Rethinking code-switching types and their effectiveness in print ads: The influence of word difficulty on the processing of code-switching types

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Publicado en:ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (2010)
Autor principal: Ahn, Jungsun
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
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Acceso en línea:Citation/Abstract
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Resumen:Code-switching is a mixed-language approach where linguistic elements of one language are inserted into another language. This tactic is often used to target bilingual consumers. Most of the previous studies on the code-switching effects in advertising have focused on code-switching between languages having a common writing system. This dissertation re-conceptualized written code-switching by focusing on code-switching between two different alphabetic languages: the Korean language (using Hangeul alphabets) and the English language (using Roman alphabets). It was theorized that code-switching between two different alphabetic languages can introduce a new type of code-switching (transliterated code-switching) due to the alphabetic languages' ability to transcribe other languages into their own. The author proposed that three practical code-switching types can be identified when code-switching is made between the Korean language and the English language: English-Korean (EK) code-switching (inserting a Korean word into an English slogan), Korean-English (KE) code-switching (inserting an English word into a Korean slogan), and Transliterated Korean-English (TL-KE) code-switching (inserting a transliterated English word into a Korean slogan). Two studies were conducted to examine the process and effect of the three code-switching types in a Korean advertising context from the Markedness Model perspective. The Markedness Model explains the underlying mechanism of how code-switching can deliver social meanings of a certain language and how those meanings can be associated with an ad and an advertised product. Study 1 examined the effect of the newly introduced code-switching (TL-KE code-switching) in relation to the two existing code-switching types. The results indicated that the TL-KE slogan was found more effective than the EK slogan as hypothesized, but no significant difference was found between the TL-KE code-switching and the KE code-switching. The author argued that the unexpected finding was due to the perceived easiness of the embedded English words used in both TL-KE and KE slogans. Thus, based on the Revised Hierarchical Model which can explain how Koreans perceive and process easy versus difficult English words, Study 2 was undertaken to further investigate whether perceived difficulty level of English words moderates the effect of code-switching types on product evaluation. The findings showed that there was no significant difference between the TL-KE and the KE slogans when easy English words were embedded whereas the KE slogan was found more effective than the TL-KE slogan when the embedded English words were perceived difficult by bilingual Koreans. This dissertation expands earlier code-switching studies in several ways. First, it introduced transliterated code-switching and explored its effectiveness in relation to pre-identified code-switching types. In doing so, it shed light on the processes involved in creating written code-switching. Second, it identified perceived difficulty level of English words as a moderating variable between code-switching type and produce evaluation. The results also provide helpful guidelines for advertisers targeting young bilingual Koreans as well as for advertisers planning to mix two languages in their ads.
ISBN:9781124337203
Fuente:ABI/INFORM Global