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Codeswitching and the sociolinguistic gender pattern
Abstract
In this paper we test the widely reported finding that women use more standard and fewer nonstandard forms than men in relation to bilingual code-switched data. First we review the principal explanations that have been offered for this pattern within monolingual data sets, concluding that the sex of the speaker is not in itself determinant, but that numerous other factors that tie in with gender roles must be considered. We then review a few studies of code-switching where gender differences are apparent and present the results of a small-scale study of gender differences in code-switching in Punjabi and Greek-Cypriot communities in Britain. Although code-switching is generally considered a nonstandard form of speech, there is no consistent pattern of sex differentiation emerging from the bilingual data. This reinforces our contention that further factors, including the role of nonstandard varieties in particular subgroups and types of discourse, need to be considered in preference to blanket explanations based on gender.
... The occurrences of CS were further classified based on the type of switches, using categories developed by Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998), Ismail (2015), and Romaine (1995). Accordingly, bilingual speakers may engage in CS in the same conversational turn or in consecutive turns. ...
... 122-123). Subsequently, Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998) additionally distinguish between intra-sentential switching and the most common sort of switching, single-word switches, and their taxonomy of CS types. They also classified turn-switching as a distinct category from inter-sentential switching. ...
The present study adopted a socio-pragmatic approach to contribute to the broader literature on code-switching (CS) in bilingual communication by exploring its role in the context of speech act negotiations. Specifically, it explores 107 instances of CS from English to Arabic by nine Saudi female speakers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) during interactions with a British native speaker during offer interactions in an informal context. Conversations were recorded during a dinner attended by three friends. The number of times women switched from English into Arabic, the position of CS within the offer interaction, and its type and function were quantified. The study revealed that CS was frequent, aligning with sociolinguistic findings indicating that even proficient bilinguals use CS conversationally. The findings reveal nuanced preferences, patterns, and functions associated with CS in this particular social activity. The participants strategically used CS during offer negotiations, often favouring turn-switching in a non-sequential manner. The primary function of CS was the expression of feelings, frequently involving appreciative expressions and preferences. In addition, participants used CS to emphasise points and invoke God, reflecting cultural and religious influences on language choice. Overall, CS serves as a tool for effective communication, offering insights into the speaker's identity and cultural background.
... The laboratory manual was designed and adapted over the course of four laboratory evaluations (Goldschmidt and Bogner, 2016, Langheinrich and Bogner, 2016, Mierdel and Bogner, 2019, Roth et al., 2020. Only key terms had additional German translations [code-switching; Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998)]. Content scaffolding in the laboratory manual, interactive smart-board presentations, and the interactive poster were retained across both modules. ...
... While CLIL may add another layer of complication to the already demanding goal of developing students' modelling practice, such practice is very authentic with the increasing adoption of CLIL outside of English-speaking countries. The language of instruction was English, yet students could indicate with colourcards in green, orange, and red if the instructions were easy to understand, required renewed explanation, or code-switching into German (Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros, 1998). ...
The relevance of English language competencies in authentic, discipline-specific contexts at school is increasingly acknowledged outside of English-speaking countries. Since any understanding of complex scientific problems requires the combination of scientific literacy with other competencies, such as scientific modelling, the appropriate application of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is of great importance. The present study focuses on an established, hands-on outreach genetic education module on DNA structure, which it extends with a bilingual adaption to examine the influence of non-CLIL and CLIL learning on students’ scientific modelling skills and model understanding. When comparing non-CLIL learners (n = 149) and CLIL learners (n = 316), the former received higher scores in the assessment of model-related self-evaluation sheets and built better models. We also found that non-CLIL learners achieved better temporary knowledge of “DNA as a model” scores and, for model evaluation, were more reflective in determining similarities and differences between their hand-crafted model and a commercial DNA school model. However, CLIL learners performed better in comparing their model sketches with their hand-crafted models. They also used different approaches to develop models and conceptualize integral components of models, as reflected in their advanced model understanding. We conclude that CLIL influences modelling qualities on different levels, by fostering modelling practice, and in particular, model understanding.
... Gumperz (1997) states that the pattern seems very fluent and normal flow of talking and the purpose is to understand other. Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros (2009) reported finding that woman use more standard and fewer nonstandard forms than men in relation to bilingual code-switched data. ...
... This reinforces our contention that further factors, including the role of nonstandard varieties in particular subgroups and types of discourse, need to be considered in preference to blanket explanations based on gender. (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 2009). Besides the international studies on code-switching, there is a plethora of code-switched data nationally. ...
Using two or more languages in a singular context or conversation is similar to going with the flow these days, specifically on social sites. This is referred to as "code-switching" by sociolinguists. The study aims at finding out the ratio and scenario of code-switching on social media in Bangladesh, and whether a New English has emerged or not for that. The study was conducted on a randomly chosen sample population of 40 participants across the country. It applied a mixed-method approach consisting of both qualitative and quantitative research methods to conduct this study. The study collected data through a close-ended questionnaire sent to the sample population via email, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Google Docs and some relevant data in the form of screenshots from Facebook posts, comments, and messenger chats. The findings of the study show that more than half of the participants in this research does not have the proper knowledge and intention regarding code-switching, and they perform it for sheer convenience in colloquial practice and communication. However, most of the participants do not support code-switching because they are concerned about their English language efficiency. And they also assert that Code-switching does not play a major role in the emergence of new sorts of English language because there are, in truth, other reasons behind this.
... While many researchers have studied CS patterns in relation to demographic variables such as ethnicity (Stell, 2010), socio-economic status (SES; Jacobson, 1990), or age (reviewed in Alfonzetti, 2005), there are few that have systematically explored variation at the level of the individual. Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998) reported some preliminary findings on differences between Greek-Cypriot-English bilinguals in London, in terms of variation in the type of switching they engaged in (the types investigated were turn switching, single-word switching, inter-sentential switching and intra-sentential switching). Questionnaire-based quantitative studies on self-reported CS levels and contexts of use have shown inter-individual differences (Dewaele & Li, 2014;Dewaele & Zeckel, 2016;Rodriguez-Fornells et al., 2012), but these did not make use of any linguistic data. ...
... The indices therefore elucidate the general architecture of CS, while being 'blind' to grammatical or conversational features. They complement the characterisations that are frequently used in the literature, such as 'insertional' versus 'alternational' (sensu Muysken, 2000) or 'turn-switching', 'single-word-switching', 'inter-sentential' and 'intra-sentential' switching (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998). As mentioned earlier, both insertion and alternation (sensu Muysken, 2000), as well as backflagging (sensu Muysken, 2013), may occur in HECS for many speakers. ...
