English loanwords and code-switching on the Greek television : the effects and the attitude of the public
Abstract
This thesis investigates the linguistic phenomena of code-switching and English loanword use on Greek television and analyzes the attitudes of the Greek public toward this linguistic behaviour. With regard to the first part of the project, recorded data from the Greek television which include occurrences of English language use are presented and examined under a sociolinguistic perspective. This examination lends support to the existence of these language contact phenomena and explains the social forces that lead speakers to the use of English lexical items. As far as the second part is concerned, the primarily age-based statistical analysis of 400 questionnaires renders the attitudes of the public towards the use of English loanwords on television and by the media in general and on the possible influence these linguistic blends can cause to the Greek language and its future. The results reveal that older age participants are more negative toward loanword use and that the majority of all participants wish for such phenomena to be reduced.