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English Language Code-Switching

Mother Tongue by Amy Tan examines the various effects of language on people as they grow up

in different environment, and in her case, she was forced to speak in different types of English.

As such, in the essay, Amy Tan contemplates on the effects that her background had on her life,

education and being caught up between two different worlds. However, while the background

develops as sense of shame for her, she ultimately ends up embracing it. Therefore, having

grown up in two distinct environments that shaped her ability to speak in different types of

English, she develops a sense of understanding.

Subsequently, 3 Ways to Speak English, is a spoken word poem based on the performer’s Dr.

Jamila Lysicott, experience with speaking in the English language. Dr. Lysicott in the poem

identifies that she had to speak English in three different ways, at home, at school or work, and

with friends, and thus she identifies the various instances that people speak differently. The poem

tells a story on the various differences that exist in the dialects, speech, tones, words and phrases

used by people dependent on their contexts of communication. Therefore, the essay and poem

provide an evaluation of the different scenarios in which people speak English differently, and

how language is affected by the environment.

In the poem, Dr. Lysicott identifies her ability to code-switch between different languages

varying with her environment, which is the same approach that Amy Tan extrapolates in her

essay. From these two experiences, I can identify two areas in my life where I experiences the

effects of code-switching. While my language is English, how I speak at home or with friends

and at school vary. For instance at school, especially in a classroom, I use the standard form of

English, that is free of slang. However, when am with friends, my approach is different. Simply

because, the two environments are significantly different, and as such determine or affect how I

speak.