Aims and objectives
Variationist studies on code-switching (CS) have focused on community-level differences driven by variables such as age, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. Studies on inter-individual variation that make use of naturalistic speech need to be prioritised, especially in countries with large, diverse populations, such as India. This article presents a quantitative analysis of the Hindi–English CS (HECS) patterns among speakers of comparable socio-economic status and clusters them based on similarities in their CS strategies.
Methodology
Television interviews of Hindi movie (Bollywood) personalities were transcribed and coded for Hindi and English lexemes. Bespoke software in Python was used to calculate five numerical indices to describe each speaker’s CS pattern.
Data and analysis
The interviews from 28 speakers ranged between 20 and 40 minutes each. Cluster analysis was carried out in SPSS to produce a typology of CS strategies.
Findings/conclusions
A total of six CS strategies were identified, with five being employed by both older and younger speakers and only one being used only by a single age group. Most CS strategies are therefore not age-specific. A number of hypothetical scenarios are presented, to demonstrate how individual CS strategies might change with time.
Originality
This is the first study to systematically and quantitatively investigate inter-individual differences in HECS, using naturalistic speech in semi-controlled conditions. It is also the first to propose a typology of HECS strategies.
Implications
There was significant variation in CS strategy even within the relatively homogeneous group of speakers investigated in this study. The overall variation in the whole of Hindi-speaking India must therefore be far greater. This suggests that certain predictions regarding the predictability of CS patterns from the contact situation (e.g., that postcolonial contexts result in insertional CS) may need to be refined.
... As already noted, women's CS at a turn boundary was marked by more linguistic convergence (sequential switching) between one another and more divergence from the language of a speaker of the opposite sex (non-sequential switching), whilst men's CS performance was largely more inclined towards linguistic divergence at a turn boundary. According to Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998), accommodating to the preceding speaker's language by CS at a turn boundary may be considered an index of cooperative linguistic behavior and conversely a change in the bilingual's language from the previous speaker an indicator of uncooperative communication. It is possible then to view women's switch into English at a turn-boundary to accommodate to the language of the previous female speaker/interlocutor as indicative of their more cooperative linguistic style and a display of closeness and friendship with other women as well. ...
... Of interest here also is that men among themselves and with a speaker/ audience of the opposite sex noticeably favored intersentential CS considerably more than intrasentential CS. Other studies have also found men to exhibit a slight tendency to code-switch intersententially, whilst women code-switched intrasententially more (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998;Sayahi, 2011). ...
The neglected area of Arab speakers’ verbal performance in mixed-sex contexts is the focus of this study. This paper attempts to contribute to this area by studying the frequency and type of code-switches from Arabic into English in the casual conversations of young bilingual Saudis. Findings indicate that Saudi females’ style of speech was characterized by substantially more code-switching from Arabic into English particularly single noun and adjective switches than their male counterparts in both single and mixed sex interactions. Women’s turn-switches were marked by more linguistic convergence between one another, however they were less inclined to turn-switch to the language of a speaker of the opposite sex. Men’s code-switching performance at a turn boundary was overall more inclined towards linguistic divergence. The findings in relation to turn-switching would indicate that although these women and men interacted in mixed-sex settings, they still seemed to adhere to Saudi cultural values that encourage social distance between the sexes. It is argued that underpinning Arab women’s and men’s code-switching behavior are lingering cultural customs and gendered ideologies of language.
... Further, most writers have offered a single explanation for what must surely be a multi-faceted, complex phenomenon (Eckert, op.cit.;James 1966;Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros 1998). For example, Fasold (1990) suggests that women use a higher proportion of standard variants than men because this allows them to sound less local and to have a voice, therefore, with which to protest against the traditional norms that place them in an inferior social position to men. Gordon (1997) presents experimental evidence for a symbolic association between local accents, nonstandard syntax and promiscuity, arguing that middle class women may avoid using nonstandard forms in order to avoid being associated with this social stereotype. ...
... These are just a few selections from the wide range of interpretations that have been proposed. These, and other suggestions, are discussed and critically assessed by James (1996), Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998) and Romaine (1999). Clearly, the fact that so many different factors can be convincingly argued for indicates that no single interpretation can be possible. ...
Variation with Speaker SexStable Sociolinguistic VariablesThe Role of Women in the Social Mechanism of Language ChangeVariation with GenderGender from a Social Psychological PerspectiveGender from a Discourse Analysis ApproachBeyond Phonological VariationConclusion
... English was used for instruction and was encouraged for communication between students. However, we included German translations (code-switching) for key vocabulary in the laboratory manual (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998). An additional vocabulary exercise book, which included one page for each phase, provided the relevant scientific terminology. ...
... The relationship between gender and linguistic variation and change has been established since the early days of variationist studies (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998;Labov, 1966;Trudgill, 1974, among others). The statistical significance of gender as a social variable in such studies highlights its role in "determining the structure of variation" and the "trajectory of language change" (Al-Wer et al., 2022: 55). ...
The current work is part of a larger research project investigating language variation and change within the framework of variationist sociolinguistics. The study focuses on the salient Qaf variable, realized as [q] and [ʔ] in Tartus City, Syria. The distribution and gendered evaluations of these variants are gleaned from interactions with 122 participants who belong to different gender, age, and religious/sectarian groups in the urban and rural regions of the city. The results of the logistic regression test reveal the significance of gender in the urban region, with a tendency among females to use the [ʔ] variant. In rural areas, however, gender emerged as statistically insignificant. The comments’ analysis further highlights the gendered associations of both variants and the ability of speakers to draw on them to forward specific identities. They further highlight the role of social actors and spaces in the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation and the spread of gendered evaluations among speakers since the early stages.
... The relationship between gender and linguistic variation and change has been established since the early days of variationist studies (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998;Labov, 1966;Trudgill, 1974, among others). The statistical significance of gender as a social variable in such studies highlights its role in "determining the structure of variation" and the "trajectory of language change" (Al-Wer et al., 2022: 55). ...
In recent years, a rise in research has validated the practice of translanguaging as a valuable and beneficial instructional approach. This pedagogy is considered practical as it supports the flexible and integrated use of linguistic and semiotic sources for meaning construction, fostering plurilingual competence, and aiding in foreign language teaching and learning. Translanguaging has been demonstrated to enhance students’ learning potential and engagement in bilingual and multilingual classrooms
when feedback facilitates meaning exchange through negotiated involvement. Implementing translanguaging in feedback is increasingly recognized as a transformative pedagogy for efficient and responsive teaching and learning. By amalgamating the findings of recent studies, this study intends to elucidate the present situation of literature on the way in which translanguaging is approached in feedback across various educational contexts. A high-level scoping analysis was conducted using a semi-systematic approach, employing keywords, research objectives, study settings, and primary discoveries. Subsequently, a narrative review was compiled based on the inclusion criteria. Following the elimination of duplicates, the literature consisted of 22 peer-reviewed studies, published between 2017 and October 2022 and accessible in the two representative and sizable
databases—— Scopus and Google Scholar. This review delineated the primary educational and research contexts where studies were undertaken, the research methodology employed in investigating pedagogic translanguaging in feedback practices, as well as the considerations and implications of translingual practices in corrective feedback that were highlighted as an enriched and encompassing communicative approach in foreign language classes.
