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Bilingualism and code-switching in Philippine television advertisements: An exploratory study
Marianne Jennifer M. GaerlanDe La Salle University-Manila
Introduction
Code-switching is an interesting ability that only bilinguals (and multilinguals)
have. What is even more interesting is knowing when bilinguals code-switch, how they
code-switch and most especially, why they code-switch. A wide array of studies on
codeswitching has looked into almost every aspect of this phenomenon, mostly from a
sociolinguistic perspective.
Surveying recent investigations that have looked into code-switching, one finds
many fascinating and useful studies. Lowi (2005) examined naturally occurring telephone
conversations between bilingual Spanish-English speakers to describe the types of code-
switching that occur. Results of the study revealed code-switches in lexicon, tags,
expressions, phrases, and switches used as discourse features such as for emphasis,
change of topic, and for display of affect. Angermeyer (2003) suggested that lexical
cohesion be regarded as an important factor in determining lexical choice in bilingual
speech. He theorized that speakers use insertions in an attempt to establish cohesive ties
to utterances that they or others have made previously in the course of a bilingual
conversation. He looked at occurrences of code-switching in Spanish-English bilingual
speech in court testimonies and found that insertional code-switching may trigger a more
accurate translation by interpreters, giving non-English litigants more control of the
rendering of their statements.
1
Due to the fact that approximately eighty percent of the world’s population is
bilingual, it is not surprising that there are numerous descriptions of code-switching in
several different languages around the world. Jacobson (2002) offered some examples of
Malay-English code-switching evident in naturally occurring conversations in university
faculty meetings, in corporate and business meetings, and in court hearings. Mahootian
(2002) chose to examine code-switching in a Spanish-English bilingual women’s
magazine and concluded that the switches are meant to create a sense of community
among bilingual Spanish-English speakers.
In the Philippines, some research has been done on code-switching including
Bautista’s (1999) analysis of the functions of English-Tagalog code-switching in e-mails
and Chanco, Francisco, and Talamisan’s (1999 in Bautista, 1999) description of code-
switching patterns of some Filipino television hosts. Dayag (2002 in Martin, 2006)
conducted a grammatical and pragmatic analysis of code-switching in Philippine print
advertisements. Martin (2006) analyzed code-switching practices in Science courses
taught in selected Philippine tertiary-level institutions and found that it is actually
beneficial in delivering content knowledge. She concluded that code-switching is actually
a “pedagogical tool for motivating student response and action, ensuring rapport and
solidarity, promoting shared meaning, checking student understanding, and maintaining
the teaching narrative” (p. 135).
The very basic definition of code-switching as provided by Baker (2006) is “when
one language is mixed with another” (p. 109) and the extent and type of “mixing” or
“switching” has been identified, described, and categorized by numerous linguists.
Poplack and Sankoff (1988 in Bautista, 1999) identified four mechanisms at play in a
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code-switch: smooth switching at equivalence sites, flagged switching, constituent
insertion, and nonce borrowing. Smooth switching is “changing the language of the
sentence only at syntactic boundaries which occur in both languages” (p. 19), while
flagged switching is “switching marked by hesitation, metalinguistic commentary, or
pauses to call attention to the code-switch” (Bautista, 1999, p. 19). On the other hand,
constituent insertion is “inserting a grammatical constituent in one language at an
appropriate point, for that type of constituent, in a sentence of the other language”
(Poplack & Sankoff, 1988 in Bautista, 1999, p. 19). Finally, nonce borrowing involves
“borrowing for the time being or for the occasion” (Bautista, 1999, p. 20). These
categories and descriptions overlap with several others provided by researchers on
bilingualism such as Baker (2006) who made the distinction between code-mixing (when
one word or a few words in a sentence change), code-switching (when the first phrase in
a sentence is in one language and the second phrase is in another), and language
borrowing. Language borrowing is perhaps the most difficult type of “mix” or “switch”
to identify because it is used to describe foreign loan words or phrases that have become
an integral and permanent part of the recipient language. Baker admits that “all languages
borrow words or phrases from other languages with which they come into contact” (p.
