English - Trigedasleng Code-Switching in the CW Series "The 100"

Abstract

In the American TV series The 100, code-switching occurs between two languages: English and Trigedasleng. Trigedasleng is a constructed language created by David J. Peterson serving as the native language of the people of the Grounders that would have evolved from English over the course of about a century. Such people, who are also bilingual in English, as well as other non-native Trigedasleng speaking characters use one language or the other systematically throughout the series.

The present article deals with the issue of establishing the characters' reasons or motivations for such language alternation taking into account the diverse situations, contexts and functions for which each linguistic code is used. To meet this objective, a sample of six episodes issued from seasons 2 and 3 of the series have been analyzed using the technique of observation.

Data shows that the interaction between the characters, determined by the developer and screenwriters of the series, use both languages indistinctively to evidence the linguistic resourcefulness of the speakers as well as to provoke different reactions in the TV audience. Standing out among the motivations for code-switching, solidarity with the participants and the ethnic and cultural identity of the characters have been observed.