Codeswitching and the exclusivity of social identities: Some data from campus Kiswahili

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the macro‐dimension of codeswitching, as observed in Campus Kiswahili (a sociolect of Swahili). Campus Kiswahili is used by academic staff from the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), and it is distinguishable from other English‐interfered Swahili variants spoken in the city of Dar es Salaam and elsewhere because of the grammatical and semantic correctness of English interferences. It is argued that the specific sociohistoric background of Tanzanian society accounts for the social valency of Campus Kiswahili. The identity constructed by speakers of Campus Kiswahili is, because of the specific social history, an exclusive identity, i.e. one which is inaccessible for a majority of the population. Conclusions are drawn with regard to existing theoretical models of codeswitching.