110) and so code-switches and loans are not really separate and distinct. As was admitted
by Eastman (1992, in Baker, 2006), “efforts to distinguish code-switching, code-mixing,
and borrowing are doomed” (p. 110).
Studies that have painstakingly identified “types” of switches and mixes between
two languages used by a bilingual were usually those who were concerned about
grammar and syntax or the analysis of discourse. From the perspective of those who do
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research in the field of sociolinguistics on the other hand, the purposes or functions of
code-switches is of utmost interest and importance. This inevitably dovetails with
research in the fields of psycholinguistics and bilingualism where the concern is the
processes that bilinguals undergo when they code-switch and also their purposes for
doing so. Heredia and Altarriba (2001) asked the quintessential question, “Why do
bilinguals code-switch?” and proceeded to explain why the oft-given explanation that
bilinguals code-switch because they are compensating for lack of language proficiency
does not hold water. They offered reasons for code-switching such as the fact that
switching to English (or to another language) makes it easier and faster for a speaker to
retrieve the word/s that he needs. There is also the fact that some ideas are better
communicated in one language than another. Grosjean (1982) pointed out that “code-
switching not only fills a momentary linguistic need, it is also a very useful
communication resource” (p. 148). Obviously, bilinguals and multilinguals take
advantage of their having two or more languages as tools for communication.
Despite numerous studies, it seems that the area of code-switching is far from
exhausted in terms of investigations. As observed by Mahootien (2002), there seems to
be a scarcity of research on code-switching in written discourse. In the Philippines, where
almost everyone is at least bilingual (with a large percentage of the population possibly
trilingual or multilingual due to the existence of many Philippine languages), code-
switching is apparent not only in naturally-occurring conversations, but also in media
such as the Internet, newspaper and magazine articles, signage, news and television
programs, and print and television advertisements.
4
Because English is a second language for Filipinos, it is not uncommon to find
code-switches from Filipino to English and vice versa in both written and spoken
discourse in the Philippines. Because media is such a great influence on language and
society as a whole, many arguments have been put forth regarding the effects of code-
switching especially in the area of language learning and in the field of education. As
Martin (2006) noted, although code-switching is natural and perhaps even necessary in
Philippine education (due to the advantages that were discussed earlier), it remains to be
a touchy issue. This is probably because many researchers and educators still believe that
code-switching is evidence of a lack of proficiency in either or both of the languages that
a bilingual knows. Nevertheless, because code-switching is natural for bilinguals, what
would be more intriguing to know is why they do it even if they are proficient in both (or
all) languages that they know. Kachru (1986, in Gao, 2005) talked about the concept of
bilinguals’ creativity which refers to creative linguistic processes which are the result of
competence in two or more languages. According to him, bilinguals’ linguistic creativity
usually involves two things: 1) a discourse that features two or more languages (code-
switching or code-mixing) and 2) verbal strategies for various sociological,
psychological, and attitudinal reasons.
As mentioned earlier, code-switching is not only evident in naturally occurring
but also in contrived or “scripted” discourse such as those found in television programs
and advertisements. Advertisements are particularly interesting because they are
practically everywhere: on the streets, on the Internet, in reading material, on the radio,
on television. Copywriters, motivated by their purpose of persuading the consumer to
purchase their product, craft advertisements that are both creative and persuasive.
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In a bilingual or multilingual country such as the Philippines, many
advertisements try to imitate naturally occurring conversation, which would include
code-switches. In all forms of advertisement, some type of language mix or switch is
apparent; as a matter of fact, on television, it is evident in around 40 to 50 percent of
advertisements. Bayer (2005) said that communication through television is a significant
mode to promote new discourse in multiple languages. Since advertisements are very
influential and reflect a society, it would thus be a worthy endeavor to explore code-
switching in television advertisements.
