to admit that I
want you! I want you! I want you! I want you! I want you girl!)

Expressions of Requests would also tend to use English for the affection conveyance.

Compared to the lyrics in Mandarin, it is obvious that lyrics in English are telling something

more audacious. In (52), lady baby let me see you shake dat ass and tonight I wanna take you

home shows bolder desire from the rapper.

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(52) Chuangquian Mingyueguang ‘Moonlight at Bedside’ by Juzzy Orange (Mandarin-English)

Oh God 怎麼會有如此完美的 lady baby let me see you shake dat ass
Oh God zenmehuiyou ruciwanmeide lady baby let me see you shake dat ass

So 子彈 reload 準備行動
So zidan reload zhunbeixingdong

Tonight I wanna take you home

(Oh God. How good she is! Lady baby let me see you shake dat ass. So bullets reload.
Ready to go. Tonight I wanna take you home.)

The rappers would also tend to have compliments for pursuing a girl in English. She super

duper in (53) accounts for how fascinating the girl is and the excitement of the rapper when

seeing a girl that turns him on.

(53) Super Duper by MJ116 (Mandarin-English)

She super duper 真想認識她

She super duper zhenxiang renshita

好到說不出話來 薪水都給她
haodao shuobuchuhua xinshui dougeita

(She super duper. I wanna know her. She’s so good that I can say a word. I wanna give all
my salary to her.)

4.1.5 English Code-switching in Sad/Lost Tone

In sad/lost tone, English code-switching occurs more with Salience feature and Request,

since the all of the 8 tokens with Quotation feature come from one single song and are

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referential to the name of some drugs. Generally, switchings of both Salience and Request

mainly serve as expressive function and message qualification, which could thus put forth the

negative emotions of the lyrics.

Table 10 The features and functions of code-switching in sad/lost tone (English)

Feature Token Function Token

Salience 10 Expressive 6
Message qualification 6
Persuasive 4
Quotation 8 Reference 8
Request 5 Message qualification 5
Expressive 5
Total tokens 28

For Salience feature, the switching, Did you know, in (54) function as persuasion, which

direct the attention of the hearer to the later content. Such function is also considered to be the

theme carrier mentioned in Chan (2009). The switchings of Salience possess the reiteration of

the main theme of the song, and thus serve as message qualification, and release the dispirited

emotions through the expressive function of English code-switching, as indicated in (55).

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(54) 19470228 by Dwagie ft. Sunnie Huang (Taiwanese-English)

Did you know 我對許願的星星 叫著你的名字

Did you know guá tuì hē-guān-ê tshinn kiò-tio̍h lí-ê miâ

月亮哭給我聽 命運拖磨
gue̍h-niû khàu hōo-guá thiann miā-ūn thua-buà

(Did you know I call you name to the shooting star to which I made a wish. I listen to the
moon crying. The fate is twisted.)

(55) Ai Yousheme Yiyi ‘What Does Love Mean’ by MC Yaozong (Mandarin-English)

Someone know know know know know

I miss you so so so so so

該怎麼證明 還是一樣愛著你
gaizenme zhengming haishiyiyang aizheni

Someone know know know know know

I miss you so so so so so

留我在這裡 愛有什麼意義
liuwo zaizheli aiyousheme yiyi

(Some one Someone know know know know know. I miss you so so so so so. How can I
prove that I love you as usual. Someone know know know know know. I miss you so so
so so so. You left me here, and what does it mean to love?)

The similar functions are also found in Request switchings, which, according to its

contexts, are message qualification and expression. Excerpt (56) is from the refrains of the song,

and is a request made by abandoned pets to their owners. The request is thus made prominent

by switching to English.

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(56) I Need Your Loving by Kou Chou Ching (Mandarin, Taiwanese, English)

Baby. I need your loving.

So can you hear me? Please don't throw me away.

However, Quotations here are less related to the social purpose of code-switching. Since

all the tokens are collected from the song, Kuailewan ‘Ecstacy’, which describes the rapper’s

rotten days in the past, the switchings are all simple references to the name of the drugs,

introducing the audience to the specific terms for drugs among the dealers in Taiwan, as shown

in (56).

(57) Kuailewan ‘Ecstacy’ by Dwagie ft. Sandee Chan (Mandarin-English)

每天拉 k 不曾停止 但 k 很傷膀胱其實

meitian la k bucengtingzhi dan k henshangpangguang qishi

我有朋友就是因此 5 分鐘得尿尿ㄧ次
woyoupengyou jiushiyinci wufenzhong deiniaoniaoyici

(Having K[drugs] everyday non-stop. But K is actually harmful to the bladder. I have a
friend who have to pee every 5 minutes because of this.)

4.1.6 English Code-switching in Happy/Hopeful Tone

Table 11 The features and functions of code-switching in happy/hopeful tone (English)

Feature Token Function Token

quotation 1 persuasive 1
Total tokens 1

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 The only token in happy/hopeful tone quotes the slogan of anti-nuclear demonstration in

Taiwan – Nuclear go zero, as excerpt (58) exemplifies. The switching serves as persuasion,

which aims at making eloquent catchphrases for the demonstration.

(58) Hexie ‘Nuclear Devil’ by Laodongfuwu (Taiwanese-English-Mandarin)

這座小島有 海潮佮山風
tsit-tsō sió-tó ū hái-tiâu kā suann-hong

日頭 地氣 充滿著溫暖的力量
li̍ t-thâu tē-khì tshiong-buán-tio̍h un-luán-ê li̍ k-liōng

Nuclear go zero 毋只是夢想

Nuclear go zero m̄-nā tsí-sī bāng-sióng

給歹物仔趕走 咱作伙來行動
kā pháinn-mi̍ h-á kuánn-tsáu lán tsò-hué lâi hîng-tōng

(This island has tides and mountide wind. Sunshine and earth are full of warm power.
Nuclear go zero is not just a dream. Kick the bad things out of here. Let’s do it together.)

4.1.7 Discussion of English Code-switching in Face-threatening

Lyrics
The linguistic code of English is posed at a laudatory position, signifying its

condescending attitudes, rationality, liberalness or romanticness when exploited in Taiwan rap

music. This could be corroborated first by the distribution of the tokens in different tones in

Table 12. The tokens of switching to English are concentrated in confident/boasting tone, with

mocking tone second to it, giving account of the positive attitudes from the rap composers

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toward the language. Switching to English is also prominent in flirting tone, which could also

give a preliminary clue that the linguistic code of English is regarded as the alternative to

replace the conveyance of passion in the unmarked code. The other derogatory emotions like

angry/criticizing and sad/lost take up minor part in code-switching, but still demonstrate some

attributes of English code-switching as assertive in emotions.

