The discursive construction of identity in chinese english bilingual advertising a critical inquiry 4

3.1 Bilingualism in Advertising as Social Practice In the preceding review, it has been briefly noted that the formation of identity in the site of bilingual advertising is probably the

CHAPTER 3

TOWARDS A CRITICAL, COGNITIVE APPROACH TO

BILINGUALISM AND IDENTITY

The overall objective of this chapter is to argue the significance to look at bilingualism and

the textual (re)presentation of identity in advertising both as social practice and cognitive

processing It further discusses the integration of socio-critical and cognitive aspects of

identity into a single, analytically coherent framework These are designed to develop an

integrative approach to bilingualism and identity in the site of bilingual advertising

In connection to social attributes of advertising, Section 3.1 starts off the proposal

to treat the use of English in question as both reflective and constitutive of social practice

By this it intends to direct our attention to social ideologies and the relations of power

embedded in and reflected through this language practice Another inexorable aspect to be

developed and elaborated in Section 3.2 is theoretically concerned with the intersection

between bilingualism, identity, and persuasion in advertising communication Section 3.3

continues to develop the argument that the process of meaning construction primarily

through or at least in relation to the use of English is synonymous with that of conceptual

manipulation in nature, thereby the desire for a cognitive inquiry of bilingualism and

identity being augmented and emphasized A brief discussion about the compatibility

between CDA and cognitive linguistics is offered in the final section (Section 3.4)

3.1 Bilingualism in Advertising as Social Practice

In the preceding review, it has been briefly noted that the formation of identity in the site

of bilingual advertising is probably the result of advertiser agency with the aid of English

mixing (within a range of meaning-making elements) featured with local practice Then

the aim of this section is to develop and elucidate the argument why the use of English

under discussion should never be treated as a matter of random but as a social

phenomenon It further proposes a socio-critical perspective to investigate the discursive

construction of identity in bilingual advertising And CDA is proposed as the appropriate

framework for analyzing identity (re)presented in the textual form of bilingual advertising

In the following I start with the perception of advertising as a social practice

3.1.1 Advertising as a social phenomenon

The language practice of English usage in non-English-language advertising may well be

taken as part of social practice, which is above all bound up with the universal observation

of advertising as a social practice

Advertisements of all kinds are usually supposed to be social, cultural and

ideological products, functioning as mirror image of what is going on in a society (e.g.,

Cook 1992; Goldman 1992; Vestergaard & Schroder 1985; Wernick 1991) In addition to

this, it is the universal knowledge that fundamental values of advertising are never static

but, instead, in constant change along with changes in social practices and attitudes

(Vestergaard & Schroder 1985: 146) As a major force in the ongoing societal

reproduction, naturalization and reinforcement, advertising inherently reflects and

constitutes the current trends, and value and belief systems of a society Because

advertisements both shape and are shaped by the institutional and social contexts in which

they are produced, circulated and interpreted, textual practices and (re)presentations of

advertising are inevitably interconnected with all aspects of wider cultural practices and

with the social and political systems It is broadly against this understanding that an

examination of bilingualism in advertising should never be simply constrained by the

textual description of English usage, but goes beyond it at the higher level of social

institution and social (re)presentation

The immediate perception of bilingualism in advertising as a social phenomenon

is still discussed in general terms No study has ever made a specific attempt at explaining

the ways in which the linguistic device of English mixing can be fully exploited to

construct and encapsulate the value and belief systems of a society Nor is any study

critically discussing the transcultural reproduction and reinterpretation of English in

advertising discourse (cf Piller 2006) Regardless of this fact, it is inspiring to notice that

code-switching (the alternating use of more than one language or variety) in

conversational interaction is being increasingly looked at from a more social perspective

