Code-Switching and Mixing on Star FM Zimbabwe: A Case of The Breakfast Club Show
摘要
Code-switching and mixing are common linguistic phenomena that play an important role in promoting cultural diversity in broadcast media. This chapter examines the role of code-switching and mixing on Star FM’s Breakfast Club Show in Zimbabwe and assesses associated implications for sustainable multilingual radio programming. Analyses are grounded on the translanguaging theory which emphasizes the fluid and dynamic use of one’s linguistic resource for communication. The study reveals code-switching as a versatile broadcasting communication tool that serves various functions, including marking formality, facilitating interactive discussions, and argumentation. Moreover, it underscores the role of code-mixing in enabling speakers to express ideas effectively, clarify complex issues, arouse emotions, and depict kinship relations. Overall, the study highlights how code-switching and mixing are natural occurrences of multilingual communication, that facilitate linguistic expressiveness, flexibility, and inclusivity. However, restricting radio code-switching and mixing to English and the Shona dialect of Zezuru in Star FM prompts the exclusion of speakers of other indigenous languages or dialects spoken in Zimbabwe. Practical applications of translanguaging in diverse communicative contexts are emphasized to achieve effective radio communication. Implications for the realization of a multilingual radio include the need to diversify language representation because code-switching and mixing are limited by the context of co-existence.