Table 12 The distribution of English code-switching tokens in different tones

Confident/ Angry/ Happy/

Mocking Flirting Sad/Lost
Boasting Criticizing Hopeful
English 247 97 44 45 28 1

Gross (2000) accentuates the power reversal in the conversation between the speaker with

lower status and the hearer with higher status with the use of code-switching. That is, code-

switching is indicated to be utilized as an instrument of face-threatening to overturn the status

in the confrontational conversation and thus to assume the authority of speech, though the social

status in reality would still not be affected. Some English code-switching in the face-threatening

lyrics, however, demonstrates opposite findings to Gross (2000).

According to some findings in confident/boasting and mocking tones, English is taken as

a linguistic code with higher status than the unmarked code, and is exploited to consolidate the

power distance between the speakers and the hearers, which could cause a damage to the face

of the hearers. Rather than code-switching to challenge the hearer of an upper status, the rappers

assume themselves as being an upper status when employing English switching in the

confident/boasting and mocking expressions. The linguistic code, according to Table 13 and

Table 14, mainly serves as persuasive function, indicating the convincing and attention

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attracting nature of switching to English. Plus, the switchings are interspersed in the contexts

that shows boasting of the speakers, and schadenfreude that ridicules the hearers. It is thus

inferred that the power or status of English is considered higher than the unmarked code of the

lyrics. This is just correspondent to Chen (1996), which proposes that English is likely to stand

for a linguistic code tending to be used by people who are esteemed, well-educated, and

professional on certain fields. In addition, based on Lewis & Simons (2010), the internationality

and commonness of English put it at a higher position – in terms of the development and

endangerment – than other vernacular languages in Taiwan. On that account, it is inferred that

this linguistic code also exhibits its prestige in code-switching.

Table 13 The percentage of features and functions of confident/boasting tone (English)

Feature Percentage Function Percentage

Salience on I 23.9% Persuasive 100.0%
Message qualification 3.4%
Salience 22.3% Persuasive 85.5%
Message qualification 20.0%
Quotation 13.0% Persuasive 56.3%
Referential 46.9%
Inviting 8.5% Persuasive 100.0%
Salience on contrast 6.5% Persuasive 100.0%
Onomatopoeia 1.2% Poetic 100.0%
Total tokens 247

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Table 14 The percentage of features and functions of mocking tone (English)

Feature Percentage Function Percentage

Salience 19.6% Persuasive 73.7%
Expressive 26.3%
Message qualification 21.1%
Quotation 12.4% Referential 100.0%
Persuasive 25.0%
Expressive 16.7%
Salience on contrast 9.3% Expressive 66.7%
Persuasive 33.3%
Message qualification 22.2%
Salience on I 8.2% Persuasive 87.5%
Message qualification 12.5%
Expressive 12.5%
Inviting 6.2% Persuasive 100.0%
Total tokens 97

On the other hand, the linguistic code of English demonstrates both rationality and

sentiments, and thus making the lyrics powerful and convincing. According to Table 15 and

Table 16 of the percentage of features and functions in angry/criticizing and sad/lost tones, the

use of English code-switching deviates a bit from persuasive function to expressive function,

which gives account of such phenomenon. Further, despite the minority, Objectionalization of

English code-switching still indicates that the linguistic code encompasses the third-person

point of view. Overall, conforming to Chen (1996) English code-switching also exhibit its

nature of channeling emotions, and is at the same time showing the mixed identity resulting

from the objectiveness of the foreignness of English.

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Table 15 The percentage of features and functions of angry/criticizing tone (English)

Feature Percentage Function Percentage

Salience 40.9% Expressive 66.7%
Message qualification 38.9%
Persuasive 22.2%
Salience on contrast 13.6% Expressive 66.7%
Persuasive 50.0%
Message qualification 16.7%
Quotation 13.6% Referential 83.3%
Persuasive 50.0%
Salience on I 6.8% Persuasive 100.0%
Message qualification 66.7%
Objectionalization 4.5% Persuasive 100.0%
Expressive 100.0%
Total tokens 44

Table 16 The percentage of features and functions of sad/lost tone (English)

Feature Percentage Function Percentage

Salience 35.7% Expressive 60.0%
Message qualification 60.0%
Persuasive 40.0%
Quotation 28.6% Reference 100.0%
Request 17.9% Message qualification 100.0%
Expressive 100.0%
Total tokens 28

Besides the image of being well-educated, prestigious, and rational, English also display

its romanticness and non-conservativeness, which could voice for what is embarrassed to say

in the original language. Table 17 indicates the percentages in flirting tone, with Replacement

and Expressive taking up the majority of the functions. The findings are in line with the

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discussion of English code-switching in Korean pop music in Lee (2004), which also denotes

the liberalness of English compared to the conservativeness of the East Asian language, Korean.

Therefore, the linguistic code of English asserts its dare in terms of love showing or even the

sensualities which the unmarked code of most of the Taiwan rap songs, Mandarin, is shy away

from.

Table 17 The percentage of features and functions of flirting tone (English)

Feature Percentage Function Percentage

Salience 28.9% Replacement 53.8%
Expressive 38.5%
Persuasive 23.1%
Message qualification 23.1%
Request 26.7% Expressive 83.3%
Replacement 83.3%
Message qualification 58.3%
Persuasive 16.7%
Compliment 15.6% Expressive 85.7%
Replacement 85.7%
Persuasive 14.3%
Quotation 2.2% Expressive 100.0%
Message qualification 100.0%
Salience on I 2.2% Persuasive 100.0%
Total tokens 45

In sum, code-switching to English in Taiwan rap songs is indicated to be parallel to being

assertive, passionate, rational, non-conservative, and objective. It is found that the reasons of

switching would differs from various emotions conveyed in the face-threatening lyrics, and the

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outcome is also evident in indicating that English code-switching suggests something favorable

and positive for the singers and hearers of Taiwan rap music.