This tendency is instructive to work toward building up a theory of the socio-critical

inquiry of English usage in question

3.1.2 Critical studies of code-switching in conversational interaction

John Gumperz (1982; with Blom 1972), more than any other analyst, stimulated interest in

social functions of code-switching, and many aspects of his formulations have continued

to shape research The classification by Blom and Gumperz (1972) of situational

code-switching versus metaphorical code-code-switching represents what has been the most widely

discussed and influential categorization of switches based on social function

Recently, in the literature of code-switching and its social meanings have been

some calls for the merging of the micro studies of code-switching with the macro context

of sociolinguistic studies Sociolinguistic studies of code-switching in bilingual

conversation are increasingly situated in the broader study of language practices, although

theoretical integration of code-switching into critical approaches to discourse, and vice

versa, is still quite marginal and often incomplete The works such as of Auer (1995, 1998),

Gal (1987, 1988), and Heller (1988, 1992, 1995) are typically associated with this body of

research In these studies not only are social meanings of code-switching linked to

meanings of identity in a micro-level interpersonal sense, but also to a macro-level

perspective on speaker positioning in larger social and political economies

Auer’s approach to bilingualism is grounded on the idea that language is a social

phenomenon, even though his methodology is distinctly structural With reference to his

earlier work (Auer 1985), Auer (1998) identified three structural levels at which

orderliness of code-switching in bilingual conversation can be investigated They are the

grammatical, conversational, and “larger societal and ideological” structures (Auer 1998:

4) For Auer, conversational structure is not autonomous from but caused by social

structure If conversational structure were autonomous from social structure, it would not

be subject to an account On the other hand, it is through conversational structure that

social construct is validated Auer by relying on specific examples illustrates well how the

knowledge of the social and institutional structures is able to improve appreciably the

understanding of specific instances of language alternation during bilingual conversation

A suggestion emerges that it is necessary to consider the macro societal dimensions for a

fuller or more relatively comprehensive account of code-switching practice

What Gal (1987, 1988) has specifically investigated is the role of code-switching

in the intersection, or separation, of a smaller speech community within a larger one

Through a comparative study of code-switching practice with enormous differences

among three bilingual minorities (i.e., Italians in West Germany, Hungarians in Austria,

and Germans in Romania), Gal repeatedly reminds us of connecting these differences not

only to local social network, but also to “a systemic context much wider than the local

community” that shapes people’s language choices crucially (1987: 638) Code-switching

to Gal is a linguistic device employed by speakers for establishing, maintaining, or

breaking down boundaries at a macro level as well as a micro level And an analysis of

code-switching like this could discover the workings of social and cultural processes at a

number of levels tied to the complex historical specificity of conditions In Gal’s own

words, such analyses of code-switching would be quite productive in revealing

“consciousness developed in unequal power relations, the diverse local responses

linguistic groups construct to material and cultural domination” (1988: 260)

Heller (1988, 1992, 1995) similarly takes the position that the ways

code-switching is practiced are bound up with the creation, exercise, maintenance, or change of

political and social power In discussing the potential of code-switching for political

symbolism, Heller has the following statement:

In a given setting, at a given historical moment, code-switching may be conventional, or, on the contrary, anti-conventional In other words, it may represent a normal, routine way to use language, or it may violate expectations about how to behave … Conventional language practices represent relatively stable relations of power, while violations can be seen as forms of resistance (Heller 1992: 123)

Following this, language choices can be seen as a reflection of social and political power

and as a means to negotiate that power relations Differently put, practices of

code-switching and their patterns are a signal associated with the development and exercise of

power By inviting to view code-switching as a political matter as well as a linguistic one,

Heller offers a good way to look into how “power is maintained or may be successfully

resisted or overturned” through this language practice (1995: 171) Under this model,

dominant groups decide which code choices will give speakers an advantage in the

language “marketplace” (Bourdieu 1991) in the form of access to commodities, such as

employment and social prestige, while subordinate groups may accept or resist these

conventions Hence, differing patterns of code-switching reflected in and through its very

act can well be read not only as forms of interactional management around roles and

boundaries of interactants, but also the symbolic practice of sociopolitical position (Hill

1985: 735)

While these studies of code-switching are differing in some aspects, they

apparently share one important and central aspect regarding code-switching as social

practice The agency of bilinguals in the very act of code-switching during social

interactions is related to, and largely shaped by, social practice that they may rely on to

their advantage.It becomes advisable to rethink of code-switching not only as a language

contact phenomenon, but rather a social contact phenomenon that is both reflective and

constitutive of social processes occurring in bilingual situations and broadly in society