To date, very little research has been done on code-switching in Philippine
television advertisements, specifically from the perspective of bilingualism. Most studies
on code-switching have looked at it from a sociolinguistic angle. Thompson (2003)
investigated language switching in Philippine television commercials to see the
underlying values that advertisers hope will motivate Filipino consumers. The ads were
categorized as being either predominantly English or predominantly Filipino. Results
showed that Filipino-dominant ads were for products like food, health products,
detergents, alcoholic beverages, and government services. On the other hand, English-
dominant ads were mostly for appliances, food, clothing, banking and finance, toiletries,
and non-alcoholic beverages. Thompson concluded that the use of English in the ads was
done to present English as promoter of good character, as promoter of good fortune, and
as “love potion.”
With regard to television in general, Bayer (2005) argued that this medium might
promote language loss and/or shift of the powerless dialects, sociolects, and tribal home
languages in India. As for print advertising, Gao (2005) examined the use of English in
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Chinese-English bilingual print advertisements and concluded that it is evidence of
bilingual creativity. He concluded that the use of English is not primarily intended for
communicating information about advertised products, but is meant for other pragmatic
purposes, such as to give potential buyers the impression that the products are of good
and dependable quality, seeing that a superior quality is usually associated with the use of
English for most Chinese people. Luna and Peracchio (2001) explored how bilinguals
processed advertising messages written in their L1 and L2 and found that ad-related
factors such as the congruity between the ad’s picture and its copy facilitate conceptual
processing. They also found that processing motivation influence ad effectiveness by
enhancing ad recall.
Although there have been studies on code-switching specifically in the
Philippines, there seems to be a scarcity of investigations on code-switches in television
ads considering that the television is a big influence on language learning due to the fact
that the common person is exposed to language in television probably as much as he is
exposed to language used by the people around him.
The present study aims to describe the occurrence of code-switching in Philippine
television advertisements and will specifically try to answer the following research
questions:
1) What types of code-switching occur in Philippine television advertisements?
2) Is switching from Filipino to English more common or is it the other way around?
3) What are the possible reasons/motivations behind these switches?
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Methodology
Data
The advertisements analyzed in this study were from a corpus of 60 television
advertisements audio-recorded from November 17-19, 2007 at different times of the day
to ensure that advertisements shown on weekdays, weekends, morning, afternoon, and
evening would be included. Only advertisements shown on local channels (ABS-CBN 2,
ABC 5, GMA 7, RPN 9, QTV 11, and STUDIO 23) were recorded and only those
advertisements where code-switches occurred were included in the analysis.
Advertisements shown on cable channels were not included as it was presumed that there
would be less or no occurrence of code-switching .
Data analysis
The recordings were subsequently transcribed and each advertisement was first
categorized according to product being advertised. Then, each ad was divided into idea
units. An idea unit is a chunk of information, which is viewed by the speaker or writer
cohesively as it is given a surface form, related to psychological reality for the encoder
(Crookes, 1990). This unit of analysis was selected because it seems to be the more
appropriate way of looking at code-switching in ads compared to analyzing in terms of
utterances or sentences which tend to be difficult in instances when code-switches are not
between utterances and sentences, but instead between ideas.
Idea units in Filipino and English were identified, as well as the idea units that
were code-switched. Despite the position of Eastman (1992, in Baker, 2006) that it is
hopeless to try and make a distinction between codes-switching (or code-mixing) and
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language borrowing, the type of code-switching in each ad in the present study was
identified using Baker’s (2006) categories for purposes of providing a richer description:
Code-mixing – when one or few words in a sentence change.
Code-switching – when the first phrase (or sentence) is in one language and the
other is in another language.
Language borrowing – the use of foreign loan words or phrases that have become
an integral and permanent part of the recipient language.