4.2 Code-switching to Taiwanese

Code-switching to Taiwanese tend to feature more emotional expressions and the

localness which could be either exclusive or inclusive. Compared to English code-switching,

the rappers would render Taiwanese code-switching in seeking more resonance with the local

hearers, and thus marks a boundary between the in-groups – those who share the same

ethnolinguistic background, and the out-groups. Further, according to the distribution of the

tokens in different tones (See Table 2), it is obvious that Taiwanese code-switching tend to be

employed in mocking and angry/criticizing tone. Accordingly, the language is likely to have

some connections to these emotions for some reasons.

Habitual word and Poetic are the shared features among every tone of code-switching to

Taiwanese. As Table 18 shows, the rappers tend to insert Taiwanese habitual words or phrases

that are more common than those in the original language – Mandarin, in general. Rhyming,

the same as the other genre of music in other languages, plays an important role in terms of the

content and aesthetic effect for the songs. Therefore, the rappers would also turn to the other

language for a better rhyme, and sometime, a more accurate meaning.

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Table 18 The number of tokens of the common functions/features in each tone (Taiwanese)

Function Habitual word Poetic

Tone
Confident 2 1
Mocking 15 13
Angry/Criticizing 5 4
Flirting 1 0
Sad/Lost 0 0

For instance, in excerpt (59), tsheh is a word in Taiwanese to express breaking up with

somebody. The word is regarded as a fairly familiar and succinct expression, which in some

cases, shows that the speaker doesn't mind the separation at all.

(59) Aininiang ‘Love Your Mother’ by Dwagie (Mandarin-Taiwanese-English)

啊 一把妹 就說自己
a yibame jiushuoziji

單身啦 剛ㄘㄟˋ啦
danshenla gang tsheh la

(Well, if he starts flirting, he would say he’s single, or just broke up.)

Code-switching to Taiwanese can also make up some interesting rhyming. In (60), sènn

lîm ‘the last name is Lin’, not only rhymes Brooklyn, but also creates a contrast between a hip-

hop singer coming from the origin of hip-hop culture and a Taiwanese person pretending to be

coming from Brooklyn.

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(60) Bala ‘Guava’ by Dwagie ft. MC Hotdog (Mandarin-Taiwanese-English)

你真以為自己是來自布魯克林?
Nizhenyiwei zijishi laizi bulukelin

卡清醒欸! 你頂多是布魯克姓林
khah tshing-tshénn-ê nidingduoshi buluke sènn lîm

(You really think you’re from Brooklyn? Wake up! You’re just Brook Lin.)

In the following sections, other features and functions of each tone would be introduced.

Switching to Taiwanese in confident/boasting tone would be in 4.2.1, mocking tone in 4.2.2,

angry/criticizing tone in 4.2.3, flirting tone in 4.2.4, and sad/lost tone in 4.2.5. The purposes

and functions would thus be revealed by the examination of the code-switching tokens in each

tone.

4.2.1 Taiwanese Code-switching in Confident/Boasting Tone

Although only 5 tokens are code-switched to Taiwanese, most of them are linked to letting

off some confident and proud emotions. As mentioned in the beginning of 4.2, switching to

Taiwanese may result from using more concise phrases, or seeking resonance with in-group

hearers. Table 19 and the examples below support such assumption.

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Table 19 The features and functions of code-switching in confident/boasting tone (Taiwanese)

Feature Tokens Function Tokens

Salience 3 Expressive 2
Persuasive 1
Localization 1 Intimacy 1
Expressive 1
Quotation 1 Referential 1
Total tokens 5

Excerpt (61) features Salience, and serves as expressive function. kha-siàu ‘bastard’ in (61)

is used to compared to chaopao ‘super sports car’. The use of Taiwanese further enlarges the

gap between the two things.

(61) $o $hine by MC Yaozong

我把頭髮剃光所以沒煩惱 誰是瘋呸的咖小 誰又是超跑？

wobatoufa tiguang suoyi meifannao sheishi fengpeide kha-siàu sheiyoushi chaopao

(I shaved my head bald so I got no trouble. Who is the crazy loser? Who has the super
sports car?)

Next, the only token with Localization feature functions as expressive and intimacy. The

whole stanza in (62) are in Taiwanese, calls for Taiwanese people to have confidence in

themselves. Therefore, it is obvious that the switching is intended for the in-group hearers.

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(62) Housheng Hongdong Shijie ‘New Power, Rock the World’ by Kou Chou Ching ft. Yong

Lea (Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka, English)

破壞環境的生理 已經過時
phò-huāi khuân-kíng-ê sing-líí-king kuè-sî

新的時機 需要創意發揮
sin-ê sî-ki su-iàu tshòng-ìhuat-hui

骨力的人民 自由的空氣
kut-la̍t-ê lîn-bîn tsū-iû-ê khong-khì

這是咱的本錢 跟世界競爭
tse sī lán-ê pún-tsînn kā sè-kài kīng-tsing

(Damaging the environment is out of date. The new era needs creation. Hardworking
people and free air. These are what we possess to compete with the world.)

4.2.2 Taiwanese Code-switching in Mocking Tone

Similar to the previous sections, Taiwanese code-switching in mocking tone are mostly

exploited for expression of some emotions whatever it features, according to Table 20.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that boundary marking of Taiwanese code-switching is

prominent in mocking tone, with 8 tokens of Intimacy for Salience, 3 in profanity, and 2

boundary making in Localization.

Switching to Taiwanese seems to be able to exhibit the intimacy toward the in-group

hearers, or the exclusion toward the out-group ones. However, the purpose of such boundaries

can sometimes be flexible, since some intimacy shown could even connote exclusion, or vice

versa.

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Table 20 The features and functions of code-switching in mocking tone (Taiwanese)

Feature Tokens Function Tokens

Salience 25 Expressive 23
Intimacy 8
Localization 4 Boundary making 2
Expressive 2
Profanity 4 Expressive 4
Intimacy 3
Quotation 1 Referential 1
Total tokens 33

Take (63) for instance. The context of the excerpt is that the rappers threw a party with a

group of friends, making excessive noise that seriously bothered their neighbors. What's up

tshù-pinn is what the rappers say to their neighbors when coming across the neighbors, who

angrily stared at them. Although externally tshù-pinn to some extent shows some friendliness,

but in fact it implies the schadenfreude from the rappers.

(63) Huailinju ‘Bad Neighbor’ by MJ116 (Mandarin-English-Taiwanese)

What's up 厝邊 What's up 厝邊 What's up 厝邊 我歹厝邊

What’s up tshù-pinn What’s up tshù-pinn What’s up tshù-pinn guá phái tshù-pinn

(What’s up neighbor? What’s up neighbor? What’s up neighbor? I’m bad neighbor.)

