Arabic–French code-switching in medical consultations in Algeria: A conversation analytic study

Abstract

This paper reports a study of Arabic-French language alternation in medical consultations in Algeria to reveal the ways in which code-switching is used to build and organise activities in medical interactions. Conversation analysis is applied to examine the participants' linguistic choices. Audio-recorded data was collected in two public hospitals in the Northwest of Algeria. This study suggests that there are misperceptions in the research literature about doctors' use of French as a resource to disempower patients and to limit their contribution in consultations. It refines our understanding of the nature of language alternation – code switching - in Algerian medical consultations. The results show that: 1) French is dispreferred with patients, 2) code-switching is used as a resource to organise and distinguish activities in turns and sequences, however, 3) doctors' use of French can contribute to pushing back against patients' resistance and to disaffiliate with patients’ stances.