An Analysis of Chinese Young People’s Code-Switching in Online Communication from the Perspective of Pragmatic Identity Theory

Abstract

Existing studies on code-switching have mostly focused on the study of linguistic features and social functions, and few studies have paid attention to the relationship between the use of code-switching and identity construction and psychological states in different contexts. Based on Pragmatic Identity Theory, taking Wechat moments as an example, this study adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to explore Chinese young people’s use of code-switching to construct multiple pragmatic identities in different contexts and their underlying psychological motivations. By analyzing 216 pieces of the Wechat moments’ data, it is found that code-switching mainly fulfills the three functions of academic communication, hobby exchange and daily sharing. The study found that with strategic code-switching, Chinese young people constructed five non-conventional pragmatic identities in Wechat moments: academic help-seekers, hobby enthusiasts, hobby critics, life sharers and high-end sharers. This study analyzes the role of code-switching in pragmatic identity construction of Chinese young people, thus offering a new research perspective for understanding the social psychology and identity construction of contemporary youth.