After identifying the type of code-switch, a modified version of Baker’s (2006)
taxonomy of purposes of code-switching was used to identify the possible purpose of
code-switching in each advertisement; only those purposes deemed appropriate to code-
switches in television advertisements were used to categorize the present data:
1) For emphasis – code-switches may be used to emphasize a particular point in a
conversation. If one word needs stressing or is central in a sentence, a switch may
be made.
2) To express a concept that has no equivalent in the culture of the other language –
words and phrases in two languages may not correspond exactly and the bilingual
may switch to one language.
3) To clarify a point – repetition of a phrase or passage in another language may be
used.
4) To express identity, communicate friendship, or family bonding – for example,
moving from the common majority language to the home language or minority
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language which both the listener and speaker understand well may communicate
friendship and common identity.
5) To ease tension and inject humor .
6) To signal a change in topic – in some bilingual situations, code-switching occurs
regularly when certain topics are introduced (e.g. money, business).
7) To economize terms that will be too lengthy if said in a certain language .
8) To avoid using awkward -sounding words-to use terms that “sound” better.
The study identifies and discusses the types of code-switching found in Philippine
television advertisements but the identification is not intended to be exhaustive but
instead illustrative. The categorization is also not meant to be exclusive as there are
overlaps between categories.
Results and discussion
The breakdown of the ads according to product are as follows: Food (23),
Medicines/Vitamins (13), Detergent/Cleaning aids (5), Toiletries/Cosmetics (13),
Telecommunications (4), Public service (1), banking and finance (1), and Alcohol/Liquor
(1).
Out of the 320 idea units in the 60 advertisements, 88 or around 27 percent were
in English, 103 or around 32 percent were in Filipino and 129 or around 40 percent were
code-switched. These figures seem to prove that code-switching is indeed evident in
Philippine television advertisements and in fact, it can be concluded from these figures
that code-switching is dominant in these ads.
10
With regard to patterns of code-switch in terms of which language switches to
what, data show that 39 out of the 60 advertisements started in Filipino and switched to
English, while the other 21 shifted from English to Filipino. This result is not surprising
considering the fact that despite being proficient in English, Filipinos’ native language
and mother tongue is still Filipino.
As regards the specific type of code-switch, 49 of the 60 ads had code-mixed
ideas, 22 out of the 60 ads had code-switched ideas, and 17 exhibited language-
borrowing. It is possible that code-mixing occurred more than the other two types of
switches because of reasons such as terms having no equivalent in the native language, or
for economizing purposes. Note however that Baker (2006) was correct in saying that it
is difficult to make distinctions between these three types of switches because “all
languages borrow words or phrases from other languages with which they come into
contact” (p. 110) and thus there exist overlaps; some code-switched and code-mixed
ideas also used “borrowed” words from either English or Filipino, the two languages
present in the ads used in this study. The types of switches and the overlaps that occurred
will be described in detail with the use of examples (in idea units) from the corpus.
Likewise, the purpose of the code-switch will be described:
Code-mixing
(1) Para sa ubo, may gamot na gawa sa chemicals na may possible side effects, at
merong natural.
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In (1) which is an excerpt from the advertisement for Ascof Lagundi cough
medicine, both code-mixing and language borrowing are evident. Note how the sentence
is Filipino-dominant, with only a few words in English inserted. There are actually
equivalent words in Filipino for chemicals, possible, and natural (“kemikal,” “posible,”
and “natural”) but the copywriters probably decided to code-mix for emphasis (the fact
that some other cough medicines are made of chemicals, and the word chemicals itself
may possibly turn off some consumers who regard chemicals as something they would
not want to ingest). The succeeding idea units seems to support this possibility:
(2) Ascof Lagundi, gawa sa one hundred percent Lagundi leaves
(3) clinically proven safe and effective.
In (2) one hundred percent is in English probably for economizing purposes
because it would be too lengthy to say it in Filipino (“isang daang porsyento” or “isang
daang bahagdan”) and perhaps also because the succeeding words are in English.
