Abstract
This study approaches switching in bilingual infants from a developmental perspective, using a micro-focus of conversation-analysis. Early switching data of two bilingual children(age 1;6 to 2;11) is analyzed in terms of pragmatic choices and constraints, and it is argued that, whilst some adult-like socially-determined switching could be observed at a very early age, the most frequently observed early switches were explained in terms of the child's psycho-social and linguistic development, in particular switching for emphasis and appeal and switching due to vocabulary gaps. The results are interpreted within a developmental perspective on codeswitching, and as such bridge an identified gap in the field of infant bilingualism between structural analyses of language alternations in bilingual infants on the one hand, and switching in older bilinguals on the other.
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