INSTITUTO SUPERIOR JOSEFINA CONTTE

Switching and mixing codes

 Career: English Teacher’s Training Course

 Subject: Language and Context

 Professor: María Juana Vallejos

 Student: Abel Mario Alarcón

2017
 INDEX

Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1

1-Case of study ………………………………………………………………….2

2-Theoretical Framework …………………………………………………….4

3-Code Switching…………………………………………………………………4

4-Code Mixing ……………………………………………………………………5

5-Social Factors………………………………………………………………….5

6-Social Dimensions……………………………………………………………7

7-Domain……………………………………………………………………………9

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….12

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………..13
 INTRODUCTION

It is a common belief that the language is one of the most considerable

elements of culture which allows people to communicate and identify
themselves.
At the very beginning of our lives, we are exposed to many languages in
different contexts, from the house, school and church to the clubs, streets,
friend’s homes, etc. Well, in my case, I have been exposed to Spanish and
Guaraní since I was a child, owing to the fact that my parents were from the
interior of the province of Corrientes: my mother is from San Miguel and my
father was from San Luis del Palmar. So, in my early years I always listened to
my parents to speak in Spanish and Guaraní.
Then, when I was 23 years old, I started to study English at the Extensión
Universitaria and Portuguese at Josefina Contte Institute. As a result of this,
two new worlds were discovered by me, apart from that I had finished my
career of Technical Degree in Business Administration and my second career
was already beginning (Economics teaching training).
Nonetheless, English became my second language, that is to say, the second
language that I have studied in deep (in addition to Spanish), because I
started the English teaching training in 2014, so the knowledge about my L2
was being expanded.
Reflecting upon what it was said above, the purpose of this paper is to describe
the main features of the processes of code switching and code mixing that we
have learnt in the Language and Context subject, and how it is developed in
different contexts and situations.
In this paper, I focus on the analysis of exchanges, not only in three different
contexts (at home, at the Portuguese’s course, and at the English teaching
training) but also in dialogues and situations in which linguistic choices occur.
Furthermore, this analysis considers other components of social factors such
as: participants, topic and function. So, it is necessary to make reference to
the Social Factor, Social Dimension, Code Switching, Code Mixing and Domain
of Language use as theoretical framework for analyzing, describing and
explaining.
 1- CASE OF STUDY

Janet Holmes (2012: page 8) states that “linguistic or verbal repertoire is the
distinguishable varieties or codes which are available for using in different
social contexts.”
Additionally, variety or code is defined as ” set of linguistic forms used under
specific social circumstances, with a distinctive social distribution and different
accents, linguistic styles and dialects” (Holmes, 2012, p.8).
As regards linguistic varieties, the author conveys two important varieties:
Standard and Vernacular.
For Standard language, “is one which is written, and has undergone some
degree of regularization or codification (grammar and dictionary for example);
it is recognized as a prestigious variety or code by a community, and it is used
for H functions alongside a diversity of L varieties” (Holmes, 2012, p.78).
Divergently, for Vernacular, the author manifests that is “the language which
has not been standardized and which does not have an official status”
(Holmes, 2012, p.77).

I was born in a low middle class family, my parents were people from the
interior of the province, so they spoke very well Guaraní in a wonderful accent.
Likewise, they speak Spanish because they had attended at primary,
secondary school and then they got high education degree: my mother is
dressmaking teacher and my father was in the Army. Clear up to here, I have
exposed to two different languages and their linguistic repertoires were
fascinating: words in Spanish, words in Guaraní and some technical terms in
Spanish.
In my childhood, I have learnt my L1 which is Spanish as Standard language,
because my parents talked to me in Spanish (Guaraní was forbidden for me
and its use was only allowed to adults), they only switched in Guaraní when
they desired to complain, swear or tell some gossips. Evidently, as a
Vernacular code, our language Guaraní has had bad reputation.
I attended at primary and secondary school and I didn’t have the opportunity
to have subjects in foreign languages. As a consequence, English and
Portuguese had been my pending subjects, so I promised myself that I would
study those languages some day. And that is what happened, my first
exposure to English was when I was 23, I attended at the Extension
Universitaria, where I was the only “true beginner” in the group of students.
Meanwhile, I started to study Portuguese at Josefina Contte institute. In both
places, the students were adults like me, some were university’s students,
other professionals, etc.
At the Extension Universitaria, I studied for 3 years, the instances of
communication in the classes were completely in English and my peers were
intermediate and advanced English students, so it was a hard challenge for me
to decode the messages. In some cases, I didn’t understand the instructions,
or the text we were reading was really complex, however the language
educator or my classmates helped me a lot.
As a result, I had been aware of two main aspects: I didn’t have the skills
necessary for studying a foreign language and it made me feel really
frustrated. And also, I understood that my age was the other aspect, I was an
adult person and maybe the process to learn the target language was not as
fast as I wanted.
I clearly remembered attended at my first class of English, Miss Maria Marta
Aguirre in a lovely voice said to the class:

