Have you ever noticed your ESL students switching between languages while talking to one another? When I lived in Nairobi, Kenya, I often noticed this phenomenon. Codeswitching or codemixing is when a bilingual person switches between two languages while speaking. You may be wondering why bilinguals do this. Are they being lazy? Not at all! There are numerous reasons why codeswitching occurs.
Codeswitching is easier. Some words may be easier to say in one language than the other. Speakers may substitute words that have less syllables or that are easier or quicker to say. If the speaker does not know the word(s) in one language, the speaker may substitute the word(s) in the other language. For example, technical or academic words may only be known in one of the two languages.
Accurately expressing oneself. Some words may not exist in a language, so the speaker needs to switch to the other language. Also, a bilingual speaker may be able to more accurately express oneself by using a certain word in one of the two languages.
Problem solving. Codeswitching may occur to help solve a problem. If the bilingual’s academic language is English, the bilingual may switch to English in order to solve an academic problem.
Understanding. This usually occurs in the classroom where a teacher may explain a concept in one language and then switch to the other language to reexplain the concept to ensure understanding.
Communicate closeness or identity. Bilinguals may switch from the majority language to the minority language to express closeness and to identify with the minority language community. A bilingual may also use codeswitching to be accepted within a group. On the other hand, if a bilingual wishes to keep distance with another person or keep a professional relationship, they may only speak a specific language with this person.
Reported Speech. A bilingual may use codeswitching while describing conversations they previously had or heard. For example, for the sake of accuracy, the bilingual may switch to English in order to tell the other person what a person said in English word-for-word.
Exclusion. Codeswitching is sometimes used to exclude others from a conversation. Bilinguals may switch to their minority language in order to talk about a private matter.
Topic being discussed. Certain topics are discussed using a specific language. For example, sports may be discussed in the minority language while current events or business matters may be discussed in the majority language.
Emphasis. Codeswitching may occur when the speaker wants to emphasize a point.