Sociolinguistics - Codeswitching and code choice in Brussels, Belgium

这次DPHIL的目的将是探索布鲁塞尔的代码转换的社会语言学现象。通过代码转换，我指的是说话者在对话中切换语言时，因为比利时拥有三种官方语言(荷兰语、法语和德语)，人们可以想象比利时人是狂热的代码转换者。然而，在比利时的联邦州，布鲁塞尔首都地区是该国唯一正式的双语地区，荷兰语和法语在那里处于平等的地位。更重要的是，布鲁塞尔双语者的数量已经从1947年的约50%下降到约20%(Janssens 2013)。这表明布鲁塞尔人越来越拒绝双语，选择用他们选择的语言生活--这一选择是由社区依恋情绪推动的，而长期分裂比利时这两个社区的语言冲突似乎又加剧了他们的这种依恋情绪。上一次关于布鲁塞尔密码转换的研究可以追溯到90年代初(Treffers-Daller 1992)，我认为在首都密码转换做法可能消失之前进行新的和最新的研究是至关重要的。我建议对大约100个人进行面对面的访谈，他们来自不同的年龄段和城市地区，具有不同的语言背景，从而从两个社区收集关于他们对荷兰-法国双语的态度、他们的社会关系和自我报告的密码转换做法的定性数据。然后，我将通过在真正的双语环境(如双语学校和工作场所)中通过人种学田野调查收集的更多定量结果来补充这些定性数据，以比较举报人的实际行为和他们报告的行为。除了提供有关布鲁塞尔当前语言状况的新数据外，该项目还将提供重要的见解，以了解密码转换背后的社会动机，或者明显拒绝这样做的原因。

The purpose of this DPhil will be to explore the sociolinguistic phenomenon of codeswitching in Brussels. By codeswitching, I refer to when a speaker switches between languages within a conversation, and since Belgium boasts three official languages (Dutch, French and German), one could expect Belgians to be avid codeswitchers. However, in the federal state of Belgium, the Region of Brussels Capital is the only officially bilingual area of the country, where both Dutch and French are on equal footing. What is more, the number of bilinguals in Brussels has sunk from about 50% in 1947 to about 20% (Janssens 2013). This suggests that Brusselers are increasingly rejecting bilingualism, taking the option of conducting life in the language of their choice - a choice fuelled by feelings of community attachment, which in their turn appear heightened by the language conflict which has long divided these two communities in Belgium. The last study on codeswitching in Brussels dates back to the early 90s (Treffers-Daller 1992), and I believe that it is crucial to conduct new and up-to-date research before codeswitching practices in the capital potentially disappear. I propose to conduct face-to-face interviews with around 100 individuals, from different age groups and areas of the city, and with different linguistic backgrounds, thus collecting qualitative data from both communities on their attitudes towards Dutch-French bilingualism, their social ties and self-reported codeswitching practices. I will then complement such qualitative data with more quantitative findings gathered through ethnographic fieldwork in truly bilingual situations where codeswitching occurs naturally (e.g. bilingual schools and workplaces) to compare what informants actually do with what they report doing. As well as offering new data on the present linguistic situation in Brussels, this project will also provide important insights into the social motivations behind codeswitching, or the obvious refusal to do so.