Polyphony in multilingual interactions: code-switching in reported speech among Ghanaian immigrants in Bergamo

Abstract

The present contribution is based on the analysis of some narrative sequences extracted from a sample of face-to-face interactions and semi-structured interviews involving a group of (first-generation) Ghanaian immigrants in Italy. The analysis combines the interpretative frameworks of conversation analysis and interactional sociolinguistics (Gumperz 1982) with Bakhtin’s (1981) analysis of the “layering of voices” emerging in narrative texts, as well as with the findings of recent research on identity as an interactional accomplishment. It will be argued that, in the narrative sequences examined, multilingual competence is creatively resorted to in order to construct socially interpretable identities and to mark portions of reported speech, thereby isolating from the surrounding utterances the different voices alternating within the narration itself. Code-switching will be pointed out as a versatile conversational strategy enabling the speaker to recreate the polyphony which is typical of any dialogic sequence and to convey both personal and group identity.