Miss: My name is Maria Marta and I am going to be your teacher, everybody welcome to
my class and I hope you enjoy it. So, please introduce yourselves, we start here (She
pointed at me)

Me: Ehhhh…. (in a trembling voice)

Miss: My name is Maria. What’s your name? (In a kind voice)

My partner: Decile tu nombre (Juan whispered to me)

Me: Abel (in a trembling voice again)

Miss: Nice to meet you Abel, please don’t panic (Then, she switched to L1). Por favor
chicos, no se pongan nerviosos, la idea es aprender y no quiero que vengan a pasarla mal.
Miss: Thanks Abel. Welcome to my class

As regards Portuguese, which is my third language, I started to study the

following year that I had begun to attend at the Extensión Universitaria. I
studied the “curso de extension para adultos” at Josefina Contte institute, and
it was another challenge to face, principally the first year of instruction. Not
only was I the only true beginner student in the class, but also I was struggling
with English and technical vocabulary of my career.
In other words, there was a huge problem of mixing on my brain and hence in
my oral and written production.

2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

3-Code switching

According to Janet Holmes (2012: page 35), “code switching is the process by
which a speaker or writer changes to another language in order to
communicate with a new participant. Switch indicates a change in the social
situation and takes positive account of the presence of a new speaker.”

For instance, code switching appears when I ask to my mother and brother for
something, as the following dialogue illustrates:

Me: ¿Mamó pa che kuatiahai? (Mum, did you see my books?)

Mum: maña che mba'yru pue! (Have a look at your bag!)

Me: ¿Fer no viste mis libros? (Fer, did you see my books?)

Brother: Por ahí debe estar. (Look at over there)

Mum: Fernando, ayuda a tu hermano a buscar sus cosas. (Fernando helps your brother to
look for his stuffs)

This fragment reflects perfectly the code switching that my mother and I did
when speaking to my brother. We spoke in Guaraní between us but switching
to Spanish when my brother arrived.
4-Code mixing

Janet Holmes (2012: page 35) considers code mixing as “the process by which
speakers mix words and phrases of another language in the same sentences
but using the pattern of one language. This kind of switching is known as
emblematic or tag, due to ethnic identity and solidarity the participants
manifest.”

This typically occurs in the teaching training course, when we say for example:

“¿Tenés el timetable?”

Here, we are combining the L1 and L2, and using the pattern of Spanish with
the last English tag.

5-Social factors

Janet Holmes (2012: page 9) presents the following Social factors:

1- The participants: a- who is speaking

b- who are they speaking to?
2- The setting or social context of the interaction: where are they
speaking?
3- The topic: what is being talked about?
4- The function: why are they speaking?

To clarify, not all factors are relevant in any particular context, since they can
be grouped in order to describe the interaction.

Sample N° 1:

 Participants: My friend Carlos and I

 Context: ACA gas station
 Carlos: ¿Qué hacemos, vamos entonces en febrero a Baires?

Me: Espera que me acomode con las fechas, acordate que rindo en febrero chamigo.

Carlos: Cierto, bueno pero hacemos una escapadita nomas.

Me: Pará, keep calm and drink mate! Voy a ver cómo me organizo.