... The relationship between gender and linguistic variation and change has been established since the early days of variationist studies (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998;Labov, 1966;Trudgill, 1974, among others). The statistical significance of gender as a social variable in such studies highlights its role in "determining the structure of variation" and the "trajectory of language change" (Al-Wer et al., 2022: 55). ...
This book offers a comprehensive exploration of bilingualism and multilingualism, delving into topics such as code-switching, corpus linguistics, languages in contact, and language policies. Featuring chapters authored by participants of the International Summer School of Bilingualism and Multilingualism (ISSBM 2022), this collection showcases heterogeneous student research and perspectives on language acquisition and diversity.
ISSBM 2022, a collaborative endeavor between the University of Nova Gorica (Slovenia) and the University of Udine (Italy), was supported by the European University for Cross-Border Knowledge Sharing (ACROSS) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Taking place at the Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany) from September 12-16, 2022, the summer school sought to discuss linguistic research and stimulate dialogue on bilingualism, multilingualism, and second language acquisition.
Additionally, the book includes a methodological reflection on translanguaging, with ISSBM 2022 serving as the case study. This compilation of proceedings serves as a valuable resource for students, researchers, and practitioners interested in the multifaceted world of bilingualism and multilingualism.
... The purpose of this exercise is twofold: first, our impressionistic opinion is that Spanish-English and HECS are largely similar (at least in the probabilistic distribution of each language, if not in grammatical detail), and obtaining similar values for HECS should help to validate the indices for our corpus; and second, we hope that this comparison between two language pairs, using objective, quantitative indices, will open the door to further comparative, typological approaches in the investigation of CS. Poplack (1980) argued for a typological approach to CS more than four decades ago, but comparative studies of CS between different language pairs remain scarce (e.g., Boumans & Caubet, 2000;Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998). ...
Aims and objectives:
Numerical indices developed by Guzman et al. that helped characterize code-switching (CS) patterns in Spanish–English bilingual corpora, were tested on a Hindi–English bilingual corpus. Two main research questions were addressed: first, how does Hindi–English compare with Spanish–English, and second, are there measurable differences in broad CS patterns between older and younger speakers?
Methodology:
Television interviews of Hindi movie (Bollywood) personalities were transcribed and coded for Hindi and English lexemes. Bespoke software in Python was used to calculate the required indices, which provided information on variables such as the level of language mixing, switching probability, and the distributions of single-language spans. Further indices, such as mean span length and an approximate ratio of insertions to alternations were also calculated.
Data and analysis:
The indices calculated for the Hindi–English corpus broadly match those calculated for Spanish–English. Statistically significant differences between the older and younger group were detected for some key indices, with older speakers generally using less English. High levels of intra-group variability may be responsible for some indices not showing statistically significant diachronic change.
Conclusions:
The Guzman et al. indices suggest that Hindi–English and Spanish–English CS resemble each other in certain ways. There have been broad changes in Hindi–English CS patterns over the last few decades, but there are indications that the CS behaviour of individual speakers might change in different ways.
Originality:
This is the first study to systematically and quantitatively investigate age-related differences in Hindi–English CS, using naturalistic speech in semi-controlled conditions.
Implications:
The quantitative indices investigated in this study can be used to compare CS behaviour in different language pairs, and can also help detect diachronic changes in CS patterns.
... However, male participants use it for purposes such as communication and humor. Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998) explored code-switching among the Greek community in London, England, and their findings also suggested that, although the purposes of code-switching were different for men and women, men and women code-switch equally. However, this was not the case among the seven Kuwaiti participants in this study. ...
This paper investigates the Kuwaiti attitudes and code-switching practices between the two most common languages used: Arabic and English. Additionally, it discusses which factors may affect how Kuwaitis code-switch, as well as their attitudes toward this phenomenon. In this study, a qualitative approach was used to collect data by conducting one-on-one interviews with seven participants. The study results showed that four of the seven participants had positive attitudes toward code-switching, whereas the remaining few had either neutral or negative attitudes. The thematic analysis of the qualitative narratives revealed that all of the participants habitually employed code-switching in their social interactions, despite their different attitudes. Being a bilingual speaker is an advantage—it can widen users’ horizons and open new socioeconomic opportunities thanks to globalization and English as a lingua franca. Therefore, parents, teachers, and policymakers are encouraged to work and help create bilingual speakers who are competent users of their mother tongue and their second language, English.
... For example, Poplack (1980) divides codeswitching into three types-"inter-sentential switching, intra-sentential switching and tag switching" while Muysken (1995) puts forwards another classification-"alternation, insertion and congruent lexicalization". Since 1970s, codeswitching has attracted a lot attention from different disciplines like grammar ( Poplack 1980, Joshi 1981, Doron 1983, Di Sciullo et al 1986, Appeal & Muysken 1987, McCormick 1998), sociolinguistics ( Gumperz 1972, Appeal & Muysken 1987, Myser-Scotton 1993, Luke 1997, Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros 1998, Moyer 1998), psycholinguistics ( Clyne 1967, Appeal & Muysken 1987) and conversational analysis. Conversational analysis is one of the most systematic research methodologies in the research of codeswicthing for its complete theoretical framework and analysis steps. ...
... 1 It has to be noted that the notion of standard variety does not always coincide with the notion of prestige variety. As Ibrahim (1986) has shown for Arabic, there may be cases where "a locally recognized standard of prestige exists apart from the standard High variety" (1986,118). 2 Although Gal's study is about code-switching, researchers such as Cheshire and Chloros (1998) have argued that the symbolic functions served by dichotomies such as standard vs. non-standard variants in monolinguals can equally be performed by bilinguals by using different languages. As Coupland (1985) points out, "the difference between monolingual and bilingual behaviour lies only in the choice of linguistic symbols for socially equivalent processes" (cited in Cheshire and Chloros 1998, 6). 3 This is exemplified through Eckert's study of adolescents in the Detroit suburban area (1989). ...
