Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences

Department of English Studies

EL-Jadida

CODE-SWITCHING IN CONVERSATION BETWEEN

ENGLISH STUDIES STUDENTS (MOROCCO)

A Monograph paper submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of License

By: Tariq Mesaaf. CNE: 1515303467

Supervised by: Prof. Najat Mokhtari

Academic Year:
2018-2019
Table of contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................. 3

PART 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................................... 4

1-SOCIOLINGUISTICS................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.1- MULTILINGUALISM............................................................................................................................................. 5

1.1.1- CODE SWITCHING............................................................................................................................................ 6

1.1.1.1-TYPES OF CODE SWITCHING.................................................................................................................... 7

1.1.1.2- FACTORS OF CODE-SWITCHING............................................................................................................ 8

1.1.1.3- FUNCTIONS OF CODE SWITCHING.....................................................................................................10

1.1.1.4- CODE-SWITCHING IN CONVERSATION............................................................................................11

2- Prior research related to Code switching in conversation between English studies students
............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

PART 2: DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................................ 14

1-Methodology and Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................. 14

1-1.Theoretical Framework....................................................................................................................................14

1-2.Methodology ..........................................................................................................................................................15

1-2-1. SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (APPENDIX) ..............................................................................................15

1-2-2. PARTICIPANTS................................................................................................................................................15

2- RESULTS AND FINDINGS................................................................................................................................... 16

2-1. DATA ANALYSIS..................................................................................................................................................16

SECTION ONE ................................................................................................................................................................16

SECTION TWO...............................................................................................................................................................20

3- DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................................. 29

4- CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................................... 34

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35

APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................................................... 36

1
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Praise be to Allah, The Almighty, for the will and determination and high spirit given to the

writer of this paper, so that he is able to accomplish this monograph entitled “Code-

switching in conversation between English Studies Students (Morocco)”

as the requirement for achieving the Bachelor’s degree at English Department, Faculty of

Letters and Human Sciences, University of Chouaib Doukkali.

On this occasion, the writer would like to thank the people who have contributed to the

completion of this research. They are:

- My Father and my Mother who have supported me emotionally and financially.

- Mrs. Najat Mokhtari, my dear supervisor, who helped me so much with her

constant feedback, guidance, time and effort to correct my mistakes during this

research.

2
INTRODUCTION

Code-switching is a term that is widely used in linguistics and a variety of related fields. It

is a widespread sociolinguistic phenomenon in the bilingual communities. In the early 50’s,

an individual who code switched was not considered to be well educated (Weinreich,

1953). Then, the perspective on code-switching began to change. This negative attitude

towards code switching has changed to a very positive one. Brice (2009) considers code-

switching as a natural act made by bilingual and multilingual. It is considered to be a

universal phenomenon.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an idea about the types, functions and factors of

codes-switching (CS) used in conversations between English studies students, and also to

know the reasons that lie behind their code-switching and the topics of conversation that

can give rise to this phenomenon.

This research paper is divided into two parts: A theoretical part and a practical one. The

theoretical part is concerned with the review of the literature which is divided into two

parts: The first part aims to give an overview about sociolinguistics, multilingualism, code-

switching and its types, factors and functions and finally an idea about code-switching in

conversation. The second part of the literature focuses on prior research related to code-

switching in conversation between English studies students.

The practical part is concerned with data collection and data analysis and the discussion of

the findings.

3
PART 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1-SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Sociolinguistics looks at language from a social setting perspective. Numerous definitions

of sociolinguistics try to describe language and social variation. These definitions have been

developed throughout the years by different linguists. Sociolinguistics, as a variety of

linguistics, studies a number of language phenomenon and answers the question of how

language is used in our everyday conversations.

In society, people communicate through language. According to Holmes (2013, p. 1)the

relationship between language and society is the main concern of sociolinguistics. It i s

focusing on explaining the reason behind the use of different languages n different social

contexts and it is concerned with identifying the social functions of language and how it

conveys social meaning. In addition, sociolinguistics tries to examine the use of language in

different social contexts by people in order to answer the question of how language works

and to harvest the given information about the social relationships in the society. Also, it

examines the way of how people, through their own language, can perceive and build

aspects of their social identity.