Likewise, leaves is in English probably for the same reason, despite the fact that there is
an equivalent term in Filipino (“mga dahon”). Note also that in (1), use of the English
phrase side effects is an instance of language borrowing as there is no equivalent term in
Filipino and side effects as a term has already been “adopted” in the Filipino language.
Thus, in the Ascof Lagundi advertisement, both code-mixing and language borrowing are
evident.
(4) Mahirap ang may diabetes.
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(5) Kaya’t habang maaga, eat right, exercise at mag-Ampalaya Plus.
In (4), the use of the term diabetes is evidence of language borrowing because
there is no equivalent term in Filipino and the term has been adopted in the Filipino
language. In (5), eat right and exercise are in English probably for emphasis because
these are the things that are being recommended to the consumer along with using the
advertised product.
Code-mixing may also be done to ease tension and inject humor such as in the
following excerpt from the advertisement for CDO Carne Norte (corned beef):
(6) Dad, pwede na ba kong mag-boyfriend?
(7) Anytime!
(8) May pag-uusapan pa ba sa sarap ng bagong CDO Carne Norte?
(9) Sa sarap palang, tapos na ang usapan!
(10) Eh ako, pwede na ring mag-boyfriend?
In the CDO ad, the first idea unit was uttered by the character playing the
teenage daughter in the family, while the last idea unit was uttered by the character
playing the grandmother. In this case, the word boyfriend was used to inject humor
because it was the same term used by the daughter and the ad wanted to make it seem
incredulous that the grandmother was asking permission to have a boyfriend, too.
Similarly, in the Hapee toothpaste sachet advertisement, humor is injected
by way of code-mixing:
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(11) Dumarami na ang feeling rich.
(12) Kaya salamat sa Hapee sachet, sa presyong limang piso, buy one take one all
year round
(13) mas mayaman ka, fresh breath ka pa!
The ad is referring to a buy one take one promotion of Hapee toothpaste. Feeling
rich is actually a term commonly used by Filipinos (usually in a humorous way) to refer
to people who, precisely, “feel” that they are rich. In this ad, the promo is supposed to
make the consumers feel “rich.” Note also the language borrowing evident in the word
sachet which has no equivalent term in Filipino, and the phrases buy one, take one, all
year round, and fresh breath. “Fresh breath” can actually be translated into Filipino
(“preskong hininga”), but in keeping with the humorous “feeling rich” concept, it is said
in English instead.
Code-switching
Earlier, a code-switch was defined as a sentence in which the first and second
phrases are in two different languages, or in the case of the present data, where an idea
unit in one language is preceded or followed by an idea unit in another language. The
following example demonstrates this:
(14) The stronger your bones are, the more you can do in life.
(15) So get into the Anlene movement.
14
(16) Make exercise plus Anlene a daily habit.
(17) Malaya kang gumalaw!
Here, the first three idea units are in English and the code-switch is seen in the last
idea unit, which is in Filipino. “Malaya kang gumalaw” translates to “You are free to
move (around).” The possible purpose of the switch is to express identity or communicate
friendship (note the use of the pronoun “ka” [with the enclitic –ing} which means “you).
Although the ad is in no way a sample of naturally occurring discourse or conversation,
the copywriters who came up with it switched to Filipino for the last idea unit probably
because they wanted the Filipino consumers to be able to “relate” to the ad even though
the dominant language is English. In the following example, however, the switch was
from Filipino to English, but apparently for the same reason:
(18) Baka hindi kaya ng suweldo ko.
(19) Di ko kasi alam kung paano yun eh.
(20) Reluctant to get a loan?
(21) Come to BDO!
(22) You might be surprised at how we find ways to make our loans affordable for
you.