... Traditional approaches towards the study of gender and language have aimed at formulating generalizations for gender-based linguistic differences at a universal level. In the last two decades, however, some researchers have turned away from the quest for a universal interpretation for gender-based linguistic differences, and suggested that more attention should be paid to the social constructions of gender which may take different forms across cultures and through time (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet 1992; Cameron 2003, Romaine 1999, Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros 1998). ...
... Treffers-Daller (1992), working on French/Dutch conversations, reports that she did not find any significant difference between men and women regarding intrasentential codeswitching. Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros's (1998) research on codeswitching Greek-Cypriot community in Britain revealed that men and women do not differ significantly in their overall rate of switching; however, women tend to codeswitch intra-sententially slightly more than men. ...
... Females tend to speak more eloquently and use less ambiguous words than males of the same socioeconomic class. For example, more women would say "I don't want anything" while men would say "I don't want nothing" (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998). In addition, more females are found to be users of the minority language (Lieberson, 1970;Woolard, 1997). ...
... In their insightful review of codeswitching and gender, Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998) indicate that, while there exists no direct relationship between the two, different meanings that codeswitching practice acquires in different contexts may mediate its relationship to gender. The framework adopted in the present paper leads me to suggest that in contexts where the majority language is valued more, through association with power, people with more access to that language, often men, will exhibit higher degrees of codeswitching and loan -word use in the minority language. ...
The purpose of the present paper is to theorize the relationship between bilingualism and gender within a feminist post structuralist framework. I suggest that all language contact phenomena, including bilingualism, acquire different meanings indifferent contexts and can be linked to gender only indirectly. In some contexts, where bilingual skills are highly valued, they may become a means for one group to dominate the other, while in others bilingualism and cultural mediation are constructed as “servile” occupations and assigned to the less powerful group. Depending on gender relations in minority and majority communities, the values and benefits of monolingualism and bilingualism may be different for men and women. In some situations, knowledge of the majority language would be useful to everyone in the community, in others, the majority language is more useful for men than for women, and yet in others, it is women who profit most by shifting to the majority language. In sum, it is argued that it is not the essential nature of femininity or masculinity that defines the patterns of bilingualism, language maintenance or language shift, but rather the nature of gender, social, and economic relations, and ideologies of language and gender that mediate these relations.
... Studies on bilingual discourse have not shown a clear pattern of gender differences; although in some societies codeswitching seems to be more prevalent among women than among men, or vice versa, for many communities, no gender differences are reported (Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros 1996). In those studies that do show gender differences in language choices or codeswitching behavior, invariably it is differences in gender roles in the specific communities which lead to different linguistic practices. ...
In this study, an interaction in a Spanish-English bilingual classroom in the United States involving four fourth graders, two boys and two girls, is analyzed in terms of gender identity construction. Language use on two linguistic levels – that of language choice (Spanish or English) and that of communicative practice (collaboration) – is shown to contribute to the construction of gender identity. This research emphasizes the intertwining of these two levels in the linguistic construction of identity, as well as the interconnectedness of gender with other aspects of social identity, in this case ethnicity/nationality and classroom roles. Further, the study shows how social meanings of linguistic behavior are developed within communities of practice, and make use of both societal and locally constructed associations of social behavior.
... This exploratory study provides an interesting extension to the findings in Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros (1998), which suggested that women were just as likely as men to use CS in spite of its non-standard image. In fact they may even be particularly drawn to it, if it allows them an escape hatch from certain gender-related expectations. ...
... However, both dialectology and variationist sociolinguistics have pointed to the male-female distinction as a very powerful one and in particular to the fact that women usually avoid nonstandard forms and, in contexts of language change, favor either the spread of prestige variants or the innovation of new variants (Cheshire & Gardner-Chloros, 1998;Labov, 1990). Since gender-based differences are in fact social and cultural constructs, language use, and in particular code choice, are probably affected only indirectly by gender, and more complex patterns are to be sought instead. ...
In this article we provide a quantitative view on the relationship
between standard and dialect in Italy. In Italian sociolinguistics, the
concept of dilalìa has been used to account for this kind
of linguistic repertoire. This notion will be addressed as the main
theoretical frame to our investigation on code choice. Italian
sociolinguistics and dialectology so far have come to apparently
contradictory results about the standard–dialect relationship and
the vitality of dialects. On one side, the main post-war trend shows a
fall in the number of dialect speakers (especially the young and the less
educated); on the other, we are witnessing a change from above in
attitudes and beliefs regarding dialects. We carried out an empirical
study in the northwest of the country employing the method of rapid and
anonymous street interactions. Our focus being on code choice, we wanted
to know what factors affect the presence of dialect, making use of
multivariate analysis. a
... In a study on Greek Cypriot and Punjabi communities in Britain, Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998) examine if women use more standard forms than men, taking the use of code-switching as a non-standard variety. They found that Punjabi housewives in Birmingham, for example, never have an opportunity to talk monolingually, and thereby do not have monolingual discourse as part of their linguistic repertoire. ...
The focus of this article is the supposed 'Gender Paradox', proposed by Labov (1990, 2001), that women are both sometimes conservative and sometimes innovative in terms of linguistic variation and change. Here we explore the paradox from two perspectives: we both investigate its applicability to multilingual as opposed to multidialectal communities as well as question whether the paradox is methodological or real. Although much sociolinguistic research on the paradox has been on macro studies of men vs. women in monolingual multidialectal communities, this paper presents quantitative analyses supplemented by in-depth ethnographic observation and data collection in communities of practice in a multilingual Japanese-Palauan community of the Western Pacific. What is more, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the 'conservatism' and 'innovation' of women in the community under scrutiny is represented by the use of the very same language –Japanese. For older Japanese Palauan women, the greater use of Japanese represents adherence to their heritage language. Among younger Japanese-Palauan women (most of whom are bilingual in Palauan and English), however, the use of Japanese represents a change towards a language highly valued in the economy as essential for the promotion of tourism and trade. Since our results demonstrate that the effects of gender on language behaviour may appear in differences within sex groupings, we conclude that the paradox is methodological, rather than real, and is a result of the distilling of gender down to binary male-female categories of analysis, rather than investigating the complexity of gender more qualitatively; ethnographic investigation enables us to identify conservative or innovative linguistic behaviour in the local context as well as which men/women are members of which social groups on the basis of their social role and social practice in the community. Our ethnographic analysis of multilingual data from Palau presented here demonstrates that function as well as form is important in understanding seemingly paradoxical examples of language shift, as well as highlighting the need both for further research on the effects of gender in multilingual communities and the combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis in studies of language change. * We would like to thank: all those in Palau who kindly extended their warm hospitality during fieldwork trips in 1997, 1998 and 2000; Enam Al-Wer and the audience at the VIEW conference (14-16 September 2000) at Essex for useful comments on previous versions of this paper; as well as Phil Scholfield for his statistical assistance.
