Abstract
The neglected area of Arab speakers’ verbal performance in mixed-sex contexts is the focus of this study. This paper attempts to contribute to this area by studying the frequency and type of code-switches from Arabic into English in the casual conversations of young bilingual Saudis. Findings indicate that Saudi females’ style of speech was characterized by substantially more code-switching from Arabic into English particularly single noun and adjective switches than their male counterparts in both single and mixed sex interactions. Women’s turn-switches were marked by more linguistic convergence between one another, however they were less inclined to turn-switch to the language of a speaker of the opposite sex. Men’s code-switching performance at a turn boundary was overall more inclined towards linguistic divergence. The findings in relation to turn-switching would indicate that although these women and men interacted in mixed-sex settings, they still seemed to adhere to Saudi cultural values that encourage social distance between the sexes. It is argued that underpinning Arab women’s and men’s code-switching behavior are lingering cultural customs and gendered ideologies of language.
Highlights
Both the area of language and gender and the phenomena of code-switching in bilingual speech have experienced a great deal of scientific interest
Even though the study examines the bilingual performance of a small group of women and men within a particular context, dinner gatherings, the results offered here can provide insights regarding the interaction of gender and CS performance by Saudi’s in mixed-sex and single-sex interactions
CS into English would seem to be an emblematic part of Saudi female speech style since women overall resorted to substantially more CS into English than male speakers
Summary
Both the area of language and gender and the phenomena of code-switching (hereafter CS) in bilingual speech have experienced a great deal of scientific interest. Much of the research that has examined Arab women’s and men’s speech has generally focused on single-sex interactions because many Arab cultures discourage mingling of the sexes outside the context of family. This is the case in Saudi Arabia, a conservative Moslem Arab society where social and physical segregation of the sexes is common. No quantitative study has been published on Arabic-English CS by Saudis in mixed-sex contexts using recorded natural data. The aim is to fill-in the gap in the literature on Saudi’s verbal behavior in mixed-sex contexts and to contribute to the areas of CS and language and gender in general. Vol 5, No 5; 2015 relation to Saudi women’s and men’s CS performance
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