Code switching
Code means a dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion.
Code means a system used for communication between two or more parties. This
implies one speaker can have more codes. People may switch from one code to
another or to mix codes even within sometimes very short utterances and thereby
create a new code in a process known as code-switching.
Code-switching is a linguistic strategy of bilingual or multilingual speakers that is
used to make switches between two or more languages depending on audience,
setting and purpose. It can be called the “juxtaposition within the same speech
exchange of passages of speech belonging to two different grammatical systems
or sub-systems” (Gumperz, 1982, p.59) According to Yua (1997), within a single
communicative exchange the use of more than one language is called code-
switching. According to Titone (1991), “Code-switching may take a variety of
forms: a set of utterances in one language is followed by a set of utterances in the
other, one single utterance in one language is followed by one single utterance in
the other”.
According to Wardhaugh (1992), there are two types of
switching:
1. Situational = when the languages used change according to the situations the
speakers find themselves in
2. Metaphorical= a change of topic requires a change of code
Code-switching can arise from individual choice or can be used as a major identity
marker for a group of speakers who must deal with more than one language in
their common pursuits.
According to Gal (1988), code-switching is a conversational
strategy that is used for following purposes:
To establish, cross or destroy group boundaries
To create, evoke or change interpersonal relations with their rights and
obligations