Code- switching.... How does it work?

What does Code- switching reffer to?

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Code- switching is used in places who speak two or more than two languages because of two main reasons. The reasons to do that are when people in the same country have their mother tongue and their official language and when in one place are different cultures and languages to be used. However, there are some different rules to follow in code- switching. In this essay, all those points will be discussed.

 In the first case, people, in a determined country, use their mother tongue with closed relates and the official language for educational or business purposes. So, for example, a student from Gibraltar will speak Spanish with their friends and English with his teachers at school (Weston, D. 2017).  This is because in this city, English is the official language, so it should be used to everyone understand the information given in the classroom. Also, the used of English is a sign of respect in front of an authority.

On the other hand, the used of Spanish must be used with their relates as friends and family members. In this way, Spanish is seen in a less formal way (Weston, D. 2017). However, in the case of using Spanish with family members should be seeing closely. This is because if a member of the family should show authority in some situations, switches the language into English to show it.

In the second case, there are some places which have a variety of cultures and language from all over the world living there. So, when speakers of different languages get together, mix two or more languages to achieve a goal of communication. It is important to say that there is not difference talking about the frequency between men and women switching languages for different purposes but most of the time, men leader this code.

Sometimes, code- switching is kind of controversial because of each pattern that every culture has. So, some cultures are less polite than others, so people should pay closer attention about what is said and the way it is said. In addition, monolingual people think is not correct two mix languages in a single conversation but this happens because of lack information about code- switching.

Then, it is important to know how code- switching is used to avoid being judge by the ones who use that. So, there the matrix language or mother language provides the basis of communication meanwhile the embedded language provides some utterances from the other languages known by person.  There are six different functions of code- switching and three ways to use it properly.  


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 Functions:

ü  Directive function:  people switch the language to include or exclude the other people in the conversation.

ü  Expressive function: People include utterances of their mother tongue to show their identity.

ü  Referential function: People change the language because is difficult to explain something in one of the languages used.

ü  Phatic function: Repetition of a term in both languages to emphasizes it.

ü  Metacognitive function: People cite, comment or report something in another language.

ü  Poetic function: people say something in other language with humoristic or amusement purposes.

Ways:

Ø  Inter- sentential switching: A sentences switches from the entire or the entire close changes.

Ø  Intra- sentential switching: Clauses or boundaries are switched to another language.

Ø  Tag switching: A tag from one language change to another.


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Now, it will be exemplified functions and ways rewarding the case in Ecuador as a multilingual country. Here, there are some languages recognized as a second languages. The second official language most used is kichwa. Several indigenous people speak Spanish, the first official language her, and kichwa. When indigenous want to say a secret, so mestizos can`t understand them, they use kiwcha instead of Spanish, so, directive and metacognitive functions are used as inter- sentential sentence.  Expressive, referential, phatic and poetic functions can be illustrated between indigenous and mestizos’ example. Sometimes, when mestizos and indigenous people share ideas,  they use terms which show their identities; they use their own language when they do not how to explain it in the other one; repeat terms in both languages, so everybody understand, and finally, they make jokes using terms in their mother tongues to get some fun. There, the three ways are used too.

Conclusion:

To sum up the information, code- switching is when a person switches a language for purposes. There are two main reasons to do that like as part of living in a multilingual place.  It has some functions and ways to use code- switching. Women and men use it at the same frequency. And, finally, even though there are some controversies about the use of code- switching, is part of multilinguals’ way of communication.

Bibliography:

Weston, D. 2017. Code-switching and multilingual speech? Retrieved from:

https://undervisning.aschehoug.no/globalvisions/code-switching-and-multilingual-speech/

Weston, D. 2017. ALTERNANCIA DE CÓDIGO: Alternar Entre 2 Idiomas Diferentes Retrieved from:

 

speech/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Na4UvRIhu4&feature=youtu.be

 

 


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