The Conversational Functions and Effects of Tagalog-English Code-Switching on Filipino Television

Taglish is the code-switching or alteration between Tagalog and English within a single utterance. The prevalence of Tagalog-English code-switching in the Philippines results from the widespread use of both languages in Philippine educational institutions. This paper qualitatively analyzes the use of Taglish in spontaneous conversations and interviews in the Philippine magazine show Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (Your Heartmate, Jessica Soho) to identify the communicative effects of Tagalog-English code-switching in Filipino discourse. The results suggest the prevalence of code-switching as all 17 identified speakers in the study used both Tagalog and English in their speeches at varying degrees. Results also revealed the following communicative effects of code-switching: efficiency, message qualification, linguistic play, emphasis, objectivization, and personalization. Furthermore, code-switching facilitated the speakers’ identity construction, by representing factors such as wealth, success, authority, knowledge, and solidarity.