Code switching in an ad
Do you or your child code switch? Code-switching (CS) is the ability bilingual speakers have to easily switch languages at logical points in conversation; this without breaking any syntactic rules (as opposed to the mangled way of speaking, called Franglais). Code-switching sounds like this: «I was walking by the Francophone school the other day, et j’ai entendu all these kids speaking English in the school yard! Est-ce que c’est normal qu’ils parlent l’anglais?».
Code-switching has been viewed in the past as a sign of language laziness, a lack of proficiency, and a sign of cognitive confusion. These days however, the phenomenon is better understood and it’s seen rather as a sign of communicative competence.
Code-switching is like a special tool bilingual people have to better communicate. There are many reasons why it can be useful to switch between two languages in a conversation. Here are a few main ones:
1. To clarify your understanding of a task or a meaning. «Alors, c’est les questions 1 à 10, do we do the whole page?»
2. To suit the social setting or the topic of conversation (i.e. at recess vs. in the classroom, between peers vs. a formal setting).
3. To accommodate another speaker’s linguistic abilities. In fact, bilingual children are very good at discerning at an early age people’s various language levels. Older children will often switch to match a friend’s linguistic abilities.
4. To emphasize a statement or to add more precision. «J’aime pas les pois verts. They’re stinky!»
5. To add an element of privacy to a conversation.
6. Code-switching is also fun! However, it is frowned upon in certain settings.
When it comes to children who are learning two languages, CS and language proficiency go hand in hand. It takes some learning to know when and how to switch in the middle of a conversation. A few studies looking at children’s code-switching in school have found that CS is one of the skills children use to communicate with their peers; to ensure they are properly understood, to engage in cooperative learning environments by accommodating others’ language skills, and to demonstrate bilingual competence. Some scholars have argued that teachers, parents, and educators should draw on bilingual children’s natural code-switching skills to help them achieve academic and communicative goals. While the recommendation is an interesting one, it might be a hard sell in linguistic minority settings, where the objective is first and foremost to promote the minority language.
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Click here to hear Gilles Vigneault’s «code-switching» song I went to the market. My scout leader used to make me sing this song at every girl scout gathering. Why? I don’t know. Probably because I was the only bilingual kid in the troop. From age 9 to 11, I hopped and skipped with a basket in my hand around hundreds of my peers and it was painfully embarrassing every single time!
Very interesting post. My children do that a lot, and so do I, in fact. When you are lucky enough to be fluent in two (or more) languages, some words have a specific meaning only in one language. You might know the word in the other language(s), but it's not the one you want or need to use in that particular instance, and so, if you are with someone who speaks the same languages, you'll be tempted to "switch codes" as you say. Interesting way of describing the process.
Do you know anything about code switching with young children? I am trying to raise my son (9 months) with both English and German. I speak both with him at home. Usually I try to make sure I speak one language at a time, generally setting certain hours of the day (between his naps) for German. But sometimes I slip back into English, either because it's still easier for me (I'm not a native speaker but have been speaking German for 20 years and have a PhD in German lit) or because I don't know the German word (baby-related vocab is not something you learn in school!). I wonder, though, if this will be confusing for him. Just wondering if you have any insight?
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Alles Gute!
Hi Kate,
It's so hard to be consistent, isn't it? I'm sure there's an expert out there with the proper insight on this. Perhaps, other readers know of experts or good references on this topic?
In our household, my youngest daughter will pick and choose the words that are easiest for her to pronounce. My guess is, if I continue to speak one language consistently and my husband speaks another consistently, and with some guidance, she will learn what words belong to the proper language (and for the most part, I think she does know already) – just like the oldest did. But right now at 20 months, it seems like it's one big smorgasbord for her as her sister and dad speak English and I speak French.
I have learnt relatively recently code-switching as part of my "refrancisation". I certainly would like to learn a whole lot more about its "best practices" if there are such thing.
I would argue that this is probably the most important thing to be taught relatively early on in a minority environment. They teach the language but don't teach how to really use it!
Unfortunately, "code switching" has not reached "prime time" IMO and is certainly not taught. I will certainly be googling into this and share findings on this thread. Great topic!
Une couple de commentaires additionels:
1 – Code switching devrait fonctionner dans un environnement qui appuie et comprend le code-switching, médias, travail, écoles, arts, science, etc. La pente est haute! Un usager du "code-switching" se découragera autrement rapidement, ce qui se passe depuis toujours. Nos institutions n'appuient pas la pratique du code-switching.
2 – Le milieu artistique est probablement le plus prêt pour cette forme d'expression e.g. good cop, Mommy (de Pauline Julien). Ce milieu artistique est toutefois bien malade…
3 – Pas sûr si le titre était un bon exemple. Pour ma part, je passe au "code switching" quand je veux inclure des anglophones rouillés en français lorsque la moitié du groupe comprend le français. C'est laborieux mais souvent apprécié par nos amis anglophones qui désirent améliorer leur français. Sustainable a practice? Not sure…
4 – Il serait intéressant de comprendre comment le code-switching anglais-espagnol se pratique. Ditto allemand, chinois, et pendjabi.
More. Selon mon expérience personnelle (immersion, "core" et "tomber dans la potion magique"), l'enseignement actuel du français à l'élémentaire produit d'excellents résultats, le code-switching n'étant pas promu. Le cerveau à cette âge va absorber essentiellement n'importe quoi avec la répétition.
Les problèmes se manifestent quand le jeune apprend à penser par lui-même et suivre ses semblables, particulièrement les plus vieux. Particulièrement parmi les garçons. P-e que l'introduction du "code-switching" et du "guide de l'usager" par de bons rôle-modèles aiderait une fois la base acquise, avec bien sûr les grosses bémols (aka caveats)signalés plus tôt, i.e. support de l'environnement ambiant de ce "code-switching". P-e devenu viral? Clique recommandée: http://uege5102-09m.blogspot.com/2009/07/teaching…
Gabriel and I keep the languages separate. I speak only English to our boys and he speaks only French. It has worked well, in turn our oldest tends to only speak in English to me and only in French to his papa. It took him a while to separate the two though, and our youngest, just starting to talk does not differentiate between the two – just which word is easiest to say. Something Olivier (our eldest does) is translate at the dinner table. He’ll say “J’aime ça Papa, c’est mon préféré”, then turn to me and say it again in English.
That's awesome!