... Some researchers have documented sex differences in backchannel behavior (e.g., Hall et al., 1994;Roger and Schumacher, 1983), while others have established the absence of such differences (e.g., Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros, 1998;Mizutani, 1982;Mott and Petrie, 1995). Ideally, same sex samples would be used in all three studies to ensure that sex is not a confounding variable. ...
Backchannel responses appear to be a universal behavior, but specific backchannel behaviors are particular to language and culture. As such, they offer themselves to test central assumptions of Communication Accommodation Theory, in particular, assumptions relating to the processes of convergence and divergence. Researchers have identified linguistic and cultural differences in regard to the frequency, type, and placement of backchannel responses. This study examines differences in American English and German backchannel behavior and investigates backchannel behavior in interactions between monolingual and bilingual Germans. Study 1 documents significant differences in the frequency and placement of backchannel responses among monolingual German speakers and monolingual American English speakers. Results show that Germans produce fewer backchannel responses and place these responses less frequently in overlapping positions than American speakers do. Study 2 finds that native Germans who have become equally proficient in American English, when they speak to other native Germans in German, produce a higher number of backchannel responses and more often in overlapping positions than do monolingual Germans. This pragmatic transfer, for which some evidence exists in cross-linguistic studies, contradicts basic assumptions of Communication Accommodation Theory. Implications of these findings for Communication Accommodation Theory, future research on backchannel responses, and pragmalinguistic research are discussed.
... In its North American and European versions, this research has recently become interested in male/female differences in speech. However, as many critics have recently pointed out, it does not investigate language and gender, despite bold claims to the contrary (see especially, Eckert, 1989;Cameron, 1989Cameron, , 1990Coates, 1993;and Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros, 1998). 5 Since the quantitative methodology of this paradigm requires that samples include roughly equal numbers of men and women, the 'sex factor' thus introduced must be dealt with in the statistical analysis of results. ...
This paper surveys sociolinguistic research into language and gender in Latin America, and identifies a gap specifically in the area of gendered language use in interpersonal interaction. It also notes a general paucity of gendered research on bilingual behaviour, which extends beyond Latin America. Through an analysis of the very small body of such research which has been carried out in Latin America, it examines some serious implications of these gaps for the model of `bilingual-intercultural' education now gaining currency with Latin American governments and international agencies. It seeks explanations for these absences in the Latin American context (in Latin American feminism, in the role of language in Latin American nation-building and myths of mestizaje, and in the way sociolinguistics has been institutionalised there) and in wider theoretical debates within the social sciences. Finally, it raises questions as to how this lack might be remedied, in such a way as to further the development of culturally appropriate education programmes for Latin America's indigenous peoples.
... Such alternation in type of relation among narrative elements is analogous to the kinds of alternation called style-switching and code-switching. General explanations are clearly premature, even more so in this regard than with regard to code-switching, as Cheshire and Gardner-Chloros (1998) I have stressed the need to recognize the presence of patterned relations. It is important as well to recognize variation in their presence. ...
WHEN IS ORAL NARRATIVE POETRY? GENERATIVE FORM AND ITS PRAGMATIC CONDITIONS Dell Hymes I want to persuade you of three things: (1) that spoken narrative has a level of patterning that is likely to be found everywhere, or nearly so, but that has been missed in most research (in the common kinds of entextualization (Blommaert 1997: 15-24)); (2) that we are only beginning to grasp the complexity of such patterning as a part of narrative competence; (3) that such patterning may be present to different degrees, or even absent, in ways dependent upon personal and community circumstances and concerns. A fair amount has come to be known in regard to the first point (see 1. below). Something has begun to be known in regard to the second. What it would be like to know something about the third can be suggested. The first point has to do with transcending two conventional practices. One is the long-standing assumption that the narratives consist of paragraphs. Of course one knows that epics like the Iliad and Odyssey, and many other long narratives, are organized in terms of lines. We readily recognize their lines because they are organized internally. There are patterns in terms of which a line has a certain number of stressed syllables, alliterating initial consonants, feet of types defined by a tradition. We have a name for such lines, metrical. When metricality is absent, internal organization has been taken to be absent. Even those devoted to avoiding imposition of alien frameworks on languages, to describing the organization of languages inductively in terms of relations within the languages themselves, scholars such as Boas and Sapir, have left that devotion behind at the sentence's edge.Much of the traditional oral narrative of the world is published only in terms of paragraphs. Today there is a great deal of work that transcribes oral narratives in terms of lines. The working assumption is to attend to pauses, phrases, tone groups and the like. Such features are noted to divide a narrative. Largely ignored are features that enter into relationships to organize a narrative (see discussion of John L's story below). In recent years it has become clear that in many languages, perhaps all, there is an organization of lines in terms of which the shape of a narrative can be discovered inductively and shown on the page. The relations are not internal to lines, not metrical, but among lines, 'measured'. There are regularities in the relations among measured lines, just as there are regularities in metrical lines. Especially clear accounts of the identification of lines in spoken narratives are given by Virginia Hymes (1987) and Joel Sherzer (1987, ch.4; 1990, pp.17). On the vocal articulation of lines in ritual wailing in three South American cultures, see Urban (1991), pp. 110-1, 152-9. These regularities have to do with cultural patterns, but also with the explorations and skill of narrators. In terms of cultural patterns, communities appear to build upon one of two alternatives: Relations in terms of two and four, or relations in terms of three and five. English narratives in the United States appear to work in terms of three and five, but in parts of Ireland in terms of two and four. Among Native American groups, Navajo, Zuni and others build in terms of two and four, while Chinookan and Sahaptian build in terms of three and five. In a flourishing narrative tradition one may find a variety of ways of making use of such relations, and of varying their aesthetic effect. A set of three or of five may be a set of three or five pairs. A sequence of ten lines may be a single rhetorical unit. A set of lines may be balanced internally, or a run from start to end. Uses of quoted speech and of catalogs are variables also. (See Hymes 1994, 1999) For many narrative traditions, discovering lines and relations is pretty much all that we can do. To be sure, it can lead to understanding and interpretation otherwise not possible. We can recognize artistry and subtleties of meaning otherwise invisible. For a true account of the human capacity for verbal art, this is crucial. But as with the Iliad and Odyssey, there are no people to observe and question, only texts. The second and third points have to do with when and where and to what degree narrators are conscious of such relations, or sensitive to them, vary in their deployment of them, as in regard to gender, are perhaps unconsciously affected by their presence. Pragmatic research should not be ignorant of the first point, when dealing with narrative. It can make major contributions to the second and third.