Developed from this point of view, code-switching can be taken as the marker of power

relations subject to maintenance, challenge, or resistance in interaction The development

of this argument lends itself well to support a socio-critical approach to bilingualism,

combining practice, power, and politics

Because code-switching involves discrete linguistic forms that can be recorded

and transcribed, analysis of this language practice can make visible power relations and

social negotiation processes that are otherwise veiled Auer, Heller, Gal, and certainly

others, have tended to ground their analysis of code-switching ethnographically on actual

instances of bilingual conversation, seeing this intimacy from a conversational perspective

This is not meant to say that the interrelations between language choice, social practice

and power relations on both macro- and micro-levels cannot be expanded to all other

practices of code-switching in context

At this point, a crucial note of analytical methodology is in order In light of

Conversation Approach to code-switching, we already stressed in Section 2.2.2 the

interactional significance of English mixing in the site of advertising But due to its

methodological procedures, Conversation Approach is surely inappropriate for examining

the bilingual phenomenon under discussion Other approaches to bilingualism and identity

study like the Markedness Model and Referee Design are also unable to investigate

productively the complex interaction involving English, the native language and other

constitutive elements of a given advertisement This suggests us to go beyond traditional

approaches to bilingualism and identity, but to design or create a new analytically

applicable method for the present purpose

3.1.3 The mixing of English as social practice

Following the foregoing, it is now fruitful to begin by locating concerns with the use of

English in non-English-language advertising within a broad theoretical perspective of

social practice and power relations Rather than simply viewing this bilingual phenomenon

as a linguistic phenomenon, it would be more sense to treat it as a social phenomenon

embedded in and represented through the textual form of advertising And English is part

of a range of linguistic and cultural resources on which advertisers and social groups they

represent draw to develop and exercise their power and sustain or transform existing social

relations

Yet, attempt at investigating how English is exploited as a new linguistic and

cultural resource to (re)produce social reality and social relations within it is still in its

infancy To give an illustration of the significant to treat English mixing as social practice,

let me offer a tentative example related to Haarmann’s (1986) study concerning the use of

English in Japanese TV commercials For Haarmann (1986: 108), what English reflects

there is the stable standards of conventional language use among Japanese young people

that English is a symbol of fashion While being primarily in agreement with Haarmann,

the analytical conclusion that English symbolically indexes fashion for Japanese young

people is all the same obviously simplistic for any study intending to explore the bilingual

phenomenon in Japanese society This conclusion by Haarmann, in my opinion, actually

conceals more than it can reveal and make known

For a deeper and more thorough understanding, it invites us to examine the ways

in which this language practice is influenced and determined by, and contributes to the

reproduction of, social structures in Japan In this context, Silverstein’s notion “indexical

order” or “n-th order indexical” is especially helpful to show us “how to relate the

micro-social to the macro-micro-social frames of analysis of any sociolinguistic phenomenon” (2003:

193) Silverstein refers to the direct correlation as first-order indexicality (i.e., one person

uses form X, while another uses form Y), and the dialectic of ideological engagement with

indexicality as second-order -a cultural construal of the 1st order usage, “an

ethno-metapragmatics of such usage” (Silverstein 2003: 194) For Silverstein, indexical effect is

usually realized through the reconceptualization (i.e., normative use) of a cultural

construal of indexical form, and indexicality works as a linguistic means whereby certain

identities are reproduced This surely distinguishes language intellectually as an index of

group identity from language as a metalinguistically created symbol of identity, more

explicitly ideologized in discourse (cf Gal 1993; Jacquemet 1992; Rampton 1999)

Relating indexical order to the work of Haarmann, it thus becomes plausible to

argue that English is exploited far less for its symbolic meaning assigned to its

appropriation as expected than to evoke, legitimize, or validate this conventional practice

in Japan To be precise, the symbolic value of English, the 1st level order, in the nontrivial

sense becomes a kind of semiotic resource for advertisers to construct modern identity for

Japanese young people by reaffirming essentialist beliefs of English there (i.e., the 2nd

level order in ethno-metapragmatic perspective) As far as the conclusive finding of