Carlos:Chajácatú.

In this sample, the participants interact in Spanish but some words in English
and Guaraní are used, in order to ask my friend to be patient, and Carlos’
phrase in Guaraní to express anxiety.

1. The participants: My friend Carlos and me.

2. The setting or social context of the interaction: We were drinking and planning
at ACA gas station, in Corrientes’ city.
3. The topic: Buenos Aires holiday.
4. The function: The planning to go to Buenos Aires in February.

As we can perceive, switching exists between three languages in the

interaction, and how the participants when speaking, change and mix
languages. However, the message was always decoded.

6-Social dimension

Janet Holmes (2012: page 9) claims that there are four dimensions for
analysis. These are:

1- A social distance scale concerned with participant relationship

2- A status scale concerned with participant relationships
3- A formality scale relating to the setting or type of interaction
4- Two functional scales relating to the purposes or topic of interaction.
To make allowance for the scales mentioned above, two samples will be
analyzed:

Sample N° 2:

 Participants: My friend Carlos and I

 Context: Junín street

Me: Hey buddy, what’s new?

Carlos: Hey bro!! Here going to work. And you?

Me: At mysecond home, the Contte you know.

Carlos: Hahaha! So freaky nerd!

Me: Shhh, the vice Canterosis waiting for you. Haha!

Carlos: See you!

Me: See you Charlie!

Sample N° 3

 Participants: My classmate Samira and I

 Context: Josefina Contte institute, Portuguese’s class

Me: ¡Cómo vai menina! ¿Tudobom? (How are you girl! Is it okay?)

Samira: ¡Abelinho! ¡Tudoótimo rapaz! (Little Abel! Fine guy!)

Me: ¿Você sabe ondeposso tirar o xérox? ( Do you know where I can take the
photocopy?)

Samira: Falacomo a professora (You should ask to the teacher)

Me: ¿Professora, Usted pode me dizerondeposso tirar o xérox? (Teacher, could you tell
me where I can take the photocopy?)
Professora: O material do trabalhofoideixado no Print (The study material was left in
Print)

Me: Obrigado profesora (Thanks teacher)

Professora: Nãotem de qué (You’rewelcome)

1- Janet Holmes (2012: page 9) states that “the Solidarity-social distance

scale focuses on how well we know someone as a relevant factor in
linguistic choice.”
In the sample N° 2, we can detect high solidarity between Carlos and I,
owing to the fact that there are jokes, laughter and colloquial words.
Also, another aspect is the lack of distance when we are addressing to
each other, which indicates friendship and confidence.
On the other place, in the sample N° 3 the interaction is different due to
the context and the participants. Since Josefina Contte is an institutional
place, there are two solidarity- social distance scales.
In the first part of the dialogue, Samira and I spoke in colloquial
Portuguese language, so our relationship manifests partnership and
intimacy. When I asked to the teacher a question, the linguistic choice
changed completely, due to the fact that the low solidarity and distance
the relationship marks between teacher – student.

2- For Janet Holmes (2012: page 10), “the Status scale considers the
relevance of relative status in some linguistic choices.”
The choice of usted by me at the Portuguese class when I referring to
my teacher, signals the higher status my teacher has at the institution,
and also my respect to her as superior.
On the contrary, in the interaction between partners in the classroom,
there exists a low status, so they avoided calling themselves by their
names, and the participants used informal expressions in the interaction.
 3- The author mentioned above, points out that “the Formality scale
reflects the influence of social setting or type of interaction on language
choice. Depending on the context, language used will be influenced by
the formality of setting” (Holmes, 2012, p.10)
In the sample N° 2, the setting where the conversation occurred is
informal, so my friend Carlos and I chatted in a colloquial language, with
avoidance of names and distance.
However, at Josefina Contte institute, because of the formal setting,
high formality is established between teacher and students, where
linguistic choices were formal, impersonal and distance.

