Types of Code-Switching in Iban Radio Programme

Petronella Langita, Felix and Ting, Su Hie (2022) Types of Code-Switching in Iban Radio Programme. In: Research Mapping and Discovery of Novelty in Research” Conference, Universitas Islam 45 Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia., 3 August 2022, Online. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Iban is the largest ethnic group in Sarawak (28.2%), followed by Malay (23.7%), Chinese (24.2%), and Bidayuh (7.7%) (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2021 ). The population is 2.56 million. The Iban language is strong because it is taught as a subject in school. Other institutional support for the use of Iban are religious bodies, NGOs like Tun Jugah Foundation, and the media. Several Sarawak-based newspapers have an Iban language section, for example, Utusan Malaysia and The Borneo Post (Ting et al., 2021). The Pegari magazine is published regularly (Philip 2017). There is also an Iban broadcast over RTM WaiFM, TVi RTM Sarawak, and Cats Radio. Radio enables people of varying cultural background to interact and communicate. Radio programmes also serve to maintain use of indigenous languages in the community. However, studies on radio programmes in other languages show that intra-sentential code-switching is happening and may affect the purity of the language. Ilmari (2018) in America Marzuki et al. (2019) and Nahombang’s (2020) in Indonesia Sambanthan (2019), Tamil radio programme, Malaysia However, little is known on code-switching in Iban radio programmes in Sarawak. The study investigated the types of code-switching in an Iban radio programme. The specific objectives of the study were to determine: (1) the frequency of tag switching; (2) the frequency of intra-sentential switching; and (3) the frequency of inter-sentential switching. This study on code-switching is important because the Iban language may be influenced by other languages, especially considering the multiracial community in Malaysia. The study involved a descriptive research design to analyse qualitative data on code-switching occurrences in Iban-speaking radio programmes through textual analysis. Data analysed were the communication of announcers on Iban radio programme broadcasted from Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) Kuching, on WaiFM Iban, 101.3MHz Kuching. The selection criteria included a segment with the most conversations/interactions whereby code-switching is most likely to happen. As many announcers were recorded as possible for data variation. To analyse 240 minutes of radio broadcasts, Poplack’s (1980) typology to analyse types of code-switching was used. The results showed 187 instances of code-switching detected from 240 minutes of radio broadcasts in Iban, less than once per minute. The most dominant is intra-sentential switching (82.89%). Sometimes there are two different types of code-switching within the same utterance. A total of 82.89% of code-switching were single word switching because of the lack or absence of equivalent terms in Iban language, and the existence of more familiar terms in another language. Only 12.3% of Iban radio announcers’ code-switching were inter-sentential. Reasons for inter-sentential code-switching seems to be different, and included indigenising of universal concepts, effective expression of meaning, and accommodation to the interlocutors’ language preference. Intra-sentential is dominant type of code switching in Iban radio programmes. The results concur with Sambanthan’s (2019) findings on code switching in a Tamil Malaysian radio programme, Marzuki et al.’s (2019) findings involving radio stations in East Kalimantan, and Ilmari’s (2018) study on a Finnish radio show. Most intra-sentential switching is for conveying meanings effectively. The announcers also code-switched to another language to compensate for the absence of equivalent terms in Jaku Iban or the absence of certain concepts in the Iban culture. It is possible for two types of code-switching to occur within a single utterance. This was also found by Proborini (2018), where multiple types of code-switching occurred in 95% of 99 code-switching occurrences. The study showed minimal code-switching in the Iban radio programme (less than once per minute), compared to radio programmes in East Kalimantan (Marzuki et al., 2019) and South Korea (Proborini, 2018) and a radio programme in Malaysia (Sambanthan, 2019). However, the code-switching in the Iban radio programme is more frequent than in Finland (Ilmari, 2018). WaiFM Iban is an exclusive radio channel established for the Iban community, and the radio announcers made an effort to stick to the use of Iban to preserve the unique features of the indigenous language. Furthermore, radio is one of the formal and reliable sources of information. Hence, radio announcers need to speak in formal language. For WaiFM Iban, the official language to use on air is Iban. The findings of this study has implications on the Iban vocabulary. The Iban language can be considered as one of the more established ethnic languages in Malaysia, and it has been taught in school for over half a century. Iban language has undergone advancement through the years. Modern terms have been coined, and other terms have been adapted from other languages such that the speakers need not to switch codes frequently (Lintan et al., 2020). However, this study shows that the Iban language is still lacking in vocabulary, and the radio announcers switched when they used jargon. One measure is to use Iban equivalents of the jargon. However, it is not certain whether Iban translations of jargon will catch on with the Iban community. Future studies should investigate how certain �“imported” words are used over time, because there could be changes in the form and meanings of the words.

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