Why People Codeswitch

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Image source: No Film School





Codeswitching describes the act of switching between one language or one language variety and another when communicating with other people in a conversation or written/printed text (McCormick, 2012, pp263-4). Having said that, in our increasingly multiethnic, multicultural world, codeswitching may also involve alternating and switching between different cultures or concepts as people move through day to day encounters. Thus codeswitching can be used in conversation, but not limited to, with others who understand or form a part of the shared culture or geographical region. Codeswitching is a phenomenon which occurs either by deliberately or inadvertently choosing a communication style based on the other people being dealt with; the fundamental word being ‘choosing’. People, whether deliberately or unconsciously, choose to use codeswitching as a tool to their advantage for a great many reasons “...it is a natural and powerful communicative feature...” (Crystal, 2006, p. 415). 

The world we live in today has extremely diverse language and cultural settings in almost all countries globally. With that in mind it is evident that an integrated repertoire of varying forms of communication are in use within each geographic boundary, the actual repertoire itself consisting of elements of all forms of the community within. This is due to the set of languages, distinguishable code varieties, and lexical values that they are able to draw upon in order to communicate. Codeswitchings’ integrated repertoire well established and advances the capability of speakers to convey information to its full potential and meaning within that certain speech community. This notion is enhanced in some bilingual communities by having “...a long-established history of prolific linguistic borrowing and codeswitching.” (McCormick, , 2012, p. 270). 

Bilingual people determine which choice of language to communicate in, in some cases, to project a certain aspect of their identity. . It is known for a person to choose to speak in a specific language in order to gain credibility merely for using said language, for example using English to take advantage of the prestigious nature associated with it. As Crystal puts it “...we hear it widely spoken in public as the language of power and prestige.” (Crystal, 2004, p. 6). 

Cultural and geographical concept identity is a social function of codeswitching. Should a speaker lack oral capabilities in accordance with his or her surroundings, they can unintentionally appear rude, ignorant or even strange. On the other hand, when considering concepts of identity, a speaker may decide to deliberately switch codes to confirm their identity within a group. The switch can be as simple as “Switching to a minority language...” (Crystal, 2006, p. 414) which helps identify bilingualism or, even wider, multicultural backgrounds which in turn can strengthen solidarity within a group. Advantages of codeswitching in this manner range from building up a rapport, to signalling a sense of affiliated acceptance. 

On the most part multilingual codeswitching is commonly the result of insufficiencies in their own language competencies, therefore codeswitching in itself avoids misunderstanding or helps convey a thought. Also, general translation is not always easy, especially “...when the speaker is upset, tired, or otherwise distracted.” (Crystal, 2006, p. 414), but at the same time the highest level of linguistic competency is not absolutely necessary. Some people “...feel it’s enough to know academic English for academic purposes and, say, Tamil or Hindi for home relationships.” (The Open University, 2012, DVD1, Clip 1.6.5 ‘Researching codeswitching: a personal journey’). Closely related to this, a speaker expressing a concept which has no direct equivalent in the current spoken language may cause the need to switch intrasententially. Wider still, cultural differences within a group may require language switches because the value, function or status of some words do not match up. 

Social and geographical varieties of language code such as accents and dialects show that language is far from homogeneous. Independent views and judgements of said varieties allow the speaker to connect specific values to different codes, whether they be accents or dialectal, allowing the codes to be far more appropriate in their given context. Codeswitching in this way enables the speaker to fit in, it reduces the feeling of being an outsider and can even signal a change in point of view. Very often, accent switching commonly enables a level of humour to be brought into conversation. Another reason for this type of switch may be to bring someone into the discussion. This also can be a vehicle to show empathy within a group or in individual circumstances. 

Codeswitching can be used to alleviate or reinforce any point of the speaker’s choosing. Within politics, for example, switching can be as important as campaign slogans. Politicians seek to gain support from a far more than one group of people across their country, therefore they need to seek ways to relate to as many of them as possible. Thus codeswitching is necessary in this case, whether that change be via accent, or as menial as choice of word. Notably, President Obama frequently uses switching to its full advantage and has seen great success, which has helped during and after his campaign, as described in Slate Magazine “Reid was praising Obama for one of the oldest political skills there is: the ability to adjust one's speech, and one's mannerisms, to different audiences.” (Slate, 2010). 

Code switching is a phenomenon which is highly sophisticated as a linguistic tool and one that almost all bilingual and multilingual people use without conscious thought. There are always reasons for codeswitching, which can be as subtle as change of style, or as broad as switching language for personal gain, whatever that may be. Multilingual speakers use codeswitching to convey sophisticated and low key distinctions in their communication and it is a widespread and everyday phenomenon worldwide, testament to the vastly intriguing diversity of human communication.







Bibliography

Crystal, D. (2004) The Stories of English, London, Penguin Books.Crystal, D. (2006) How Language Works, London, Penguin Books.

Smith, J. (2012) ‘English and Englishes’ in Sergeant, P and Swann, J. (eds) English in the World: History, Diversity, Change, Abingdon, Routledge/Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 270.

Slate (magazine) (2010) Code Black [Online]. Available at http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2010/01/code_black.html (Accessed 11 February 2022).

The Open University (2012) ‘DVD 1: English in the World’ [DVD], U214 Worlds of English. Milton Keynes, The Open University.


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