Most of the definitions of sociolinguistics agree on the notion of language and its

relationship to society. For example, Spolsky (1998) argues that sociolinguistics, as a

discipline of linguistics and sociology, studies the individual and social variation of

language. The type of language used can give a lot of information about the individual. As a

scientific field, sociolinguistics allows researchers to conduct experiments on both language

and society in order to find out how language affects society.

For many people, the first systematic study of the relationship between language

variation and social organization is described in a 1958 article by the sociologist John L.

4
Fischer as described in a book of Herk (2012): What is Sociolinguistics. The same author in

the same book defines sociolinguistics as the scientific study of the relationship between

language and society and he adds that this relationship between languages can be studied

and interpolated only inside multilingual societies.

1.1- MULTILINGUALISM

The term multilingualism had two senses in general. First, if individuals are able to speak

two or more languages reasonably fluently, it can be said that they are to be bi lingual or

multilingual. Second, the term ‘multilingual’ refers to an entire speech community, region

or nation where two or more separate languages are used regularly by most of the

population in everyday life.

All the members belonging to multilingual speech communities will be multilingual. If

the community in which the individual lives is monolingual, the individual may be

multilingual. These two terms need to be kept semantically separate to avoid confusion.

Contact between people speaking different languages has been a common phenomenon

since ancient times. Even if one was born and brought up as a monolingual, the society

where people live may group different tongues to get to know each other. Arronin (2019)

states that multilingualism is used to indicate the usage of three languages and more. It is

distinguished from bilingualism which is the usage of two languages. In this perspective ,

bilingualism is taken to be a special case of multilingualism rather than vice versa. Flynn

(2016) gives numerous definitions of Multilingualism based on researchers’ backgrounds

and ideologies. These definitions include: Multilingualism is the presence of a number of

languages in one country or community or city; Multilingualism is the use of three or more

languages and Multilingualism is the ability to speak several languages. In this last sense,

5
multilingualism is widely regarded as a natural state of humankind. Multilingualism is one

of the main factors which affect the form and the function of language.

Bilingualism is the ability to communicate using two languages. The term bilingualism

refers to a community where its people use two languages to speak with one another in

daily conversation. Rampton (1990) argues that in order to understand the complex nature

of Bilingualism we must replace terms such as “mother tongue” and “native speakers” with

language expertise in schools. In addition, Chaer and Agustina (2004) state that a bilingual

must absolutely understand the two languages he speaks. The first one is his or her mother

tongue and the second one is his or her second language. Also, the people who are not

bilinguals must be either monolingual or multilingual (p: 84). A monolingual is, according to

Jendra (2010), a speaker who communicates in one language (p: 68). When speakers of one

language are exposed to another language over a sustained period of time, they will

become bilingual.

Monolingual communities occur less frequently. So, it becomes an exception and

multilingualism is the norm throughout the world.

1.1.1- CODE SWITCHING

Gumperz (1982) defines code-switching as “juxtaposition within the same speech

exchange of passages belonging to two different grammatical systems or subsystems” (p:

59). In other words, it illustrates code-switching as the usage of two different and diverse

languages in the same conversation. Code-switching is a multifunctional characteristic of

the languages of bilinguals in formal and casual setting. Jackson and Stockwell (2011)

identify Code-switching as two or more languages or dialects that are broadly utilized in

daily life, where the choice of which dialect is talked in any particular circumstance is

ordinarily a profoundly principled matter of social rules. In addition, it can happen that a

6
speaker may move from one language or dialect or accent to another abruptly, inside the

same utterance. Furthermore, Essien (2000) considers Code-switching among bilingual and

multilingual communities as a normal linguistic phenomenon among the people where

varieties of languages and dialects are spoken.

Wardhaugh and Fuller (2015) define code-switching as shifting from one language, variety

or style to another. Spolsky (1998) says, “… it is very common that people develop some

knowledge and ability in a second language and so become bilingual (p: 45).

1.1.1.1-TYPES OF CODE SWITCHING

Several researchers have attempted to provide definitions and typological frameworks

that account for the phenomenon of Code-switching.