4- The referential and affective function scales, in this case, “language can
convey information of a referential kind; and it can also express how
someone is feeling” (Holmes, 2012, p.10).
For example, in sample N° 2, when I answered to my friend that I was
going at my second home, I wanted to convey ironically that I went to
my institute.
So I was expressing apathy and bitterness (high affective content). Or
for instance, in sample N° 2, when I clamed keep calm and drink mate,
there the intention was to ask my friend to be patient and did not hurry
up, otherwise we were not drinking mate at gas station. It was like a
metaphor and there was low information content, due to lack of relevant
information in the friendly interaction.

7-Domains of language use

According to Holmes (2012: page 21), domains is a “very general concept

which draws on three important social factors in code choice: participants
(speaker and writers), setting or context and topic. When describing a code
choice in a large speech community, it is crucial to look at typical interactions
and the factors which are involved such as: the typical setting, the typical
participants and the typical topics.”
To put simply, domains could be: family, friendship, religion, education,
employment, administration and so on.
In my case, considering my life experience and the theory explained above, I
may mention the following:

1- Family: as a social institution, “members of the group share the same

code and switching depends on solidarity they signal to the members”
(Holmes, 2012, p.21). At home, my code chosen is Guaraní when I
approach to my mother and Spanish when I desire to interact with my
siblings. So the setting and the participants are the same, the languages
vary depending on who participates in the interaction.

2- Friendship: First of all, I divided my friends into four groups:

a) Guaraní’s group: which is my childhood’s friends, in which we
speak Guaraní, but not completely, only short sentences.
b) Economics teachers’ group: stands for my colleagues, in which we
only speak in Spanish (usually colloquial), using also a specific
linguistic or verbal repertoire. In other words, in this group the
interactions present a technical vocabulary from economics
science used by its members.
c) Portuguese’s group: in this peer’s group, the language selected
and shared to interact is Portuguese, frequently in an informal
way.
d) Contte’s group: well, here we have a linguistic repertoire which
includes selection of words from pedagogical areas to English
subjects. There exists a high variety of English when we address
to the professors and a low variety when we speak each other.
Usually the phenomenon of code mixing appears in a kind of L1
and L2 utterances.

3- Religion: The language used in the Catholic Church is Spanish as a

norm in the formal setting.
 4- Education: Professors and students interact using English, because in
this formal setting the members of group are bilingual, so two varieties
are required: High and Low.
Between peers, the interaction is intimate and informal, so there is
avoidance of information and distance. On the other hand, interactions
with authorities (professors and principal) require a High variety, due to
the formality and high status which exists in the situation and lack of
friendship and intimacy.

Domains of language use

DOMAIN ADDRESSEE SETTING TOPIC CODE/VARIETY

 Guaraní (low
Parent and Looking for variety)
Family Home
brother the books  Spanish(low
variety)
 Guaraní (low
Planning a
Gas variety)
Friendship Friend Buenos Aires
station  Spanish (low
holiday
variety)
Planning the
celebration of  Spanish (high
Religion Priest Church
Santa Rosa’s variety)
day
Writing an
 English (high
Education Professor Institute argumentative
variety)
essay
 CONCLUSION

From my childhood to my adultness, I have been exposed to two languages:

Guaraní and Spanish. The first one has been and is selected by my parents,
and the second one was used by my parents to speak with me and also it has
been instructed me by the education system.
Even though my parents did not want to teach me our mother tongue
(Guaraní), because it had been considered an aboriginal inferior language, I
learnt this by exposure. Nowadays, I cannot speak fluently and accurately, but
I can decode utterances and speak short sentences.
As a result, I developed the ability to switch code immediately whenever the
context requires it.
Then, during my tertiary education, I have learnt English and Portuguese. And
in this period, code mixing appeared unintentionally, provoking errors in my
oral production and confusing in my writings.
On the other hand, I switch code to convey solidarity and identity to the
participants, considering the social factors and dimensions in which I get
involved. Consequently, code varies according to domains, in which the
standard variety may be used or may not.
Finally, all the aspects mentioned above, not only describe the relationship
between language and society, but also depict the social function of language,
the linguistic choices we carry out and the identity as a person and as a
specific community we are.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Holmes, J.An Introduction to Sociolinguistics.Fourth Edition. Essex: Pearson

Education Ltd. 2012.