“怎麼老是［吐大氣］”——台語語碼轉換於台灣醫學人文教育傳遞的意象值與語用功能探討

Based on Mandarin medical humanities lectures by three physicians, this study established a framework to quantify senses associated with code-switching into Taiwanese (CST), and analyzed their distribution pattern and pragmatic functions in the lectures. We have three main findings. ＂Neutral sense＂ associated with CST is the most common, followed by negative and positive senses (54.6%, 34.3%, 11.1%). A consistent pattern of more negative than positive sense occurs in the health, emotion, and general semantic domains. Consecutive CST clauses more frequently convey ＂reference to patients＂ or ＂quoted speech＂ from doctor-patient dyads than negative comments on a topic. Accordingly, for Taiwanese-speaking medical humanities educators in Southern Taiwan, Taiwanese is their core clinical language. CST achieves the same comprehensive functions as Mandarin and highlights the importance of medical education. The above refutes the general negative stereotypes associated with CST.