When Cultures and Languages Blend: Traditional and Modern Instances of Code-Switching and Other Language Mixing One of the most fascinating sociolinguistic phenomena in modern times is code-switching. This act occurs when a speaker or speakers switch from one dialect to another within a single conversation. It is similar to style-shifting, which involves a change in the level of formality between speakers (Curzan, 266-269). The complexity of social interaction requires language users to adapt to changing needs in conversation. Typical and atypical shifts in language usage are evident in daily life. A conversation between two coworkers might be drastically different from a conversation between a manager and a supervisor. A conversation between friends who share the same two languages will likely vary from a conversation between two monolingual friends. And a letter to someone who lives only a short distance away will probably be dissimilar from a letter written to someone in a different region, country, or continent from the writer. It is important to differentiate code-switching from the practices of borrowing and using loanwords. Such loaned or borrowed words are used by many speakers throughout a language, whereas code-switching happens in specific times and places. Code-switching can also be conscious or unconscious. While a word from a different language might be added for clarity, fluently bilingual speakers may switch between languages with little intention or purpose. Persons in multilingual communities tend to code-switch frequently and with little or no conscious effort. A code-switching speaker may simply speak the first word that comes to mind, regardless of which language provides the source. Code-switching is not a sign of linguistic deficiency, but rather a sign of linguistic richness. In conclusion, code-switching is a fascinating sociolinguistic phenomenon that occurs when speakers switch from one dialect to another within a single conversation. It is a complex process that requires language users to adapt to changing needs in conversation. While it can be conscious or unconscious, it is not a sign of linguistic deficiency, but rather a sign of linguistic richness. It is important for individuals to ascertain what is appropriate in a given context and how well listeners can adjust to the conventions in spoken discourse or writing. Works Cited Curzan, Anne and Adams, Michael. How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. Crystal, David. The English Language: A Guided Tour of the Language. London: Penguin Books, 2002. Macionis, John J. Society: The Basics. 8th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Person Prentice Hall, 2006. Johnson, Edward D. The Handbook of Good English. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1982. "McWord." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 13 November 2006. http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McWord. "U.S. Navy slang." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 14 November 2006. http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Navy_slang.
In Verhsawn Ashanti Young’s article titled, “Nah, We Straight: An argument Against Code Switching,” he makes his objectives clear as he argues against people Right to their own language. The author questions the advantage of standard American English as opposed to other types of English. He refers to those aspect as code switching, which he believes can lead to racist thinking. Code switching, according to Young, calls out for one way of speaking to be omitted in favor of others, based on one's rhetorical situations. The author points out that students are required to translate from Afro-American English or Spanglish to standard English and not the other way around, which is concerning. Youngs method to get around this segregation is the usage
As a result of many negative stereotypes associated with certain variations of English many students have adapted codeswitching. When this concept came up in the book it made me think about my own language. I realized that I code switch quite often between what is seen as Standard English and African American English or Ebonics. Usually with family or other friends that speak Ebonics I use that Ebonics to communicate, but when I am in school, in a
When people in todays society code-switch, we enhance our character and overall roundness to ourselves. There are instances where people code-switch to communicate with others in a different language, or we change our tone with certain groups of people. Speaking multiple languages in a household, can lead to a lot of code-switching because you can have that one relative who can’t speak english, so you become a “translator” to help them with daily tasks. Even though code-switching can happen with different languages, the most common code-switching is used when speaking to different groups of people. Talking to an adult would have a different type of tone, rather than speaking to one of your friends. Code-switching is used to help strengthen
When you are eating food, you have taste buds-which are sensitive. The taste buds are on your tongue, which then they send a message to the brain, where the brain receives it. This action tells you what is happening with your body. Looking at Richard Rodriguez And Bell Hooks essays, which they show the struggles that they went through during their time, when they were growing as a people. The ability to code-switch was a struggle for Rodriguez and Hooks, who came from a different discourse community, which the power of language had already perceived their identity. The term code switching means switching personalities among certain discourse communities, and the use of language to define us in every day life. We often face code switching in everyday life, but we must acknowledge- when it is happening. Having the ambition to overcome our struggles is already hard enough, even though it could be in school: work: among our own family. Doesn’t the power of language perceived our identity?