On the other hand, the exclusion can also be simple and direct. In (64), switching to

Taiwanese in referring to the identity as a Taiwanese can be regarded as the confrontation to

something of China, as the result of the special political relationship between the two places.

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(64) Lanbaci ‘Poem Lanba’ by Dwagie (Mandarin-Taiwanese)

來大家作伙來練 Beat Box

lâi ta̍k-ke tsò-hué lâi liān Beat Box

叫遮的藝人別整天捧中國蘭 芭 詞 芭芭 詞蘭 芭 詞 芭芭 詞
kiò tsia-ê gē-jîn mài kui-kang phóng tiong-kok lān-pha ci pa pa ci lān-pha ci pa pa ci

(Come on. Let’s do some beat box, to ask these entertainers stop licking China’s lan-
pa ci pa pa ci lan-pa ci pa pa ci.)

However, the exclusive expressions, profanity for example, instead could sometimes

symbolize intimacy. Khàu-iau in (65) serves as a pun which means crying for hunger and a

profanity in Taiwanese, showing the friendliness among the neighborhood.

(65) Buchi Zaocang ‘Not Eating Breakfast’ by MC Hotdog (Mandarin-Taiwanese)

喂！吃早餐哦！歐吉桑！吃早餐哦！
wei chizaocan o oo-jí-sáng chizaocan o

緊內～緊內～哭夭～哭夭 呷早頓~呷早頓囉！

kín-neh kín-neh khàu-iau khàu-iau tsia̍h tsá-tǹg tsia̍h tsá-tǹg lo

(Hey! Have breakfast. Uncle! Have breakfast. Hurry! Hurry! Crying for hunger! Crying
for hunger! Have breakfast! Have breakfast!)

4.2.3 Taiwanese Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone

Again, proportionate to expressive function for Salience feature, Taiwanese code-

switching in angry/criticizing tone is also related to the Taiwanese speaking ethnolinguistic

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group, which thus draws a line to separate from those who don’t belong to this group. Table 21

shows the distribution of the tokens of each feature and function.

Regardless of music genres, Taiwanese is frequently employed in the songs in angry

moods, especially politics-related ones. Due to the ethnolinguistic and ideological difference

resulted from complicated history of Taiwan, it is common that languages are utilized as the

tool to enhance empower the righteousness of speech (Bolonyai, 2005; Schendl, 2015), and

thus purposefully threatens the face of the hearers (Gross, 2000).

Table 21 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing tone (Taiwanese)

Feature Tokens Function Tokens

Localization 11 Expressive 11
Boundary making 10
Salience 10 Expressive 10
Quotation 1 Referential 1
Total tokens 22

The excerpt below shows such phenomenon of language as a tool to make a boundary

between the speaker and hearer. In (66), the lyrics talks about the laborers who worked hard for

the city’s constructions but was later coerced to move away because of the urban renewal

implemented by the local government. Since the laborers are mainly made up of Taiwanese

speaking people, the lyrics is thus sung in Taiwanese, in showing the gap between the two

groups.

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(66) Tâi-pak kài tu̍h-lān ‘Taipei Sucks’ by Kou Chou Ching (Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka,

English)

我起恁兮厝 汝煞來拆阮兮厝
guá khílín-ê tshù lí suah lâi thiah gún-ê tshù

簡單兮訴求恁攏有足濟理由
kán-tan-ê lín long-ū tsiok-tsē lí-iû

(I built the houses for you, but you pulled down the houses of us. You have so many reasons
to retort our requests.)

On the other hand, the non-political songs would also render Taiwanese code-switching to

intensify the mood. Guá-tio̍h tu̍h-lān in (67) featuring salience is used for stressing the negative

feelings.

(67) Tsin-tu̍h-lān ‘Pissed Off’ by Softlipa (Mandarin-Taiwanese)

討厭 有好多討厭的事都說不完
taoyan youhaoduo taoyandeshi doushuobuwan

討厭每次一想到這些事 挖丟賭蘭
taoyan meici yixiangdao zhexieshi guá tio̍h tu̍h-lān

(Hate. So much hateful stuff to say. Hate to think of all these. I’d get pissed off.)

4.2.4 Taiwanese Code-switching in Flirting Tone

As Table 22 shows, only 2 tokens of switching to Taiwanese in flirting tone, which could

mean that Taiwanese nowadays is less likely to be instrumental to flirting girls. Nevertheless,

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it is also observed that switching to Taiwanese tends to apply on the mocking phrases to show

intimacy, although main theme of the lyrics describes the love for the hearer.

Table 22 The features and functions of code-switching in flirting tone (Taiwanese)

Feature Tokens Function Tokens

Salience 2 Expressive 2
Intimacy 2
Total tokens 2

The Taiwanese idiom, ài-khàu ài-tuè- lōo ‘a crybaby who also likes to follow everywhere’

in (68), originally an idiom used to mock the immature behavior of children, here applies on

the interlocutor in the song. Despite the disadvantage, the interlocutor is still loved by the

speaker.

(68) Aininiang ‘Love You Mother’ by Dwagie (Mandarin-Taiwanese-English)

愛哭 愛對路 我還是愛妳
ài-khàu ài-tuè- lōo wohaishi aini

(You like to cry and follow, but I still love you.)

4.2.5 Taiwanese Code-switching in Sad/Lost Tone

In sad/lost tone, both the 2 tokens are interspersed in the lyrics with Salience features. In

fact, switching to Taiwanese in the sad/lost tone greatly resembles that in angry/criticizing tone

by its boundary making nature in terms of politics-related songs. For non-political songs, the

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switching also seems to be exploited for emphasis of the emotions, although only 1 token is in

such usage.

Table 23 The features and functions of code-switching in sad/lost tone (Taiwanese)

Feature Tokens Function Tokens

Salience 2 Expressive 2
Intimacy 1
Total tokens 2

The excerpt below is extracted from Kou Chou Ching’s Guanbiminfan, which deals with

how people on this island in different periods have been oppressed by different governments.

(69) describes the miserable consequences of Taiwanese people who tried to defy the tyranny

during Japanese government, using the contemporary vernacular language – Taiwanese to make

a contrast to the contemporary official language – Japanese.