This research monitored the impact of code switching in several linguistic contexts through qualitative research methodologies. The study interviewed ten Saudi bilinguals who code-switch between English and Arabic. Five of them were males and the other 5 were females. In order to conduct comparative research, six of the respondents were living in large cities and four of them were residents of small cities in Saudi Arabia. The research concluded that bilingual Saudis implement code-switching in professional settings and they claim it is natural and is more likely to be expected. Also, English Saudi bilinguals reported that they identify with English as well as Arabic and they were less likely to believe that communicating in English discard their Saudi identity or distort it. To sum it up, this current study found that it is natural for crowded and big or large cities to expand the importance of repetitive code-switching with the availability of non-Arabic speakers in several linguistic contexts and some professional settings.
Bilingualer Unterricht ist mit großen Hoffnungen für die Verbesserung englischer Sprachkompetenz verbunden, ohne die Lehrpläne durch zusätzlichen Fremdsprachenunterricht weiter zu überladen. Denn fließendes Englisch ist in beinahe allen akademischen und nicht akademischen Berufen Grundvoraussetzung. Neben müheloser Kommunikation in englischer Alltagssprache wird insbesondere disziplinbezogene Fachsprachlichkeit erwartet. Diese Fachsprachlichkeit ist jedoch stark kontextbezogen und kann nur innerhalb authentischer, disziplin- spezifischer Lernsituationen gefördert werden. Zusätzlich zur Sprachkompetenz wird auch inhaltlich verstärkt auf Kompetenzen gesetzt. Entsprechende Anpassungen des Lehrplans und damit einhergehende innovative Unterrichtskonzepte sollen kompetenzorientiertes Lernen ermöglichen. Entsprechend müssen Module entworfen werden, die eine Selbstkonzept stärkende, Kreativität fördernde, Lernerfolg steigernde und natürlichen Spracherwerb verbessernde Lernumgebung unterstützen. Eine Möglichkeit für den naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht stellen eintägige Experimentierlabore mit bilingualem Lernangebot dar. Bestehende Referenzen zu diesen Modulen sind jedoch rar, da sich der Großteil der Literatur über Kombinationen von Naturwissenschaften mit Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) ausschließlich auf CLIL-Module in Langzeitform fokussiert. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein ursprünglich muttersprachlich deutsches Modul zu einem bilingual englischen Bio- /Gentechnik Modul weiterentwickelt. Hierfür wurde ich der vorliegenden Arbeit der Unterschied zwischen einem Moduldesign mit nur einer oder zwei Modellevaluationsphasen untersucht. Ferner ergründete die Arbeit das Zusammenspiel zwischen Persönlichkeitsvariablen und Kreativität in einem quantitativen Verfahren. Dabei wurden altersspezifische Geschlechterunterschiede in den Kreativitätsvariablen Act und Flow-Erleben beim Vergleich von Extremgruppen deutlich sowie Zusammenhänge zwischen Flow und Persönlichkeitsvariablen. Beim Vergleich des Lernerfolgs zwischen Schülergruppen des muttersprachlich deutschen und des bilingual englischen Moduls in konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Schüler des muttersprachlich deutschen Moduls besser abschnitten. Ähnliche Ergebnisse konnten bezüglich des Einflusses von CLIL auf Modellwissen in einem erzielt werden. Jedoch bewiesen sich die Schüler des bilingual englischen Moduls bei Fragen und Aufgaben, die Tiefenverständnis erforderten. Die Untersuchung des Einflusses von CLIL auf englischen Spracherwerb zeigte, dass die Schüler durch Teilnahme am Modul ihre englischen Sprachkompetenzen verbesserten. In der Literatur allgemein postulierte Geschlechterunterschiede wurden nicht bestätigt. Dafür konnte ein rapides Absinken der zunächst im Cloze-Test gemessenen Sprachkompetenzen im Behaltenstest festgestellt werden. Eine mögliche Erklärung für dieses Phänomen ist der Wechsel auf Distanzunterricht im Zuge der COVID-19-Beschränkungen. Der Einfluss von Hands-on-Minds-on-Aktivitäten und CLIL auf Kreativität und Selbstkonzept erwies, dass die Skalen von Kreativität und Selbstkonzept miteinander korrelieren und somit in einer ähnlichen Lernumgebung gefördert werden können. Außerdem wurde die in der Literatur geschilderte wechselseitige Beziehung zwischen Leistung und Selbstkonzept bestätigt. Geschlechterunterschiede zeigten sich nur für die Subskala Social des Selbstkonzepts. Hier nahmen sich weibliche Schüler im leistungsmäßigen Vergleich mit anderen Schülern leistungsschwächer wahr als sie tatsächlich waren und unterschieden sich damit von ihren männlichen Kollegen.
Malaysia has long been a melting pot of various cultures and ethnicities, including the three largest populations, the Malay, Chinese, and Indians. Despite this, efforts to implement multilingualism, advocated by language educators and policy makers, have been marred by political and religious affiliations. Drawing on two decades of field research, this timely analysis of language variation in Malaysia is an important contribution to the understanding not only of linguistic pluralism in the country, but also of the Indian Diaspora, and of the effects of language change on urban migrant populations. The research presented here will be of interest to scholars of Southeast Asian and South Asian Studies.
Code‐switching is one of the most striking aspects of language contact to the observer. It provides the clearest synchronic evidence that contact is occurring, both in societies and for individuals. This chapter discusses how code‐switching fits in with other manifestations and outcomes of contact, including borrowing and translanguaging on the one hand, and language change and shift on the other. Code‐switching can embody different types of significance within a contact situation, from accommodation to divergence and from language maintenance to language shift. It is found alongside pidginization and creolization/decreolization in many parts of the world, and contributes to the process of convergence of different varieties. A significant locus of language contact nowadays is that of online writing. Different varieties interact online as well as in speech, and much recent research on code‐switching focuses on its use in social media.
The English language has featured markedly as a popular language of computer-mediated communication, and notably of Facebook posts, written not only by native or second language speakers, but also users of English as a foreign language. The aim of this paper is to investigate the frequency, form and function of English language Facebook profile updates of 110 (55 women and 55 men) users of English representing 41 European, Asian, African and Latin American countries belonging to the Expanding Circle. Approached from the point of view of the code choice as well as the users’ gender, and supported by an online survey data, the study analyses in detail the form of the updates in connection with gender preferences and identifies language contexts and functions users choose to express themselves in English as opposed to their native tongue, thereby demonstrating the role of English as a we-code in a social networking service.