Many linguists define CS as “the use of two different languages or language within a single conversation or written text” (Benson, 2001). We are using the term in a much broader sense to highlight how a speaker may express themselves in conversation. For the purpose of our research we will describe the phenomenon of code-switching (CS) as “the practice of shifting languages you use or the way you express yourself in conversation” (NPR, 2013). CS expands across many cultures as there is code-switching between languages, dialects, race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. There are many factors that motivate a speaker to switch from one language, dialect, style, or register to another. Depending on the situation, a speaker may CS consciously
America is home for thousands of cultures and languages. Most people can speak at least two different languages either because of the environment and family or simply by taking another world language class in school. One of the advantages with knowing more than one language is that code-switching becomes a part of you and it happens naturally. In “‘ I Don’t ‘Code-Switch’ to Hide my Identity. I ‘Code-Switch’ to celebrate It,”’ Vaidehi Mujumdar states that code-switching is enriching and exciting based on her personal experience. In “learning How to Code-Switching: Humbling, But Necessary,” Eric Deggans claims that code-switching is valuable and necessary in everyday lifestyle and it is lot more than just being about cultural differences. If one were to put Deggans and
209). This seems to be a fairly common thing to do among the codeswitching community. The Meyers-Scotton article addresses this by saying codeswitching is more common in certain cultures and is “used to signal their perceptions or desires about group memberships.” This leads me to another example provided by Anh where she writes “There was one time my friend and I notice a hot guy walking towards us and we switched into Vietnamese: “Cậu ấy đẹp trai thế!” (Means he is so handsome!)” She said that in her culture they generally codeswitch when they want to discuss something without the non-native speakers knowing what they are saying. Aside from that alone, after interviewing my colleagues and reading their very detailed and specific examples as well as the examples provided in the two academic journals and the textbook this also seems to be a common thing for codeswitchers of any culture to do. It does not seem to matter what they are talking about or where they are in the world, if they want to discuss something with people near them that do not seem to speak their native language they will intentionally switch languages just to conceal their
Code switching can occur not only during social situations where the same language is spoken, but ethnicities may be different. Kumea Shorter-Gooden, co-author of “Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America,” and chief diversity officer at the University of Maryland argues that code switching is used for survival, stating that its roots date back to pre-antebellum slavery times. Modern examples include people of color in predominantly white cultures or women in male-dominated situations, have had to “quickly figure out ‘How do I manage?’ and read situations that ‘they weren’t set up for in the first place,’” (O’Neal). Caucasians, who may normally speak in Standard American English, can be perceived as racist if they use AAVE. This is because whites have not had to communicate using AAVE in order to survive in society, unlike African-Americans and other people of color that feel pressured to use SAE to fit into society. When Caucasian people use AAVE, it can sound forced or offensive. In contrast, African-Americans who use SAE may be perceived as more intelligent and better fitting into society if they code-switch from AAVE to SAE. Also, problems can arise in the classroom, where many young people who are competent in English and children who have not been sufficiently exposed to both languages (Pfaff). One mainstream example is trying to “sound white.” Speaking “proper,” or Standard American English, in black or ghetto areas can get you bullied (O’Neal). In contrast, sounding “black” in white places can make you feel “alienated and unheard,” (O’Neal). Rather than fulfilling a new role, code switching marks these conversational functions. In addition, code-switching research focuses usually on the code-switcher, but not how it influences the person, or persons, for whom the code switching is
Neuleib, Janice, Kathleen Shine Cain, and Stephen Ruffus, eds. Mercury Reader for English 101. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013 Print.
Code switching is a popular way of communication for people who fluently speak two languages. According to Carmen Fought, “code switching occurs in bilingual communities all over the world”(p. 2). Code switching happens almost effortlessly in conversation and can seem odd or entertaining to people outside of the conversation or someone who only speaks one language. What people might not understand is that people who use code switching aren 't using broken language, they are actually quite experienced. Fought also says: when two or more languages are used in a community, they tend to “influence each other”
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to Language. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson, 2007.
...ple: An Introduction For Learners Of English: Revised And Updated. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
When this happens, bilinguals are not coached in how to code switch, but instead, they rely on unconscious linguistic understanding in differentiating between what are tolerable and intolerable code switching usages. According to Auer (1989), factors such as cultural interaction, intercultural marriage, education, and colonization are some influences for code switching. Moreover, speakers may choose to alternate from one code to another, either to distinguish oneself, to show commonality with a social group, to discuss a certain topic, join in social happenstances, to impress and influence the audience or to express feelings and affections (Crystal, 1987). However, there has been a misconception in many people’s perception, that “code switching is bad”, “code switching creates confusion” and that “code switching will result in a language deficit where individuals would not be fluent in either language”.
Andrew Sampson states that total proscription of mother tongue is detrimental to some extent, suggesting that code switching of mother tongue and English, under a good strategy of control, is useful for academic needs and even communicating purposes by concluding, “The results of this study suggest that code-switching is not necessarily connected to learners’ ability level and rarely signals an unwillingness to communicate in L2, but rather serves communicative classroom functions such as expressing equivalence, discussing procedural concerns, floor holding, reiterating concepts, and forming group relationships” (302). Code-switching not only improves the learner’s proficiency in English, but also allows the students to learn. In most cases, English language is meant for English-speaking students’ at level L2 or L3. Therefore, teachers should help non-native English-speaking students to code-switch in their communications. Code switching would improve the learner’s ability to identify his or her mistakes and correct those mistakes while she or he continues to learn English. At the same time, if possible, the teachers might use code switching to illustrate particular concepts and subjects. In other words, the teachers themselves can use the learner’s L1 or any other language to explain concepts or offer examples on the subjects in the learner’s L1. However, the teachers should avoid using oversimplified English words and vocabularies. This is because such approach would not help the learner to perfect his or her English
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