(69) Guanbiminfan ‘Civil Revolt’ by Kou Chou Ching (Mandarin, English, Taiwanese)

反抗 不斷 一八九五以來
huán-khòng put-tuān it-pat-kiú-ngóo í-lâi

戰死亡魂 毋知已經幾落萬
tsiàn-sí bông-hûn m̄ tsai í-king kuí-lo̍h bān

(Non-stop revolts since 1895. The dead souls are more than ten thousand.)

For the non-political environment of the song, the switching in this case is employed to

put emphasize on the sadness of being betrayed, according to (70). Further, the switching to

95
Taiwanese in the whole stanza is in a classic wailing tone originated from Taiwanese ballads,

and thus it would enhance the strength of the emotion.

(70) Nanxingde Biaobai ‘The Confession of Men’ by Dwagie ft. Angie Lee (Mandarin-

Taiwanese)

謊言像扁鑽 刺入阮心臟 我連喘氣也悲傷

hóng- giân tshiūnn pínn-tsǹg tshiah-li̍ p gún sim-tsōng guá liân tshuán-khuì iā pi-siong

人說採花蜂 就像你這種 白賊詐欺沒信用

lâng kóng tshái hue-phang tio̍h tshiūnn lí tsit-tsióng pe̍h-tsha̍t tsà-khi bô sìn-iōng

原來你是 花言巧語 空嘴薄舌

guân-lâi lísī hua-giân-khá-gíkhang-tshuì-po̍h-tsi̍ h

真情給你 都騙騙去
tsin-tsîng hōo-lílong pián-pián-khì

(Lies are like drills, penetrating my heart. I feel sad even if I breathe. The so-called honey
gathering bee is just like you, who is not trustworthy. You’re good at sweet talk, not
credulous. You’re cheating on me.)

4.2.6 Discussion of Taiwanese Code-switching in Face-threatening

Lyrics
Code-switching to Taiwanese in Taiwan rap songs is connected to sensational expressions,

which can either brought about a sense of solidarity among the in-group members, or exclusion

from the out-group members. Table 24 explains how Taiwanese code-switching is employed in

the rap lyrics, showing that the switchings occur frequently in mocking and angry/criticzing

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tones. Herewith the linguistic code of Taiwanese specifies the image it has and people’s

attitudes towards the language.

Table 24 The distribution of Taiwanese code-switching tokens in different tones

Confident/ Mocking Angry/ Flirting Sad/Lost Happy/Hopeful

Boasting Criticizing
Taiwanese 5 33 22 2 2 0

According to Table 25 and Table 26, most of the switchings focus on the emotional

expressions, intimacy showing, and boundary making. As Su (2001) puts it in the discussion of

Mandarin-Taiwanese code-switching utterances, code-switching could serve as the

“contextualization cues (p. 444)”, which connotes some non-verbal implications along with the

discourses. In this case of code-switching employed in Taiwan rap music, it is thus inferred that

switching to Taiwanese would suggest some emotional outburst, either obvious or obscure, and,

most of all, the contrast between the in-group and out-group members.

Table 25 The percentage of features and functions of mocking tone (Taiwanese)

Feature percentage Function percentage

Salience 75.8% Expressive 92.0%
Intimacy 32.0%
Localization 12.1% Boundary making 50.0%
Expressive 50.0%
Profanity 12.1% Expressive 100.0%
Intimacy 75.0%
Quotation 3.0% Referential 100.0%
Total tokens 33

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Table 26 The percentage of features and functions of angry/criticizing tone (Taiwanese)

Feature Percentage Function Percentage

Localization 50.0% Expressive 100.0%
Boundary making 90.9%
Salience 45.5% Expressive 100.0%
Quotation 4.5% Referential 100.0%
Total tokens 22

Owing to the historical factors, the in-group and out-group of Taiwanese speakers tend to

be viewed as disparate in social status, with Taiwanese considered comparatively lower than

Mandarin, the official language. On that account, the purpose of switching to Taiwanese is in

accordance with Gross (2000), explicating the intention to claim the authority in the

conversation through switching to a language that the hearer is not familiar with. Therefore, as

a language of a lower status, unlike switching to English for the consolidation of the power

disparity, switching to Taiwanese for the purpose of narrowing such disparity, or even reversing

the power in discourses.

Overall, it is evident that Taiwanese code-switching demonstrates its localness, which

attaches covert emotions and implications to the lyrics. The implications either exhibit how

people of this ethnolinguistic group would assert their emotions, or indicate its difficulties as a

comparatively minor language that is gradually dying out on this island, and thus is able to call

on the in-group members’ solidarity and challenge the mainstream of Mandarin.

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4.3 Code-switching to Mandarin
Since Mandarin is the dominant language in Taiwan, Mandarin as a marked code in

Taiwan rap songs only occurs in the lyrics with other vernacular languages as the unmarked

code, or the lyrics without an unmarked code (See example (13) in 3.2.1.). Additionally, these

Mandarin code-switching songs are all produced by Kou Chou Ching and Laodongfuwu – the

two rap groups share the same two rap singers, and mostly deal with political issues.

Basically, due to the commonness of Mandarin in Taiwan, code-switching to Mandarin

would show the habitual or specific usage of certain phrases which is less likely to be uttered

in other vernacular languages. Plus, the commonness also renders Mandarin the function of

emphasis and explanation so as to persuade the hearers. The role of Mandarin would be

explicated by the examples provided in the following sections.

4.3.1 Mandarin Code-switching in Confident/Boasting Tone

Table 27 The features and functions of code-switching in confident tone (Mandarin)

Feature Token Function Token

Salience 1 Persuasive 1
Total tokens 1

The only token of Mandarin code-switching in confident/boasting tone serves as

persuasive function, which makes attempt to convince and attract the attention of the

government on the development of movie industry. The whole stanza of (71) demonstrates the

optimism of the rappers and requires the government to set up reasonable policies of the

promotion and protection for the industry.

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(71) Dianguang Yingximeng ‘Movie Dreams’ by Kou Chou Ching (Taiwanese, Mandarin)

用國片發光 用國片帶動觀光
yongguopian faguang yongguopian daidong guanguang

走向世界的框框 不再是孤芳自賞
zouxiang shijiede kuangkuang buzaishi gufangzishang

不只是給錢打賞 政府政策也該跟上
buzhishi geiqian dashang zhengfuzhengce yegai genshang

給予保障 協助成長 培育新的台灣之光

geiyu baizhang xiezhuchengzhang peiyu xinde taiwanzhiguang

(Use local movies to be famous. Use local movies to promote tourism. Go international,
and leave the ivory tower. Not just giving the money, the government should also
implement related policies, to guarantee the development of the industry, and to cultivate
the next pride of Taiwan.)

