Code Switching
Definitions:
The practice of moving back and forth
between two languages or between two dialects or registers of the same language. Code switching
(CS) occurs far more often in conversation than in writing (Richard
Nordquist).
Heather Coffey states that code-switching is the practice of moving
between variations of languages in different contexts. Everyone who speaks has
learned to code-switch depending on the situation and setting. In an
educational context, code-switching is defined as the practice of switching
between a primary and a secondary language or discourse.
In 1977, Carol Myers-Scotton and William
Ury identified code-switching as the “use of two or more linguistic varieties
in the same conversation or interaction.
Types
of code switching
The first type of code switching
described by Muysken (2000: 60-62) is termed “insertion”, and is characterised
by the insertion of a constituent from language B into a construction in
language A, where A is the matrix language. This type of code switching is
illustrated in (43), which is taken from Nortier’s (1990) Moroccan Arabic Dutch
code switching data.
Žib li-ya een glas water of zo.
(Get me a glass of water or something.)
(Nortier 1990: 131 in
Muysken 2000: 62)
A second type of code switching described by Muysken (2000: 96) is termed
“alternation”, and occurs where the two languages “remain relatively separate”,
for example, when the switch is at the periphery of the clause (Muysken 2000:
121). An example appears in (44), taken from Treffers-Daller’s (1994)
French-Dutch corpus.
Je dois je dois glisser daan vinger
hier.
(I have to insert my finger here.)
(Treffers-Daller
1994: 213 in Muysken 2000: 96)
The final type of code switching
described by Muysken (2000: 122) is termed “congruent lexicalisation”, and
occurs where the two languages share the grammatical structure of the sentence,
either partially or fully. According to Muysken (2000: 132, 152), this includes
instances of switching back and forth between the two languages, and is most common
between “related languages”. Congruent lexicalisation is illustrated by the Sranan-Dutch
example in (45), taken from Bolle (1994).
Wan heri gedeelte de ondro beheer fu
gewapende machten.
(One whole part is under the control of
armed forces.)
(Bolle 1994: 75 in
Muysken 2000: 139
Functions
"Code-switching performs several functions (Zentella, 1985). First,
people may use code-switching to hide fluency or memory problems in the second
language (but this accounts for about only 10 percent of code switches).
Second, code-switching is used to mark switching from informal situations
(using native languages) to formal situations (using second language). Third,
code-switching is used to exert control, especially between parents and
children. Fourth, code-switching is used to align speakers with others in
specific situations (e.g., defining oneself as a member of an ethnic group).
Code-switching also 'functions to announce specific identities, create certain
meanings, and facilitate particular interpersonal relationships' (Johnson,
2000, p. 184)." (William B. Gudykunst, Bridging Differences: Effective
Intergroup Communication, 4th ed. Sage, 2004)
Refferences
The
study of code switching. Retrieved
from
Nordquist.
R. Code Switching on About.com [on-line]
accesed on May, 6th 2012. Retrieved
from http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/codeswitchingterm.htm
Coffey. H. Code-Switching [on-line] accesed on May, 6th 2012. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4558