The English language has featured markedly as a popular language of computer-mediated communication, and notably of Facebook posts, written not only by native or second language speakers, but also users of English as a foreign language. The aim of this paper is to investigate the frequency, form and function of English language Facebook profile updates of 110 (55 women and 55 men) users of English representing 41 European, Asian, African and Latin American countries belonging to the Expanding Circle. Approached from the point of view of the code choice as well as the users' gender, and supported by an online survey data, the study analyses in detail the form of the updates in connection with gender preferences and identifies language contexts and functions users choose to express themselves in English as opposed to their native tongue, thereby demonstrating the role of English as a we-code in a social networking service.
In the past two decades, the field of language and masculinities studies has become an established part of language, gender, and sexuality research, growing in response to concerns about the limited criticality directed toward men and masculinities in sociolinguistics. In doing so, the field has added to the conceptual and theoretical tool kit of sociolinguistics, furthering both our understanding of the linguistic strategies used by men in a variety of contexts and the myriad links connecting language and the social performance of gender. This review surveys the historical trajectory of scholarship broadly concerned with men, masculinities, and language and charts its development from more critical work on men and masculinities within sociology to its emergence as an independent field of inquiry. I outline some of the key contributions this body of work has made to sociolinguistic theory, methodology, and knowledge and suggest some future research directions through which the field may engage with contemporary social issues.
Libro de resúmenes del II CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL SOBRE
LENGUA E INMIGRACIÓN.
Book of abstarcts. II International Conference on Language and Migration
This chapter reports on the results of an automatic analysis of 67,515 clauses from a Welsh-English corpus (www. bangortalk. org. uk and http:// talkbank. org/ data/ BilingBank/ Bangor) collected from 151 speakers. We aimed to identify the role of age, gender, first language acquired, the language of education, social network, and the accuracy of self-report regarding individuals’ code switching. We studied both intraclausal and interclausal code switching, using an innovative automatic glossing mechanism to extract clauses and analysis by Rbrul relating extralinguistic factors to the production of bilingual versus monolingual clauses. Our results showed that both intraclausal and interclausal code switching were more common in younger speakers and those who had acquired Welsh and English simultaneously, and that people were surprisingly accurate in reporting their own code-switching usage.
It is quite commonplace for bilingual speakers to use two or more languages, dialects or varieties in the same conversation, without any apparent effort. The phenomenon, known as code-switching, has become a major focus of attention in linguistics. This concise and original study explores how, when and where code-switching occurs. Drawing on a diverse range of examples from medieval manuscripts to rap music, novels to advertisements, emails to political speeches, and above all everyday conversation, it argues that code-switching can only be properly understood if we study it from a variety of perspectives. It shows how sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, grammatical and developmental aspects of code-switching are all interdependent, and findings in each area are crucial to others. Breaking down barriers across the discipline of linguistics, this pioneering book confronts fundamental questions about what a & #x2018;native language & #x2019; is, and whether languages can be meaningfully studied outside of the individuals who use them. © Penelope Gardner-Chloros 2009 and Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Written by leading experts in the field, The Blackwell Guide to Research Methods in Bilingualism and Multilingualism focuses on the methodology of research in this rapidly growing field. Highlights the interdisciplinary nature of research on bilingualism and multilingualism and offers a practical guide to the specific procedures and tools for collecting and analyzing data. Specifically addresses methodological issues, discussing research topics, core concepts and approaches, and the methods, techniques and tools available. Provides project ideas and practical advice on conference presentations and publication. Brings together a team of leading international experts in the field Links theory to method, and to data, answering the market need for a volume on bilingualism and multilingualism that deals with its methodology in a systematic and coherent way.
Code-switching in spoken modes has now been studied fairly extensively and is better understood at the conversational as well as the grammatical level. However, interest in written code-switching has developed more slowly and is still represented mainly in relation to specific periods, such as the Classical period and the medieval period, where a large number of works have now appeared. Linguists have questioned to what extent the models developed for spoken code-switching can be applied to writing, and a fortiori to literary writing. This introductory article reviews the main types of literary multilingualism and the main functions of code-switching within it. We conclude that there is at least a partial - and not inconsiderable - overlap between the functions of code-switching in spoken and written modalities.
This article argues that contrary to sociolinguistic practice which emphasizes spontaneous speech as the main or only source of evidence, the study of literary code-switching (CS) can be relevant to an understanding of CS in general. CS is first distinguished from other forms of literary multilingualism and from borrowing. We then consider how CS fits in with the mimetic function in literary dialogue, and how its functions can be compared with those of natural speech. We will see that literary CS can provide a wealth of sociolinguistically relevant information on speech modes found in various communities, and is particularly apt to portray postcolonial tensions. More stylized CS in poetry and drama can also embody complex multicultural identities and patterns of language choice, even in the absence of strict verisimilitude.
We describe a project (the LIPPS project) whose purpose is to set up a computerized database of bilingual texts to be used by researchers in the field of “language interaction” (i.e., codeswitching, borrowing, and other outcomes of contact between varieties). Current work includes an adaptation of the CHILDES system(MacWhinney,1995) to take account of the different needs of researchers in this area, for example, solving the problems of distinguishing, coding, and representing language interaction phenomena; providing a gloss / translation in user-friendly format; and developing qualitative as well as quantitative tools for comparing data-sets.
Problems and some advantages of such a comparison are illustrated through a pilot project conducted by Gardner-Chloros using two sets of data: Greek-Cypriot/English data and Punjabi /English. Practical problems included giving transcribers/coders the necessary training in using the system and ensuring a consistent approach. Coding problems derived from interlinguistic differences were also highlighted. Clear advantages ensued, however, from being able to compare the type/quantity of codeswitches and so forth across data-sets, as this allows an assessment of the relative weight of linguistic and sociolinguistic factors in determining the form of language interaction.
In this paper, we explore further the idea that differences in syntax and discourse may reflect different orientations to talk, which may in turn be relevant to the social construction of gender. We take as the basis for our investigation an area at the interface of syntax and pragmatics that has not previously been investigated from a sociolinguistic perspective: the management of information structure in natural discourse.
The focus of this paper is a (re)consideration of explanations and (re)presentation of second-generation bilingual women and their discourses of identities, language choice and language maintenance in Australia in the light of new directions for gender in language contact research. Here we present a (re)view of the value, roles and directions of past and present research about gender and language contact as well as provide an example for future directions through an examination of the emergent discourses of identity of a young Australian-born woman of Greek parentage living in Melbourne.