Haarmann is concerned, the 3rd level order, the indexical form of English contextualized in

Japanese commercials, is a normative reproduction through intertextual acceptability

Only a minority of social functions [of English use] could be labeled as a

“fashionable use of English”, whereas most reflect conventional standards of language use which have a tradition of many decades (Haarmann 1986: 108)

Haarmann further asserts that this is a special Japanese way of exploiting English instead

of reflecting the influence of American culture as it might be at first sight Developed from

this, the use of English there can no longer be simply thought of as a symbol indexing

fashion, but a universally accepted social practice having long been implanted in the heads

of Japanese local people Arguably it is this particular facet of the Japanese society that, in

turn, prescribes advertisers’ practice of English insertion into Japanese advertising to

replicate and consolidate it To put it another way, the common beliefs of English are part

of “knowledge base” (Fairclough 1989: 38) that normally guides the use of English and its

evaluation in the Japanese context English is exploited to largely maintain and represent

social structures and privileged values that are naturalized in such a way to legitimize

social ideologies of Japan and perpetuate social structures there

Return to one of the previous arguments for a moment We saw the fallacy to both

reify the bilingual phenomenon into stable, top-down causal relations and to preclude the

possibility of self-reinvention of English, when appropriated, through ideological

transformation, overriding, and resistance by a higher-order indexical form The diversity

of ways in which advertisers of local may creatively seek to negotiate the English

language in a gesture of defiance and self-assertion deserve another careful consideration,

if treating the nation-state as an individual social actor in the world system This makes a

move more generally from the position of this language practice as both reflective and

constructive of a society’s social structures toward the capacity of the nation-state to

structure and shape it for securing or challenging interests at stake in the broader context

of the world (cf Blommaert 2005) Then, the research topic of bilingualism in advertising

is suggestively situated also on how this language practice appears to naturalize particular

ways of defining social relations and realize a political stance between and across

nation-states

Given the fact that bilingualism in advertising fundamentally is an issue of power

relations and ideological functions, identities constructed and (re)presented in the textual

form of bilingual advertising become the consequence of cultural practices of bilingualism

and socialization Consequently, the central task of identity study in bilingual advertising

becomes to consider if linguistic and social norms are reproduced or produced in this

process, which, in turn, is motivated to reveal “how these norms are apprehended,

accepted, resisted and subverted by individual actors [here also individual nations] and

what their relation is to the construction of identity” (Camerson 1997 [1990]: 62)

The immediate discussion in terms of indexical order to treat the use of English in

non-English-language advertising as a locally distinct social practice in terms of indexical

order suggests making a socio-critical study of identity constructed in the site of bilingual

advertising Without this socio-critical level of analysis, a piece of research that offers

only an understanding of the micro processes of identity construction without reference to

broader social, cultural and political patterns will run the risk of remaining theoretically

irrelevant and socially insignificant

In the field of bilingualism research, Referee Design seems promising to achieve

this aspect of analysis But Referee Design, as Coupland points out, “weighted the scales

too heavily in favor of recipiency” (2007: 80) -it doesn’t introduce into bilingual practices

an element of ideologically governed advertiser agency Given its analytical focus on the

“technique” aspects of the sequential organization of turn-taking, Conversation Approach,

too, cannot address the wider social, cultural and political contexts and their relations to

bilingual practices Clearly mobilizing social indexicality, the Markedness Model neglects

the intersection between the active process of marking and “an established socially

indexical meaning of a code, exploiting, undercutting or amplifying” (Woolard 2006: 81)

In addition, all these traditional approaches, as noted earlier, cannot provide an

examination of the complex interactions involving constitutive elements of a given

advertisement All in all, in the field of bilingualism there is no method available that

would be analytically powerful and productive to make a socio-critical inquiry of identity

construction in the site of bilingual advertising

The notion of indexical order is helpful to capture “the semiotic plenitude” of

code-switching behavior and language ideologies at work (Silverstein 1996: 293)

