Abstract
Outapi is a rural town in the northern part of Namibia. Its residents are exposed to a variety of languages. Speakers whose English proficiency is limited, but who are able to communicate in Oshiwambo, use Oshiwambo to communicate. The problem arises when communication is in English, as the majority are English second or third language speakers and thus unable to express themselves very well. This study sought to understand the role of code switching between English and Oshiwambo by Outapi residents and public officials when conducting public affairs in the bank, the clinic and the post office. A qualitative research approach based on a case study research design was applied to determine the pertinence of code switching in the multilingual community. Findings from observations and interviews revealed that code switching facilitated communication in Outapi for speakers to attain their communication goals. Although the study indicated how code switching enriches Oshiwambo in terms of vocabulary, it also indicates a contribution to the language death of local languages.
Highlights
Language is seen as a vehicle of communication
The findings of this study indicate that code switching was usually used when the speaker did not know a certain word in the target language
The findings indicate that the two rating scales scored the highest percentages (44%) each, in comparison with the other two rating scale which obtained 35% and 4% of the responses respectively
Summary
Language is seen as a vehicle of communication. Speakers transmit their news and messages to reach the targeted individuals through any language they are comfortable with. By interacting with people from different languages, most Namibians become proficient in a variety of the local languages They can opt to switch between languages they are exposed to in order to make their communication as easy and effective as possible. As indicated in a previous study, Finnegan (2014)[9] finds that speakers in a multilingual society employ several languages simultaneously by switching over to languages of preference to attain their communication goals. This leads to the practice of code switching. The majority of the Outapi residents are Oshiwambo speakers, there are people from different language backgrounds They converse often in more than one language to make communication possible.
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