4.3.2 Mandarin Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone

Highly related to political issues, the Mandarin code-switching songs mainly lies in

angry/criticizing tone. As Table 28 shows, most of these tokens functions as habitual words

which replace the words less uttered in other vernacular languages. On the other hand,

switching to Mandarin featuring Salience is the second largest type, among which, most of the

tokens function as persuasion that calls on the hearers to do something.

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Table 28 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizings tone (Mandarin)

Feature Token Function Token

Habitual word 20
Salience 15 Persuasive 13
Expressive 1
Boundary making 1
Rhyming 7
Quotation 2 Referential 2
Total tokens 33

Excerpt (72) indicates the Mandarin tokens functioning as habitual words. Since Chenuobi

‘Chernobyl’ is a translated term from Russian to Mandarin instead of Taiwanese, the rappers

use the Mandarin translation, which the local hearer in Taiwan would get more used to.

(72) Hexie ‘Nuclear Devil’ by Laodongfuwu (Taiwanese-English-Mandarin)

綠色和平名單九萬三千的人名
li̍ k-sik hô-pîng miâ-tuann kiú-bān-sann-tshing-ê lâng-miâ

是車諾比事件的犧牲者
sī chenuobi sū-kiānn-ê hi-sing-tsiá

(The names on the list of Green Peace, is the victims of the Chernobyl incident.)

For Salience feature, Mandarin is employed for explanation and emphasis. (73), for

instance, the whole stanza in Mandarin highly stresses on the fear of the deterioration of the

ocean ecology, making attempt to arouse mass attention about the issue in order to improve the

situation.

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(73) Huise Haianxian ‘The Grey Coastline’ by Kou Chou Ching (Taiwanese, Mandarin, Yami)

珊瑚在白化 海洋生物起了變化
sangu zaibaihua haiyangshengwu qilebianhua

你不怕你不怕 一切都是自然變化
nibupa nibupa yiqiedoushi ziranbianhua

看到了嗎 海洋生態每況愈下
kandaolema haiyangshengtai meikuangyuxia

我害怕我害怕 難道真的沒有辦法
wohaipa wohaipa nandaozhende meiyoubanfa

(Corals are bleaching. The sea creatures is changing. You’re not scared. You’re not scared.
Every change is natural. See? The ocean ecology is deteriorating. I’m scared. I’m scared.
Is it really hopeless? )

4.3.3 Mandarin Code-switching in Sad/Lost Tone

Table 29 The features and functions of code-switching in sad/lost tone (Mandarin)

Function Token
Habitual word 1
Total tokens 1

Although the only token belongs to sad/lost tone, it’s function has nothing to do with the

emotion. Again, (74) reiterates such characteristic of Mandarin code-switching. The switching,

hefeiliao guantou ‘radioactive waste’, is used for referring to a habitual word which is less

mentioned in Taiwanese, the unmarked code of the song.

102
(74) Hexie ‘Nuclear Devil’ by Laodongfuwu (Taiwanese-Mandarin)

原子彈試驗 原住民的家園乎毀掉
guân-tsú-tuânn tshì-giām guân-tsū-bîn-ê ka-hn̂g hōo huí-tiāu

聖地下腳 埋核廢料罐頭
sìng-tē ē-kha tâi hefeiliaoguantou

(Atomic bomb test almost destroy the indigenous people’s houses. Under the holy land
buried the nuclear waste.)

4.3.4 Discussion of Mandarin Code-switching in Face-threatening

Lyrics
Although Mandarin code-switching is employed in the songs by almost the same group of

rap singers, some properties of this linguistic code can still be found in discussing the purposes

and functions of the switching. In terms of the number of the tokens, a compact distribution of

tokens of Mandarin code-switching is shown in Table 30. However, because of the singularity

of the rap composers and the category of the topic of the songs, the distribution of the tokens

in every tone is unlikely to be the judgement for the attitudes and values towards the language.

Table 30 The distribution of Mandarin code-switching tokens in different tones

Confident/ Mocking Angry/ Flirting Sad/Lost Happy/

Boasting Criticizing Hopeful
Mandarin 1 - 33 - 1 -

Such inference can be proved by Table 31, as well as some excerpts provided in the

previous subsections, which further answers the question about how marked code is exploited

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in the rap songs. Switching to Mandarin from another vernacular language, according to Table

31, majorly functions as persuasion. In the previous subsections, the examples also indicate that

Mandarin, as a dominant language in Taiwan, is able demonstrate the power to arouse people’s

awareness on certain issues. Proportionately similar to Su (2001), code-switching to Mandarin

indexes “neutrality (p.444)“ to entitle the utterance more authority. However, it is the

dominance of Mandarin that would sometimes be taken as the adversary to other vernacular

languages, such as Taiwanese and Hakka. In this case, the intention of switching to Mandarin

would put forth the issue of power disparity mentioned by Gross (2000).

Therefore, aside from the habitual words that are inclined to be uttered in Mandarin than

in other vernacular languages, the purpose and functions of Mandarin code-switching suggest

neutrality and dominance.

Table 31 The percentage of features and functions of angry/criticizing tone (Mandarin)

Feature Percentage Function Percentage

Habitual word 60.6%
Salience 45.5% Persuasive 73.3%
Expressive 6.7%
Boundary making 6.7%
Quotation 6.1% Referential 100.0%
Total tokens 33

104
4.4. Code-switching to Hakka, Indigenous languages and

Japanese
Although originated from the same group of rappers and being the minorities of the code-

switching in Taiwan rap songs, switching to Hakka, Indigenous languages, and Japanese are

still able to indicate the purpose of code-switching in the face-threatening content, and thus to

reveal some values behind them. According to the collected data, switching to these languages

mainly occur in angry/criticizing and sad/lost tone. Therefore, this section examines the

purposes and functions of the code-switching in the face-threatening lyrics.

