interview assignment

David Dodick david.dodick@sjsu.edu

Codeswitching

“Here in the United States, I have found a binary view of bilingualism. If you are born into an English-speaking family and later learn to speak Spanish, for example, people feel that’s an accomplishment. But if you are born into a Spanish-speaking family and later learned to speak English, that is often seen as a detriment.”

Quote from Grosjean in (Pfohl, 1986)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7BzbkE4 h-8

George Lopez: Spanglish and Code Switching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQmyS7 -jw

African American Codeswitching

Code: language variety Codeswitching: using two or more codes in a single speech event One can codeswitch… ◦ From one language to another ◦ From one dialect to another

Codeswitching is NOT the same as borrowing ◦ Substituting a word from one language because you

don’t know its equivalent in another ◦ Using a word in one language that has no obvious

translation in another Some key differences ◦ Borrowing is about a single word, not a phrase or

sentence ◦ Borrowed words typically adapted to pronunciation

of speaker’s first language

Borrowing Codeswitching Involves individual words or short phrases

Usually involves larger ‘chunks’ of discourse (though it can be individual words)

Pronunciation usually nativized over time

Each code retains its own pronunciation

Speakers need not (and often don’t) know the source language

Speakers are usually fluent (or at least conversationally proficient) in both languages

Involuntary codeswitching or crutching: substitution because don’t know/remember how to say something in a given language Imperfect command of both languages Common in language learning Communicative strategy for people without full command of heritage language to assert identity in heritage culture BUT only some codeswitching is involuntary Crutch word examples: like, well, you know, literally, obviously. Use them when fear people might interrupt us. Use them when we are thinking of what to say next: people find too many crutch words annoying!

Positive Associations ◦ In-group use — solidarity ◦ Creativity & expressivity ◦ Takes advantage of unique linguistic resources of

bilinguals ◦ A reflection of a unique multilingual &

multicultural heritage

Negative associations ◦ Associated with immigrants ◦ Associated with imperfect language learners ◦ Seen as “broken English” ◦ Even people who codeswitch may view it

negatively

Codeswitching is used to negotiate… ◦ Identity

Who I am ◦ Relationships

My relationship to others in terms of shared ethnicity/language (heritage language vs. native language, for example)

For any given example of codeswitching, it’s usually possible to talk about “we” code and “they” code ◦ “We” code: language of home & cultural

community ◦ “They” code: language of wider social

communication Government Business Formal education, etc.

In casual conversations with other bilinguals ◦ At home ◦ With friends ◦ Casual social gatherings Sometimes in more formal settings ◦ Business meeting (perhaps with one code for casual

conversation, and the other for formal negotiations or “work”)

◦ Increasingly used in the classroom Found in other domains as well ◦ Poetry ◦ Prose ◦ Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLbQrVv Gqw0

Sentential ◦ Extra-Sentential ◦ Intersentential ◦ Intrasentential Metaphorical Situational

Also called tag switching Tag: word or short phrase that is attached to sentence but not part of it: ◦ I mean ◦ Right? ◦ You know? ◦ Isn’t it? Example: English & Punjabi

It's a nice day, hana? (hana=‘isn't it’)

Switching back & forth between sentences Example: an article in Der Spiegel magazine contains these passages:

“Vielmehr strebe es, immer schon, nach Macht und Reichtum. [In fact, as at all times, she goes for power and wealth.] Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

Switching within sentences Example: woman switching between English & Spanish

“…they tell me “How did you quit, Mary?” I don’t quit, I…I just stopped. I mean it wasn’t an effort that I made que voy a dejar de fumar por que me hace daño o [that I’m going to stop smoking because it is harmful to me or] this or that, uh-uh. It’s just that I used to pull butts out of the wastepaper basket, yeah. I used to go look in the…se me acababan los cigarros en la noche [my cigarettes would run out on me at night]. I’d get desperate y ahi voy al basurero a buscar, a sacar [and there I go to the waste- basket to look for some, to get some], you know.”

Metaphorical codeswitching is done for rhetorical (to persuade or impress) reasons ◦ Linguistic choice becomes symbol or “metaphor”

Personal feelings vs. external facts/info The codes themselves acquire meaning ◦ Fact that you speak in language X or Y is itself

meaningful from a social perspective Example: ◦ If deceased relative spoke particular language, then

switching into that language might be metaphorical for that relative’s memory

Different codes used in different settings ◦ Home ◦ School ◦ Work Each setting associated with ◦ Certain kinds of speech activities:

Casual conversations Classroom discourse Public speaking

◦ Different categories of speakers: Family Friends Business associates Strangers

◦ Domains of use – certain info associated with a specific language

Linguists searching for universal rules behind codeswithing Suggest that it only happens at points where two grammars match each other English French Possible switch? red boat bateau rouge NO big house grande maison YES

Others say sociocultural factors too important to find simple rules

Extra-Sentential - tags Intersentential – sentence by sentence Intrasentential – within the sentence Metaphorical – new language is itself a signal Situational – different code for different situations

My father liked them separate, one there, one here (allá y aquí), as if aware that words might cut in two his daughter’s heart (el corazón) and lock the alien part to what he was—his memory, his name (su nombre)—with a key he could not claim. “English outside this door, Spanish inside,” he said, “y basta.” But who can divide the world, the word (mundo y palabra) from any child? I knew how to be dumb and stubborn (testaruda); late, in bed, I hoarded secret syllables I read until my tongue (mi lengua) learned to run where his stumbled. And still the heart was one. I like to think he knew that, even when, proud (orgulloso) of his daughter’s pen, he stood outside mis versos, half in fear of words he loved but wanted not to hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfnrOnbqg g8

Rickford (1996) study revealed that:

“third grade kids in the primarily white, middle class Palo Alto School District scored on the 94th percentile in writing; by the [sixth] grade, they had topped out at the 99[th] percentile. By contrast, third grade kids in primarily African American working class East Palo Alto (Ravenswood School District) scored on the 21st percentile in writing, but by the sixth grade, they had fallen to the 3rd percentile, almost to the very bottom (p. 1).”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knFReWt Lkgc

Trailer

https://www.pbs.org/video/pov-american- promise-idris-code-switches/ Idris Code switches

1. Do you codeswitch, presenting yourself differently to different people in different places?

2. What do you switch besides language? Clothing? Body language?

3. What do you gain by code switching?

4. When does code switching cross the line from normal to detrimental?

5. What is the relationship between code shifting and school success?

6. A) Code shifting is just a normal part of life; it’s no big deal. 7. B) Code shifting reinforces inequity; it is inherently problematic

Questions?