The focus of this article is the supposed “Gender Paradox,” proposed by Labov(1990,2001), which suggests that women are both sometimes conservative and sometimes innovative in terms of linguistic variation and change. Here we explore the paradox from two perspectives: we in vestigate both its applicability to multilingual as opposed to multidialectal communities as well as question whether the paradox is methodological or real. Although much sociolinguistic research on the paradox has been on macro studies of men versus women in monolingual multidialectal communities, this paper presents quantitative analyses supplemented by in-depth ethnographic observation and data collection in a multilingual Japanese-Palauan community of the Western Pacific. What is more, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the “conservatism” and “innovation” of women in the community under scrutiny is represented by the use of the very same language—Japanese. For older Japanese-Palauan women, the greater use of Japanese represents adherence to their heritage language. Among younger Japanese-Palauan women(most of whom are bilingual in Palauan and English), however, the use of Japanese represents a change to wards a language highly valued in the economy as essential for the promotion of tourism and trade. Since our results demonstrate that the effects of gender on language behavior may appear in differences within sex groupings, we conclude that the paradox is methodological, rather than real, and is a result of the distillling of gender down to binary male-female categories of analysis, rather than investigating the complexity of gender more qualitatively. Our ethnographic analysis of multilingual data from Palau presented here demonstrates that function as well as form are important in understanding seemingly paradoxical examples of language shift, as well as highlighting the need both for further research on the effects of gender in multilingual communities and the combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis in studies of language change.
This article examines the language situation in the Ẹdo state of Nigeria, with particular reference to how the people accommodate their interlocutors by adapting their speech through codeswitching. Examples gathered from empirical research are analysed and conclusions drawn regarding the reasons why and when the people, in particular the Binis, codeswitch to accommodate those with whom they speak. Like most of Nigeria, the Ẹdo state has been greatly influenced by the English language and its culture. This article focuses on Ẹdo-English and English-Ẹdo, as well as Pidgin English-Ẹdo and Ẹdo-Pidgin English codeswitching patterns and the social motivations that underly these patterns.
This article provides a sociolinguistic overview of Tamil, the language that once had the greatest number of speakers amongst the Indian South Africans. It ocuses on the following four aspects of the life cycle of the language in South Africa: (a) origins and demography, (b) dialect features, (c) changes arising out of contact with South African languages and (d) obsolescence. The article concentrates on the colloquial variety of Tamil, rather than its classical ‘High’ counterpart. It demonstrates that whilst Tamil shows some parallel changes to those undergone by the one South African Indian language studied in detail – Bhojpuri-Hindi – there are significant differences between the two transplanted languages regarding linguistic change.
In this study of four Mexican-American fourth grade children in a Spanish—English bilingual classroom, language choice is shown to be a mechanism for constructing social identity. While all four children use both English and Spanish to perform their identities, the diversity of their social identities leads them to use the same linguistic resources in a variety of ways. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses show how specific language choices may be tied to societal norms to index pre-existing identity categories, most saliently ethnicity and nationality; yet frequently specific language choices are used to construct identities in which gender, friendship ties, and classroom roles are focal aspects.
The Handbook of Language Contact offers systematic coverage of the major issues in this field – ranging from the value of contact explanations in linguistics, to the impact of immigration, to dialectology – combining new research from a team of globally renowned scholars, with case studies of numerous languages.
The extensive work done on the structure of monolingual discourse is now paralleled by a strong tradition of studies of the conversational functions of bilingual codeswitching (Gumperz, 1982; Myers-Scotton, 1993a; Auer, 1998a). So far, however, no direct comparisons have been made between the two.In this paper we compare the way in which four common conversational functions are realised (a) monolingually and (b) through codeswitching by members of a Punjabi and English-speaking network in London. The samples are thus ideally matched - the same speakers in the same context - and we establish that codeswitching may be used in two ways within these conversations. On the one hand it may take the place of monolingual ways of marking significant moves in the conversation (e.g. emphasis, change in voice quality), or add itself to these to reinforce the effect. On the other hand it can be used as a further dimension to the monolingual means which are available, allowing the speakers to introduce structural contrasts, manage the conversational ‘floor’, or highlight the different connotations of each variety as a counterpoint to the referential meaning of their utterance.
A recurrent theme in the literature on trilingual language use is the question of whether there is a specific “trilingual competence.” In this paper we consider this question in the light of codeswitching patterns in two dyadic trilingual conversations between a mother and daughter conducted in (Lebanese) Arabic, French, and English. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of codeswitching in both conversants shows that, despite the fact that both subjects are fluent in all three languages, uses of switching are significantly different for mother and daughter across a number of features, including relative frequency of different switch types, and the incidence of hybrid constructions involving items from two or more languages. The subjects appear to display qualitatively distinct profiles of competence in the trilingual mode. This in turn leads to the conclusion that the facts of trilingual language use are best characterized in terms of “multicompetence” (Cook, 1991). The paper concludes with some further reflections on the uniqueness of trilingual language use (an “old chestnut” in
trilingualism research, cf. Klein, 1995).
Y a-t-il une difference dans le choix d'une alternative de discours, en l'occurence le choix d'une langue (l'anglais ou l'espagnol) chez les femmes mexicaines-americaines quand elles parlent soit a d'autres femmes, soit a des hommes? Qu'apporte la connaissance de ces differences a la comprehension du comportement linguistique des femmes monolingues?.
In this study, 108 university students (54 men and 54 women) were each videotaped in two 8-minute problem-solving dyadic interactions: (1) same-sex, and (2) mixed-sex. Trained observers coded the interactions for simultaneous, moment-to-moment gaze and talk behavior of both interactants. MANOVA results for three dyad types (male/male, female/female, and male/female) measured on 10 dyad gaze/talk variables showed that F/F dyads exhibited more mutual gaze/mutual talk and mutual gaze/mutual silence than either M/M or M/F dyads. F/F dyads exhibited less one gazes/same talks and mutual avert/one talks than either M/M or M/F dyads. No differences were found between M/M and M/F dyads on any variable. Analyses of individual change scores from same-sex to mixed-sex dyads indicated that the women in the M/F dyads converged to the male behavior in that dyad condition, whereas the men remained unchanged. The results are discussed in terms of speech accommodation theory.
In this paper we report the results of a pilot study which was designed to elicit experimentally evaluative reactions to Panjabi/English code‐switching. The experimental procedure was adapted from the ‘matched guise’ technique developed by Lambert et al. (1960). The difference here is that the speech samples which we asked subjects to rate represented not different languages or varieties/accents of the same language, but varieties which draw on two languages, Panjabi and English, to differing degrees. Our results are in line with those of similar experiments done on evaluative reactions to speech. That is, the same speaker is evaluated in different ways depending on how he speaks. The different types of code‐switched discourse were found to be related to external dimensions such as perceived fluency in English and Panjabi, intelligibility and expressivity.