Code-Switching in Multilingual Societies: A Deep Dive
Code-Switching in Multilingual Societies
A further feature of multilingual societies is code-switching: the relatively rapid switching from one language (code) to another. Switching may occur in a number of guises, from the occasional lexical item inserted into a largely monolingual text (where the matrix text can be either L1 or L2) to alternating clauses. The attested incidence of switching is wide, but it is frequently derided by both speakers and listeners (when made aware of it) as indicative of “semilingualism”. The claim that speakers who use switching or mixing speak neither language well is palpably untrue. Both Cook (1991) and Bokamba (1989) claim that switching indicates not only proficiency in both languages but often to a high level.
Code-Switching vs. Code-Mixing
Bokamba makes the useful distinction between code-switching (at the intersentential level) and code-mixing (at the intrasentential level) and points out that to successfully code-mix shows an even higher level of linguistic sophistication since it necessitates simultaneous processing of the rules of both languages and relating them to each other. Both code-switching and code-mixing take place between speakers at many levels, frequently among those perfectly capable of making themselves understood in either code. It has been observed that at a level of near equilingualism, switching may be interpreted by some listeners as carrying a social message.
Social Perceptions of Code-Switching
When questioned about the use of English in Malta, a class of 16 and 17-year-old students reported that it was not the use of English (the official medium of instruction in Maltese Secondary Schools) itself that was felt to indicate snobbery, but rather the constant mixing of it with Maltese, giving rise to the so-called “Sliema English.” They perceived this as a desire to demonstrate social superiority. Baugh, (1978) Ure, McArthur (1993) catalogues many examples of this linguistic phenomenon, pointing out that speakers who comfortably use two languages in their daily lives have a choice of four systems rather than two:
- A
- B
- AB (where A is the matrix)
- BA (where B is the matrix)
As he points out, these bilinguals will be uncertain in which language the desired expression will emerge when talking to other bilinguals. As Ure indicates, their register range is extended to incorporate both codes. However, when talking to speakers whom they do not perceive as also bilingual, they will normally stay within the bounds of the interlocutor’s chosen code. It is not hard to imagine that to a less skilled speaker, this kind of linguistic behavior, especially when overheard in a public place, could appear as exclusive and unnatural, and thus performed for some special effect.
Situations Where Code-Switching Occurs
Code-switching occurs in a number of situations:
- Adapting to Social Situations: When people alter their speech and behavior to fit into a different social situation. The most common changes involve vocabulary, levels of casualness or formality, types of clothing, and facial and hand gestures. For example, an African American student who speaks Standard English at school might speak African American Vernacular English at home and AAVE with swear words with friends.
- Language Acquisition: A family that has recently immigrated to a country where a different language is spoken may switch back and forth between that language and their mother tongue while learning the new language.
- Lack of Direct Translation: When living in a different country, they have no relevant translation of a word, expression, or concept, like using lavash in an English-speaking community. A person from a different culture may switch back to their mother tongue to explain something.
- Cultural Identity: To help an ethnic minority group retain a sense of cultural identity and thus differentiate themselves from society at large.
- Lingua Franca Contexts: In countries such as India, where English is a lingua franca (or working language, a bridge language is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues), educated people, whose first language is a language other than English but who are practically fluent in English, often insert English words, phrases, or sentences into their conversation (dialects jokingly referred to as Hinglish, Banglish, etc.).
- Intralingual Variation: It can occur within a particular language. For example, young people do not use the same words or phrases when speaking to a superior (a teacher, an elder, etc.) as they would use when speaking with their friends in an informal atmosphere.