In the advertisement for BDO (Banco de Oro), the switch was made from Filipino
to English when it was the bank’s (or advertiser’s) turn to “talk.” In this case, the purpose
was probably to make the product both accessible and credible in the sense that the
consumer will feel for the characters who were speaking Filipino but also feel
15
“welcomed” by the bank despite the fact that the invitation is worded in English. Thus,
the purpose of the switch may also be to express identity and communicate friendship.
In the advertisement that follows (for Bonna Kid milk formula), the code-switch
was probably done to clarify a point and at the same time to express identity:
(23) Bonna Kid with the most number of nucleotides to help strengthen your
child’s immune system.
(24) Batang may laban!
The first idea unit describes in English what the product can do, (i.e. strengthen a
child’s immune system) while the second idea unit basically talks about the same thing,
but in a more casual and “Filipino” way of saying that the child has a strong immune
system. It may also be that “batang may laban” (child with strength) has other meanings
aside from the literal. In Filipino, “may laban” (“having strength” or “with strength”)
pertaining to a person describes the positive attributes courage and confidence.
Language borrowing
Many words used in Philippine television advertisements are actually “borrowed”
words from English but that are actually somehow no longer considered code-switching
due to the fact that they either have no equivalent term in Filipino, or the idea or concept
is much better expressed in English. Take a look at the following excerpt from the
advertisement for Monterey Meats:
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(25) Hi, suki! Kamusta?
(26) Hi! Nag-gi-gym na ko ngayon.
(27) Dapat caldereta, for muscles!
The words gym and muscles are borrowed from the English language since there
are no equivalent terms. Likewise, in the excerpt from the advertisement for New Era
Head and Shoulders shampoo, concepts that are better expressed (or that seem to sound
better) in English are said in English. These can be considered “borrowed” words because
they are already very common in Philippine television advertisements:
(28) Kahit gaano ka-close, kitang kita ang healthy scalp because of New Era
Head and Shoulders.
(29) tinatanggal ang dandruff para ma-renew ang scalp naturally cell by cell kaya
parang bago ulit!
(30) Kaya sa scalp like new, kaya mo nang maging close!
Although there are equivalent terms in Filipino for healthy, scalp, dandruff, close
and like new (“malusog,” “anit,” “balakubak,” “malapit,” and “parang bago”), the
copywriters of this ad chose to switch to English. Their reason for doing so is difficult to
ascertain unless it is theorized that it was done for artistic or creative purposes. It is also
possible that celebrity endorsers had something to do with it. Head and Shoulders
shampoo is endorsed by commercial models with whom upper-class viewers are
supposed to be able to relate to or identify. This however is not consistent because there
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are several ads for Head and Shoulders and all of them are code-switched or have
language borrowings from English, even the ones where local actors such as Angel
Locsin and Richard Gutierrez (whose appeal is usually targeted to the masses) are the
ones endorsing.
The following excerpt from the advertisement for Olay Total Effects
moisturizing cream shows code-mixing, code-switching, and language borrowing:
(31) I go for facial treatments
(32) Syempre to keep my skin younger looking
(33) In fact, there are many treatments to fight skin aging
(34) May lifting, exfoliation, wrinkle-prevention
From (31) to (32), code-switching is evident, as there is a shift from English to
Filipino. This is also evident from (33) to (34). However, (32) and (34) can also be
considered instances of code-mixing as there are Filipino words inserted, syempre (“of
course”) and may (“there is;” “the presence of”). Language borrowing can be seen in
words and phrases such as facial treatments, skin aging, lifting, exfoliation, and wrinkle-
prevention. Aside from having no equivalent (or appropriate) term in the native language,
these terms sound much better when said in English. Note also that this product is
endorsed by Gretchen Barreto, a Filipina actress and socialite. She is viewed by many as
being rich and products that she endorses have connotations of being elegant, luxurious
and expensive. If upper-crust viewers do not perceive her as such, then the appeal of the
18
code-switches in this ad is actually for the masses, who may view the product as
something that will make them elegant and luxurious, too.
