Topic 3

Language choice and code-switching

Language choice in communities

Review: DOMAINS

Refer to typical habits of language use in a speech community:

Chinese in Hong Kong use Cantonese at home; Indians in Singapore use English in education; Chinese in Malaysia use Bahasa for government business.

Language choice among individuals: Code-switching

As well as making generalisations about speech communities, we also need to account for language choice among individuals; CODE-SWITCHING refers to changes of code (variety) by individuals; People sometimes switch code within a domain or social situation; Code-switching is not arbitrary there is always a reason (though it may be hard to see); It refers to a choice made by the individual. Social factors influence the choices.

Social factors involved in codeswitching

Holmes (2001):

Participant; Topic; Affective functions

Code-switching vs code-mixing

In much of the literature:

CODE SWITCHING is at clause or sentence level; CODE-MIXING is within a sentence; But sometimes they are used interchangeably.

When is a change of code, codeswitching?

Cantonese speakers switch to English or PTH to address one another when a PTH speaker joins them even though the PTH speaker is not being spoken to directly;

They could continue in Cantonese but in order to include the PTH speaker in the group, they switch codes.

Code-switching can show group solidarity, shared ethnicity, social distance between participants

Cantonese speakers participating in a discussion in an English language class in English change to Cantonese to talk about their plans for the weekend;

They could talk about their plans in English but they are more comfortable doing this in Cantonese.

Code-switching can reflect associations of certain topics with a language.

A teacher uses English in class. She changes to Cantonese to tell off a student when she is angry because the student has consistently not done her homework.

The student would understand the English but the telling off is more effective in their shared first language. The teachers anger is more apparent.

Code switching can show a speakers feelings rather than carrying referential meaning.

When is a change of code NOT codeswitching?

Code-switching refers to CHOICE: NOT when the speaker has to change because she is not proficient in a given code. NOT when there is no word available in the code being used.

Why do Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong use English words in their speech (Tse, 1992)?

1. Luke (1998) refers to orientational switching. When educated Cantonese speakers have a choice, they may sometimes choose an English (or English sounding) word rather than a Cantonese word if the topic has Western associations AND if the 2 choices are equal in other ways (same level of formality, etc.)
2. Holmes (2001) refers to metaphorical switching. To fill a lexical gap (expedient) owing to high frequency, field specific English vocabulary related to work or studies; 3. To serve as euphemism or some kind of `emotional buffer in place of the unwanted taboo words or words carrying emotive meaning in Chinese

Code-switching as a resource

Code-switching enables bilinguals to use their linguistic repertoire to respond positively to changes in social factors;

Code-switching in education

Mixed code, as constructed in the Hong Kong government official discourses, is portrayed almost as an ugly, insidious, monstrous animal, wildly trampling on and destroying everything, especially young minds, if it is not severely controlled and banned from certain important domains, for instance, the classroom (Lin , 2000).

Code-switching in education
The Hong Kong Government emphasises that teachers should not use mixed code in the classroom. Why? Teachers in school are a linguistic model for their students. Students can only choose between two codes if they know two codes. If they consistently hear a mixture of English and Cantonese, their learning of English might be affected (probably not their learning of Cantonese).

Code switching in the English classroom

1. 2.

3.

As an effective marker of boundaries in discourse and changes in frame (or footing). For example it can be employed to contextualize (usually simultaneously) the following: A change in the discourse topic A shift in the rolerelationship between the teacher and students A modification of the participation framework

Code switching in the English classroom

For grammar teaching and vocabulary teaching : the L2-L1-L2 sequence

Two types of reasons for L1 use:

Student-initiated reasons: Students do not understand Students lack discipline Individual students need the help of L1 For negotiation and defence Not enough time left in the teaching period Teacher-initiated reasons: The teacher enjoys using L1 The teacher is over worried The teacher considers the use of L1 to be expedient

Language choice in the Classroom

Low-English proficiency students The unchanged demands of the English examination syllabus The need to live up to the expectations of educators and or parents

Swain (1997) has outlined a range of important research questions:

What use should be made of the students first language? Should the teacher ever use it? Are there ways in which he or she can use the first language to support second language learning rather than undermine it? And what about the students? For what purposes do they use their first language? Is the use of the first language cognitively essential to their learning of both content and the second language? (Swain, 1997, p.267)

Language choice

By a community
Social factors: Setting Participants Topic Social distance Status Formality Affective meaning

By individuals

Domains

Code-switching

Writing task
Please see the handout for the writing task to be submitted to your seminar tutor by next Friday; This is NOT a formally assessed piece of writing; To give YOU some early practice in academic writing; To give YOU and US an indication of any special problems you may have; Read the instructions carefully and do as they say. Writing that does not meet the requirements will not be graded.