4.4.1 Hakka Code-switching in Angry/Criticizing Tone

Hakka code-switching are majorly employed in the lyrics which convey reproach,

complaint, and anger toward certain people, government or situation, either featuring Salience

or Localization, as indicated in Table 32. Aside from serving as persuasive function that directs

the hearer’s attention, Hakka, one of the vernacular languages in Taiwan, is also used for

emotional expression and boundary making.

Similar to Taiwanese, Hakka shares the role as the local language spoken by a minor group,

which is even reported to extinct in Taiwan in the future. As a result, some rap singers from

this ethnolinguistic group intends to pass down Hakka language and culture through

composition.

105
Table 32 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing tone (Hakka)

Feature Token Function Token

Salience 6 Persuasive 6
Localization 8 Expressive 8
Boundary making 8
Total tokens 14

The song, Jinguangshanshan ‘Money Glittering’, blames the rampancy of the fraudulent

organization in Taiwan. Excerpt (75) is classified into Salience, function as persuasion. Except

for the habitual phrase, guoshuiju ‘Taxation Bureau’, in Mandarin, the whole stanza is sung in

Hakka. Since such accusation is entitled to every moral person regardless of his or her

ethnolinguistic background, the function of switching is considered persuasive instead of

expressive.

(75) Jinguangshanshan ‘Money Glittering’ by Kou Chou Ching (Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka)

騙錢 騙汝介錢
pien55qien11 pien55 n11gie55qien11

用麼介方法拿汝介錢
iung55 ma31ge55 fong24fab2 na24n11gie55qien11

一下係國稅局介官員
id2ha55 he55 guoshuiju gie55 gon24ien11

一下又係教汝賺大錢
id2ha55 iu55he55 gau24 n11 con55tai55qien11

(Scamming. Scamming you for money. How do they scam you for money? Sometimes
they are taxation officials. Sometimes they would tell you how to make a killing.)

106
 On the other hand, the role of Hakka as the language of minority meets the requirement of

the function as boundary making – to distinguish the in-group people from the out-group one.

Other than the habitual phrases, beige ‘elegy’, in Mandarin, the whole stanza of (76) is in Hakka,

blaming the indifference of the government from the aspect of the minority group in Taiwan.

Therefore, the code-switching here boundary-marks the minorities from the majorities.

(76) Tâi-pak kài tu̍h-lān ‘Taipei Sucks’ by Kou Chou Ching (Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka,

English)

捱聽過 部落原住民唱歌
ngai55tang24 go55pu55log5ngien11cu55min11cong55go24

捱聽過 自由歡喜介聲音
ngai55tang24 go55cii55iu11fon24hi31gie55sang24im24

捱聽過 樣會變做悲歌
ngai55tang24 go55iong55fi55bien55zo55 beige

當難過 樣會無位好住
dong24nan55go55iong55fi55mo11vi55ho31cu55

當難過 當難過
dong24nan55go55 dong24nan55go55

(Never heard the indigenous people sing a song. Never heard the free and happy voice.
Never hear it would become so miserable. So sad that they don’t have place to live. So
sad. So sad.)

107
4.4.2 Code-switching to Indigenous Language in Angry/Criticizing
and Sad/Lost Tone
The indigenous language discussed here is solely Yami, spoken by the indigenous people

living in the small island beside Taiwan island, Lanyu. The only two tokens from

angry/criticizing and sad/lost are also extracted from one single song, belonging to Localization,

as indicated in Table 33. Here, Yami shares the same role with Taiwanese and Hakka as a

vernacular language, which is spoken by an even more minor group in the outlying island.

Table 33 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing and sad/lost tone (Yami)

Tone Feature Token Function Token

Angry/Criticizing Localization 1 Expressive 1
(Total tokens: 1) Boundary making 1
Sad/Lost Localization 1 Expressive 1
(Total tokens: 1) Boundary making 1

The song, Huise Haianxian ‘The Grey Coastline’, relates the ocean ecological problems

of Taiwan, especially in Lanyu, and is collaborated with the singer from this ethnolinguistic

group. With Yami language, Yami people’s helplessness and melancholy about the

deterioration of the environment is expressed in excerpt (77), and turns into the accusation of

the destruction of the nature due to over-development.

108
(77) Huise Haianxian ‘The Grey Coastline’ by Kou Chou Ching (Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka,

English, Yami)

Ko Na Gya Jita O Awa Da

(我已看不見 我們的海)

A Noka Kwa Ye
(以前的海)

(I cannot see our ocean anymore. The ocean in the good old days.)

(78) Huise Haianxian ‘The Grey Coastline’ by Kou Chou Ching (Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka,

English, Yami)

Mang Dey Do Ara Ro Ya To Mi Yanga Ngey

(一天接著一天 世人仍不知悔改)

O Tao Do Karawan Nei Ya Ya To Mi Powa

(仍然丟棄著垃圾破壞美麗的海洋)

Ya To Mi Zikaze Do Vanwa Yakemy Ka Sibwan Rana

(現在的海洋看起來簡直就跟垃圾場沒兩樣)

Ko Gia Tengy Da Nak Nake Men Ni Ra

(真不知道這些人的心裡都在想些什麼)

(Day after day. People are still making mistakes. They’re still littering at the beautiful
ocean. The ocean now looks like a dumping ground. I really don’t get what those people
are thinking about.)

109
4.4.3 Japanese Code-switching in in Angry/Criticizing and
Sad/Lost Tone
According to Table 34, Japanese code-switching again possesses Salience feature,

functioning as persuasion, which direct the attention of the hearer. The tokens are extracted

from one single song, Hexie ‘Nuclear Devil’, calling on people for anti-nuclear in Taiwan. Since

the drastic earthquake and tsunami took place in 2011, resulting in the nuclear emergency in

Fukushima, some terms in Japanese are also mentioned in this song for the purpose of emphasis.

Table 34 The features and functions of code-switching in angry/criticizing and sad/lost tone (Japanese)

Tone Feature Token Function Token

Angry/Criticizing Salience 1 Persuasive 1
(Total tokens: 1)
Sad/Lost Salience 1 Persuasive 1
(Total tokens: 1) Quotation 1 Referential 1

In (79), instead of using haixiao ‘tsunami’, the rapper switches to Japanese tsunami in

order to put stress on the traumatic consequence of the nuclear power plant. Further in (80),

Fukushima, rather than the Mandarin translation fudao, not only refers to the disaster stricken

area, but also reminds the hearer of the disastrous fact, which is geographically close to

Taiwanese people.

