Abstract:
Code-mixing is a common linguistic phenomenon observed in bilingual or
multilingual contexts. It is commonly used in Sri Lanka by mixing Sinhala and
English. This study aims to discover the most frequently used code-mixing
pattern in Sri Lankan bilingual Television (TV) advertisements. Hence, the
patterns in which code-mixing occurs in bilingual TV advertisements were
examined. This study employed a qualitative approach. Accordingly, twenty
Sri Lankan bilingual TV advertisements, broadcast during prime hours in
Hiru, Derana and Sirasa TV channels were randomly selected as research
samples. Then, the data were qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis
methodology. Subsequently, the collected data were categorized into six
themes. The findings reveal that Nominalization, Hybridization, Nativization,
Alternation, Internal mixing of words, and Coinage were six code-mixing
patterns occurring in the selected advertisements. The findings inferred that
Hybridization is the most frequently used code-mixing pattern in Sri Lankan
Bilingual TV advertisements. Moreover, our findings imply that code-mixing
is a common phenomenon used by creative writers in TV advertisements to
reach a wider audience. It shows how English exerts its power on the national
language of Sri Lanka. Such forms of code-mixing have become extremely
natural in the Sri Lankan context where both Sinhala and English co-exist.