However, its analysis focuses on the mediated, instead of interactional, process whereby

naturalized associations between an indexical form and a sociocultural style are used to

promote specific language ideologies With indexical order, it is still insufficient to

provide an explanatory account of the relationship between English usage and identity

construction through an investigation into the interactions between English, the native

language and other constitutive elements

3.1.4 CDA as the theoretical and analytical framework

Because of its conceiving discourse as a social phenomenon and seeking to analyze

discourse on the social-theoretical grounds, CDA in this respect seems most significantly

apposite for the present purpose Drawing upon critics of Fairclough (1992, 2003, with

Chouliaraki 1999) and van Dijk (1993), I identify the following reasons for this study to

adopt CDA as its approach to identity

First and foremost, CDA is consistent with the general view of metalanguage as a broad sociolinguistic category and a site of much ideological practice that social actors do

through their representations of and manifested attitudes to language (Jaworski, Coupland

& Galasinski 2004) Language use in CDA is thought of as constitutive both in

conventional ways which help to reproduce and maintain existing social identities,

relations and systems of knowledge and belief, and in creative ways which help to

transform them With regard to identity, CDA claims that identity is far from being unitary

and pre-existent, but constructed and conveyed through discourse within networks of

social practices (Fairclough 1992: 137) By taking the position of discourse as always

historically and socially grounded, CDA attends to heterogeneous elements in discussing

the discursive construction of identity Largely motivated by its commitment to bringing

about social change and social justice (e.g., Wodak & Meyer 2001: 10; Lazar 2007: 141),

it also emphatically stresses the reflexivity of practice in late modernity that heightens the

possibilities of identity transformation (e.g., Fairclough 1992; Chouliaraki & Fairclough

1999) Customarily grounding their views of linguistic (semiotic in general) reflexivity on

the work of Giddens (1991), Chouliaraki and Fairclough for instance state explicitly:

Late modernity is characterized by an enhanced reflexivity (for example, in the

construction of identities) which is in part linguistic reflexivity -awareness about

language which is self-consciously applied in interventions to change social life (including one’s own identity) As commodities become increasingly cultural in nature they correspondingly become increasingly semiotic and linguistic, and

language becomes commodified, subject to economically motivated processes of

intervention and design (which entail linguistic reflexivity) (Chouliaraki & Fairclough 1999: 83, italics original)1

Usually CDA pays more attention to “‘top-down’ relations of dominance than to

‘bottom-up’ relations of resistance, compliance and acceptance” (van Dijk 1993: 250) But

among recent works of CDA (e.g., Blommaert 2005; Bucholtz 2001; Flowerdew 1997,

2008; Pennycook 2001; Lazar 2007), there is a move toward an awareness of resistance of

the less powerful in the face of the powerful, charting the range of broad implications for

CDA For instance, in his study about the transition of Romanian Higher Education in the

face of globalization, Fairclough provides us with an ample evidence of strategic struggle

of the recontextualizing context, suggesting this as the consequence of “various

compromised and accommodations” (2007: 43)

Last but certainly not least, discourse in CDA is taken to be instantiated in a range

of semiotic modalities including language, visual image, layout, sound, and gesture

(Fairclough 1995a: 4; Chouliaraki & Fairclough 1999: 50-51) In practice studies such as

Caldas-Coulthard (2003), Chouliaraki (2006) and Lazar (2000), CDA does no longer tend

to privilege one semiotic form over another in the analysis of semiotic formation of

discourse to (re)present the world, identities, and social relations Regardless of this, CDA

on the whole is still a linguistically-oriented kind of discourse analysis This analytical gap

and other potential, as we shall see later, can be valuably complemented and improved by

incorporating insights drawn from notions and theories of cognitive linguistics

Despite these qualities, CDA is not free from any critique if considering its aim for

demystifying and emancipatory effects, thereby enhancing human understanding and

1

Toolan (1997) even opts for a prescriptive stance: CDA should make proposals for change and suggest corrections to particular discourses

knowledge In the preceding chapter, we have noted the likelihood for in-between

identities to be constructed and (re)presented even in a single bilingual advertisement But

the discussion is concerned not so much with the extent to which the commonalities the

dual discourses share, but with the recognition of their divergent aspects and their varying

degree of potential influence on the final formation of in-betweens Within CDA it

therefore demands of an exploration and explanation of how “disproportionate

coexistence” (Lazar 2000: 395) of dual discourses produces the new form of in-betweens

