Code switching and code mixing

Bilinguals often switch between their two languages in the middle of a conversation. These code-switches can take place between or even within sentences, involving phrases or words or even parts of words. The switching of words is the beginning of borrowing, which occurs when the new word becomes more or less integrated into the second language. One bilingual individual using a word from language A in language B is a case of switching, but when many people do, even speakers of B who don't know A are likely to pick it up. At this stage, especially if the pronunciation and morphology have been adapted, we can say the word has been borrowed.

There are various kinds of code switching. Immigrants often use many words from their new language in their old language, because many of the people they speak to know both languages. In situations like this, bilinguals often develop a mixed code. In such a case, we might want to distinguish between code switching of the two languages and the mixed variety. The history of English shows many such mixed codes, as first Danish and later Norman words were added by bilinguals. The various contemporary Englishes, such as Jamaican English or New Zealand English, can he seen as mixed codes, with the addition of local lexicon as their most obvious feature.

For a bilingual, shifting for convenience (choosing the available word or phrase on the basis of easy availability) is commonly related to topic. Showing the effect of domain differences, a speaker's vocabulary will develop differentially for different topics in the two languages. Thus, speakers of a language who have received advanced education in a professional field in a second language will usually not have the terms in their native language. Scientists trained in an English-speaking country giving university lectures in their own language often mix in English words or even switch to English phrases and sentences.

More interesting effects are achievable by shifts concerned with role-relationships. It is important to note that each of a bilingual's languages is likely to be associated not just with topics and places, but also with identities and roles associated with them, in the midst of speaking about work matters in Language A, a sentence or two in Language B will be able to show that the two speakers are not just fellow-employees but also fellow members of an ethnic group. The use of tags and expressions from Language B while speaking Language A enables a speaker to make this kind of identity claim easily. This kind of shift, called metaphorical switching, is a powerful mechanism for signaling social attitudes or claiming group membership or solidarity.

The selection of a language by a bilingual, especially when speaking to another bilingual, carries a wealth of social meaning. Each language becomes a virtual guise for the bilingual speaker, who can change identity as easily as changing a hat, and can use 1 language choice as a way of negotiating social relations with an interlocutor.

The bilingual individual thus provides a rich field for sociolinguistic study. A full understanding of bilingualism, however, depends on a deeper understanding of the nature of the speech communities in which they operate.

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