Similarly, in the ad for Palmolive Naturals Intensive Moisture Shampoo,
celebrity endorser KC Concepcion who is perceived by the masses to be rich, well-
educated and glamorous, uses code-switching:
(35) Girls, you wanna know a fashion secret that I learned in Paris?
(36) It’s all about soft flow.
(37) Maganda siya sa fabric
(38) at maganda rin sa hair ko.
(39) Thanks to Palmolive Naturals Intense Moisture Shampoo.
(40) May formula na enriched with one hundred percent coco cream at milk
protein
(41) that nourishes inside and out
(42) feels like a milk bath for your hair.
(43) Palmolive Naturals. With soft flow, you’ll always shine.
(44) At yan ang laging…in fashion!
In the Palmolive Naturals ad, the purpose of the copywriters for utilizing code-
switches is probably the same ones that the writers of the Olay Total Effects had: to
create an image for the endorser and also for the product. Also, KC Concepcion was
educated at an international school when she was studying in Manila and then she went to
Paris for further education. The code-switch to English thus sounds very natural and the
copywriters probably had that in mind when they wrote the spiel for the commercial.
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Code-switches in different types of products
Table 1. Dominant language according to product type
Product type Total # of ads
# English-dominant ads
# Filipino-dominant ads
English and Filipino equal
Food/beverage 23 11 10 2
Medicine/vitamin 13 1 9 3
Detergent/cleanser 5 0 5 0
Toiletries/cosmetics 13 7 4 2
Public service 1 1 0 0
Banking/finance 1 1 0 0
Alcoholic drink 1 0 1 0
It can be seen in Table 1 that contrary to the results of Thompson’s 2003 study of
language and code-switching in Philippine television advertisements in which it was
found that advertisements for food had Tagalog or Filipino as the dominant language, the
present study’s data yielded food advertisements that had English as the dominant
language. This is probably due to the fact that more and more Filipinos (even the masses)
speak English or at least code-switch from Filipino to English in recent times. This may
be due to more exposure to the English language from media such as the Internet. Since
writers of ads simulate naturally-occurring conversation, this is probably a reflection of
current discourse features.
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Toiletries and cosmetics ads also had English as the dominant language, and this
finding concurs with that of Thompson wherein it was found that ads for toiletries were
predominantly in English. This is probably because toiletries compared to detergents or
medicines are considered “luxury” items, especially the more high-quality ones. As Gao
(2005) noted, the English language is used to connote good quality when used to describe
a product. Likewise, as earlier mentioned, Thompson (2003) observed that English is
used in advertisements to conjure an image of “good fortune.”
Medicines and detergent ads are predominantly in Filipino possibly because these
are not luxury items but are necessities. Thus, there is hardly any need to make the
product seem glamorous or luxurious. Interestingly, the ad for the alcoholic drink,
although a relatively expensive brand is predominantly in Filipino. Perhaps the purpose
of the writers was to make the product more accessible to the consumer and to establish
ties with the audience. Alcoholic beverages are highly saleable items in the Philippines,
among consumers from all socioeconomic classes. Another surprising finding is the fact
that the only ad in the data that is actually a public service announcement is
predominantly in English. However, note that the commercial is actually not for a
product that is local in origin but one that is American (Ronald McDonald House of
Charities). The ad for the bank is understandably predominantly in English because it is
usually the language used for business and commerce.
Summary and conclusions
The present study examined the occurrence of code-switching in bilingual
television advertisements in the Philippines. It was found that code-switched
21
advertisements are actually dominant over advertisements in predominantly in English or
predominantly in Filipino. Since a large percentage of the Filipino population own a
television set and is exposed to advertisements for all kinds of products and services,
language in advertisements can certainly be considered “signs of the times” especially
since writers of these ads try to simulate natural conversation. These manifestations of
code-switching should definitely be investigated further especially how it affects
language learning and teaching. Future researchers would also do well to look into the
processes that bilingual copywriters undergo as they come up with these ads.
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