This requirement naturally gives rise to the need of a close examination into the different

degrees of individual contributions by the dual discourses to the formation of such a

hybrid identity In order to make CDA’s analysis as reasonable and convincing as possible,

Chilton (2005a) recently asserts what goes on inside people’s heads must be a prime

concern of CDA practitioners2 As a matter of fact, there is a scarcity of cognitive evidence

to support analytical claims by CDA, and the primary goal for demystifying effects is

often neglected in Chilton’s (2005a) position This analytical challenge, I suggest, can be

largely resolved through making a fruitful exploration into the complexity and dynamics

of mental processes of identity formation in relation to linguistic and semiotic practice A

cognitive perspective of identity is believed to explore and explain much more deeply how

identities are developed and formed throughout the interactions between and across all

meaningful elements including English

Attention now is primarily shifted to the argument for a cognitive perspective to

be drawn upon and incorporated into the socio-critical framework for the study of identity

in relation to the use of English in non-English-language advertising In the next section,

discussion develops to enrich and reinforce the proposal of integrating a cognitive

2

Lukes (2007) pushes the matter to an even greater extreme, stressing priority to be given

to the cognitive dimension of discourse analysis In his words, “The construction of discourse is above all the construction of a conceptual discourse space (cf Fauconnier

1997; Werth 1999) -thus, a successful critical analysis of discourse first and foremost

needs to highlight the conceptual patterns underlying the texts subject to scrutiny” (Lukes

perspective into CDA

3.2 Code-Mixing as a Persuasive Means

Constructive processes of identity in advertising are normally multifaceted, combining

cognitive and emotional dimensions with discursive one Based on this recognition, the

focus of this section is now moved to discuss and explain the interrelation among the use

of English, identity, and persuasion Three issues are to be discussed and elaborated in

detail -the nature of persuasion in consumer society, the use of English as a rational act,

and the connection of English mixing to micro- or local-level conceptual manipulation and

persuasion

3.2.1 The nature of persuasion

Before proceeding, one common issue of persuasion ought to be cleared up Persuasion,

according to Ostman (2005), is inherently implicit in the contemporary time This is the

truth for advertising in particular In consumer society, advertisements usually infusing

products with cultural and psychological appeal impinge on more particular dimensions of

target audiences’ sense of identity, orientation, and purpose In advertising communication,

identity among others has become a set of recourses for producing persuasive effects

(Widdicombe 1998) And to construct an identity with special form and meaning that

target audiences have or desire for is the goal advertisers as persuaders usually work hard

to pursue To study persuasion processes in advertising is, so to speak, to study the

processes of constructing favorable identities and values that target audiences have or

aspire to

The embracing of the goal-bearing persuasion view, notably, is in conflict with the

traditional idea seeing advertisements as located separately either at sites of “production”

or “reception” This development significantly enables us to adopt a view of authorship on

the part of advertisers encompassing either processes of production or reception

conventionally as an independent aspect of meaning construction As such, the focus of

investigation into the discursive construction of identity amply shifts to advertiser agency

and its interaction with target audiences in this complex process3, a point logically

congruent with the political intent behind CDA

Neuman, Bekerman and Kaplan explain that “acts of persuasion should be

considered as involving rhetorical mediating processes that pave way for successful

persuasion” (2002: 94) The notion of persuasion, here, is used to describe how advertisers

by relying upon the practice of code-mixing appeal to the aspirations and desires of target

audiences by constructing and presenting a favorable image or identity in the form of

advertising texts An interrelation between code-mixing, identity, and function is the point

this study especially wants to stress To make it more pointed, an exploration into the

cognitive dimension of identity is primarily premised by the understanding of

communicative functions of code-mixing; or in Nuyts’s words, “being concerned with the

functional dimension of language is epistemologically antecedent to being concerned with

the cognitive dimension” (2004: 136)

