THE USE OF CODE-MIXING IN STUDENTS' DAILY CONVERSATIONS AT UNIVERSITY: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY

Abstrak

This study investigates the phenomenon of code-mixing in the daily conversations of university students within the multilingual academic environment of Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara (UINSU), Medan. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach grounded in sociolinguistic theoretical frameworks, this research aims to identify the specific types of code-mixing used, the contextual reasons for its occurrence, and the social perceptions of students regarding this linguistic practice. Data were gathered qualitatively through a rapid three-day fieldwork process, utilizing an open-ended survey and semi-structured interviews with 35 college peers from the English Education department. The findings reveal that students predominantly employ intra-sentential code-mixing (the insertion of English words or phrases into Indonesian syntactic structures), followed by intra-lexical code-mixing. The primary motivations driving this practice include the necessity of filling lexical gaps for academic terminology, the psychological desire to project a modern or educated identity, group solidarity, and subconscious habit. The study concludes that code-mixing functions as an active communicative strategy that enriches students' linguistic repertoires rather than a sign of language deficit.