110
(79) Hexie ‘Nuclear Devil’ by Laodongfuwu (Taiwanese-English-Mandarin)

大地動 引起一場 Tsunami

tuā-tē-tāng ín-khítsi̍ t-tiûnn Tsuami

原子爐爆炸 爐心歸个煬去

guân-tsú-lôo pho̍k-tsà lôo-sim kui-ê iûnn-khì

(The powerful earthquake brought about the tsunami. The power plant exploded. The core
of the plant melted.)

(80) Hexie ‘Nuclear Devil’ by Laodongfuwu (Taiwanese-English-Mandarin)

絕望的心情 孥起沉重的筆
tsua̍t-bōng-ê sim-tsîng gia̍h-khítîm-tāng-ê pit

Fukushima 勇士 留落來手尾字
Fukushima ióng-sū lâu-lo̍h-lâi tshiú-bué-jī

(With desperation, they take the pens. Fukushima heros are leaving their last words.)

4.4.4 Discussion of Code-switching to Hakka, Indigenous

Languages, and Japanese in Face-threatening Lyrics
Hakka and Yami resemble Taiwanese in the role as the languages minor to Mandarin. The

role as the minorities, as mentioned in the previous discussion in 4.2.6, again accounts for the

what Gross (2000) has proposed about the relation between the intentionality of code-switching

and the challenge of higher social status. The boundary that encloses the in-group members

from the out-group also corroborates Wei (2003). The switching abides by the rights-and-

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obligations sets (Myers-Scotton, 1993), and here it obligates the in-group listeners to stand

contrary to those who are not included.

On the other hand, the purposes and functions of Japanese code-switching seems to be

lack of social factors. The exploitation of Japanese, similar to the emphasizing function of

English code-switching, is inclined to orient the attention of the hearer to the switchings for the

purpose of, again, arouse the awareness on a certain issue, serving as a highlighted reminiscence

of a serious matter.

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 Chapter 5 Conclusion

The core ambition of this study is to figure out the cultural values of each code-switching

language in the face-threatening Taiwan rap songs. Hip-hop music in Taiwan is characterized

with idiosyncrasy of the rap singers, thus bringing about the multilingual and multicultural

styles in the music. The nearly 600 code-switching tokens in of the face-threatening lyrics are

categorized by the code-switching languages, features, and functions for analysis. Through the

examination on the code-switching languages in the face-threatening songs, the purposes and

functions becomes clear. In addition, the findings also suggest that Taiwanese people’s attitudes

and values vary when using or receiving the message conveyed by switching to different

languages.

5.1 Summary of Findings

Based on Gross (2000), which suggests the impoliteness caused by code-switching in the

confrontational conversation between people of different social status, this study also finds out

the power difference among certain languages resulting from the social status speakers, and

thus could be instrumental to face-threatening. In this study, the languages viewed as lower

status are Taiwanese, Hakka, and Yami. These vernacular languages in Taiwan usually

represent the perspective of the minorities to challenge the majorities in the lyrics, and thus to

temporarily acclaim the authority of the speech. On the other hand, those considered belonging

to higher status are English and Mandarin, which are the official languages in various countries.

These languages, instead, are utilized to give prominence to the existing power disparity. Even

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though the two groups of codes-switching languages are considered to be contrary, the

linguistic codes are able to be used as the tool for confrontational speech.

In terms of the distribution of the code-switching tokens, the languages are likely to

correspond to different emotions. According to Table 2, which shows the distribution of the

tokens in different tones, code-switching to English is employed most frequently in

confident/boasting and mocking tones, whereas tokens in Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka, and

Yami have distinctively higher rate on mocking or angry/criticizing tones. Thus, it is inferred

that code-switching to English exhibits a positive and optimistic attitude; on the other hand, the

local languages of Taiwan are inclined to assert some derogatory emotions. This also indicates

the diverse values of people on a foreign language and the local ones.

Table 2 Tokens in face-threatening lines/verses

Confident/ Angry/ Sad/ Happy/

Mocking Flirting
Boasting Criticizing Lost Hopeful
English 247 97 44 45 28 1
Taiwanese 5 33 22 2 2 0
Hakka - - 14 - - -
Mandarin 1 - 33 - 1 -
Indigenous
- - 1 - 1 -
languages
Japanese - - 1 - 1 -

Lastly, the fact that English code-switching tokens drastically outnumber the tokens of

code-switching to other languages not only indicates the preference of the rap singers and

listeners about the modern music, but also implies the varied values upon the foreign and local

languages, which is also discussed Chen (1996). As Lee (2004) puts it, the internationalness of

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English has rendered it novel, rational, and borderless. Such attributes further lower the

standards of entering the hip-hop world so that all the individuals fond of this culture are able

to be easily included in. Compared to the internationalness, the presence of localness of the

vernacular languages shows the aspiration of some rap singers to preserve the various

ethnolinguistic cultures in Taiwan. Despite the fewer number, the switchings to local languages

exploited in the rap songs imply the affinity and affection to this island.

This study reveals diverse values on different code-switching languages in the face-

threatening lyrics of Taiwan rap sons through examining the intentions and the functions of

code-switching. Even though the varied historical backgrounds might cause conflicting

ideologies or identifications, it is believed that different group of people in Taiwan can still get

along if having better understanding on different cultural values and respect one another. The

findings of this study aspire to contribute a piece of such understanding to the puzzle of the

cultures, for the sake of the kindhearted but misunderstood people of every culture in Taiwan.

5.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study

Currently, the study only looks at the categorizations of the code-switching tokens in the

face-threatening lyrics. Due to the inaccessibility to the rap singers, the study refers solely to

definitions and propositions of the previous studies, and lack of the adoption of the original

ideas from the performers. In addition, it would provide more comprehensive findings if the

code-switching in non-face-threatening lyrics is also discussed to be compare with the findings

of this study.

Further, to focus on the linguistic phenomenon of the songs, the styles, flows, and other

musical elements are not taken into consideration for the discussion. However, it should also

115
be noted that the musical elements of hip-hop music can also be the variables that affect the

performance of the emotions and the lyrics.

Therefore, the code-switching in non-face-threatening lyrics is recommended for the

future research with the incorporation of the opinions of the performers for a more complete

study on this field. Moreover, since the musical elements – which are outside the scope of this

study – are also likely to have influence on the performance of the songs, more discussions are

invited to extend this study to obtain better and more insightful understanding that this study

haven’t discovered.

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