3.2.2 Code-mixing as a rational act

In his discussion of pragmatic and discourse functions of the translinguistic code-mixing

under scrutiny, Bhatia (1992), among a few others, makes the point that the ultimate

promotional goal of advertising is one of the main reasons accounting for advertisers’

practice of English mixing4 Bhatia states in this way:

3

Though, I offer a word of caution: this is not to deny the agency of target audiences to resist persuasion, and the likely cultural barriers for them to correctly understand particular appeals in relation to novel cultures indexed by the English language Yet, this is out of the scope in this context, which merely aims at quantifying how elements of the English language are exploited to stimulate the construction of identities for persuasion

Language mixing in advertising must satisfying the innovative and creative needs

of advertisement writers to create the desired effects of naturalness and persuasion

in their language, since there is too much at stake with respect to economic and linguistic (i.e mutual intelligibility) losses

(Bhatia 1992: 196, see also Bhatia & Ritchie 2004: 518)

This line cannot be more apparent in suggesting that the bilingual practice in advertising

presumably is the consequence of rational consideration on the part of advertisers Ample

evidence of this argument can be readily found in the practice of code-switching in

bilingual conversation where individual choices of language are generally grounded in

each speaker’s perception of the relative costs and rewards of one choice over another

The concept of “costs and rewards” in the Markedness model (Myers-Scotton

1993, 1998; Myers-Scotton & Bolonyai 2001)is a useful construct for describing the gain

or loss of choosing one option over others in advertising communication In a simple

fashion, the model is a speaker-oriented model that takes code-switching as being at the

service of individuals’ intentions, which are the basis of all communicative meaning

Within this model it routinely takes for granted that a speaker intends something with his

or her switch (e.g., allusions to “us” or “them”), and that this intention is encoded in the

switch and can be inferred by the listener For example, Myers-Scotton asserts that “For

speakers, switching is a tool, a means of doing something For the listener switching is an

index, a symbol of the speaker’s intention” (1988: 156) That is to confess that a silent

debate, in Bakhtin’s (1986) term, a kind of “inner speech” weighing up the pros and cons

inside the heads of switchers themselves does occur prior to the very act of switching

The relevance of the Markedness model to the present purpose in this point would

be readily developed as follows In advertising, the decision to use more than one language

as well as specific choices of words is subject to careful planning, editing, and staging

Advertisers monitor and gauge their choice of languages based on the sometimes

increasing the persuasiveness of non-English-language advertising But empirical studies

that have proved it are not rare (e.g., Luna & Peracchio 2001, 2005; van Meurs et al 2007)

immediately obvious and sometimes estimated and inferred reactions of target audiences

Since an advertiser has to consider all relevant situated factors or evidence for maximal

rewards when deciding to insert an English word or expression, his or her choice of

English and structural practice of code-mixing internally congruent with and motivated by

persuasive intention is anticipatively rational

In spite of the model’s emphasis on the interrelation between switches and

speakers’ intention, an idea could still be developed of its connection to the mentalist

perspective of the translinguistic code-mixing under discussion Specifically, the model is

tremendously constructive in setting up the connection, on the one hand, with advertisers’

mental representation of information encoded in and through the use of English, and on

the other, with that of its persuasive effects as presumed on target audiences to which the

bilingual practice is inherently connected In other words, the metaconscious control of

English usage is connected not to the simple inspection of smooth mental operation but to

direct monitoring and voluntary supervision The use of English has become the

mediational means to monitor, regulate, and plan information flow at least in locally

situated English-situated message

This leads to the next point I want to underline In order to achieve the desired

effects through this language practice, relevant cognitive processing underlying automatic

comprehension of code-mixing on the part of target audiences must be beforehand

carefully gauged or simulated in the mind of advertisers themselves Ensink remarks

similarly in writing:

Expectations thus have both cognitive and social effects The cognitive effect is that perceptions do not need to be built up completely, but that perceptions partly may be filled by expected perceptions And since people expect each other to interpret that way, they may mutually suppose -when engaged in interaction -that their interactional contributions will be fitted in some frame so as to make fully explicit behavior unnecessary (Ensink 2003: 65-66)

The productive aspect of cognitive processing, or in other words, interpretive hypothesis,