Code-Switching Definition: 5 Reasons People Code-Switch

The term code-switching refers to a person changing languages or dialects throughout a single conversation and sometimes even over the course of a single sentence.

This sociolinguistic concept—sometimes also referred to as “code-mixing”—applies to both monolingual and bilingual speakers. Monolingual speakers might switch between different language varieties or dialects. For example, a Black woman might alternate between African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and a standard English accent. In a bilingual sense, a traveler might use both English and Spanish to convey a point while traveling in Mexico.

Entirely new varieties of speech have emerged from rampant code-switching over the years. People who speak a combination of Hindi and English are now said to be speaking “Hinglish”; Spanish and English speakers might refer to their spoken dialects as “Spanglish.”

Code-switching allows people to express themselves in the way they see fit in any given scenario. For instance, in an English-dominant culture, immigrants might speak exclusively in English to strangers but revert to a mixture of English and their native language around family, friends, and other members of their speech community.

Different types of code-switching can occur depending on the specific situations. Sometimes code-switching is empowering and allows people to express their authentic selves—a person might revert to a native tongue when they feel comfortable. Other times, it indicates an uneven power dynamic—a person might take on the language or accent of an entrenched power group so they aren’t singled out or thought of as a lesser-than.

People code-switch for a variety of different reasons. Here are just five examples of why someone may code-switch while speaking:

1. 1. Code-switching allows for privacy. Speaking in a foreign language can mask what you’re saying to people who do not speak the same language. Consider a group of high school students all taking the same French class. Suppose they want to keep a secret about a surprise they’re planning for the neighboring Spanish class. By switching from their shared native tongue to French while around the Spanish students, they can keep them unaware of their plans.
2. 2. Code-switching exists within a power dynamic. Code-switching can be a sign of an in-group having implicit or explicit power over an out-group. In the United States, many marginalized groups felt they had to adopt the accents, dialects, and languages of the dominant social group to achieve a semblance of equivalence and receive attribution and respect.
3. 3. Code-switching happens naturally. For many multilingual speakers, code-switching happens at a subconscious level of cognition. They may not even realize they’re exchanging pronouns, verbs, and the like from one language to the next. Sometimes, this sort of code-switching happens in a rapid-fire way—for example, intersentential switching happens between sentences while intrasentential switching happens within the sentences themselves. As an additional example, people of all groups often refrain from the use of slang in professional settings but will speak in a more free-flowing vernacular in casual environments.
4. 4. Code-switching helps to find the right words. Second-language learners might code-switch to their native tongue since they have a greater vocabulary in their primary language. If an Arabic speaker starts to learn English, they might struggle to know what the right word or phrase is to express what they mean in English. In this scenario, they might start off speaking in English and then drift back into Arabic as they try to express their thoughts.
5. 5. Code-switching increases solidarity. Code-switching helps people increase bonds between speech communities. For example, New York is home to many different linguistic and dialectical enclaves. For residents there to be able to code-switch depending on where they are in the city allows them to express themselves in whichever way seems most fitting, putting the other speaker at ease and allowing them to speak in the language they know best.

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