Abstract
Language plays an important role in shaping a person’s identity (Myers-Scotton, 1993). In this paper, I will examine one linguistic phenomenon, namely code-switching, and how it relates to identity. I examine code-switching in a bilingual TV show shot in Miami in the 1970s, focusing on the characteristics (sex and generation) of the interlocutors who engage in code-switching and of the grammatical structure of the code-switching itself. The analysis shows that code-switching is high in the middle-aged individuals in this setting and that males engage in code-switching slightly more often than females. Furthermore, intersentential code-switching is the most common grammatical structure of code-switching, followed by code-switching at verb-phrase boundaries and on vocatives. Throughout this study, I show how code-switching and identity are profoundly connected.
Highlights
Background and Previous StudiesCode-switching is a rich area of research and has generated a plethora of insights and findings
It is clear to see that factors such as age and sex correlate with differing linguistic patterns and trends
Collecting data on the grandparents was useful because it allowed them to act as “control” groups, in order to compare the linguistic patterns of ostensibly monolingual characters with those of bilingual characters
Summary
Code-switching is a rich area of research and has generated a plethora of insights and findings. Women and men use language differently, and individuals of different ages display different characteristics in their language use. To illustrate this point, the phrase “That is too cute!” may sound strange from an adult male, and “I could have just died” may sound as strange from a five-year-old. A study in Gambia, looking at 24 participants of both sexes and different socio-economic, educational, and linguistic backgrounds (provided they were proficient speakers of Mandinka and Wolof, the two languages in question), found that men used code-switching up to twice as much as women (Haust, 1995)
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