Gumperz (1982) clarifies that Code-switching is divided into three types: Inter-sentential,

intra-sentential and emblematic switching. The first one, Inter-sentential switch, happens

between sentences; sentences from another dialect are embedded in a similar talk. The

second one occurs within the sentence, elements of language A are used as elements of

the sentence in language B. The last one, Emblematic switch, takes the form of tags, and

exclamations from one language to another.

On the other hand, Hughes (2006) distinguishes three types of codes-switching. The first

one concerns the use of words from the second language in the same grammatical format,

but when the words are not available in the primary language it’s called Borrowing. The

second one is Calque; it refers to literally translating a phrase without regard to proper

context. The third one is the act of inserting an entire phrase from the second language

into a conversation using the first language; it’s called inter-sentential.

Bloom & Gumperz (2000) define two types of Code-switching: Situational Code-

switching and Metaphorical Code-switching. Situational code-switching happens when the

7
changing between languages occurs depending on the situation that governs the

participants of the conversation. Metaphorical code-switching, on the other hand, appears

when one moves from one language to another depending on the topic of the

conversation.

Poplack (1980) identifies three different types of code-switching: Inter-sentential which

happens between sentence boundaries. Intra-sentential code-switching occurs in the

middle of a sentence, with no interruption, hesitation or pause indicating a shift. Extra-

sentential code-switching is an insertion of a tag from one language into an utterance of

another language. Holmes (2001) suggests that tag -switching is created for social reasons

to show the ethnicity and the solidarity of the speaker with the addressee.

1.1.1.2- FACTORS OF CODE-SWITCHING

Gumperz (1982) argues that code-switching is a conversational gadget dominatingly

used by bilinguals to express social implications considering the circumstances and other

social factors. His conclusion is based on the description of the social meaning of code-

switching. Basically, certain linguistic and social constraints are typically the rousing

elements in the bilingual community showing how code-switching is going to be used.

In his attempt to classify the conversational functions of code-switching between languages

or, as he calls it, language pairs; Spanish-English as an Example, he concludes that there are

two factors constraining code-switching: social and linguistic constraints.

Linguistic factors are basically grammatical structures of the language and requirements

of the dialects that often decide the patterns of code-switching. On the other hand, code-

switching can happen inside sentences (intrasentential); between sentences

(intersentential) or on the extra-sentential level, which means a frequency in which a

8
bilingual may append a tag from one language code into an utterance in another code

known as tag exchanging.

Social factors are other elements that determine the decision of a specific language code

as opposed to another. Holmes (2013) shares her arguments saying that these factors are

helpful and furthermore fundamental instruments in describing and analyzing the speech

of a wide range of social communications.

Holmes (2013), in a further explanation, indicates that in order to explain various

sociolinguistic phenomena, we need to highlight the social factors such as the participants,

the topic, the purposes, and the context.

The participants: The decision of a specific code as opposed to another is controlled by

the members engaged with the course of a specific collaboration. These members are the

speaker or language users and to whom they are spoken in a conversation.

The Topic: The point here alludes to the topic that is being spoken about or talked about in

the exact second of the discussion between the members

The purposes: The goal for any communication between speakers is simply to socially

interact.

The context: It refers to any social setting or background where the communication is

taking place between the participants.

Chaer and Agustina (2004) say that the causes influencing the occurrence of code-switching

are the speaker, interlocutor, the change of situation as a result of the presence of other

people, the change from formal to an informal situation, and the change of topic being

talked about (p:108).

9
1.1.1.3- FUNCTIONS OF CODE SWITCHING

Different researchers have listed different functions of code switching. Malik (1994)

draws attention to several functions; which he names the communicative functions to

attract attention, the lack of facility, lack of register, emphasizing a point, habitual

experience, mood of the speaker, semantic significance, showing identity with a group,

addressing a different audience, and pragmatic reasons.

Another researcher, Johnson (2000), as cited in A Sociolinguistic Survey on Code

Switching & Code Mixing by the Native Speakers of Bangladesh by Mahbub-ul-Alam (2016),

illustrates other types of functions of code-switching, they are five. The first one is to

announce specific identities, create meanings, and facilitate particular interpersonal

relationship; the second one is to put speakers with others in specific situations; the third

one is to exercise control, especially between parents and children; the fourth one is the

usage of the second or foreign language in order to mark switching from informal

situations to formal situations and the last one is to conceal fluency or memory problems in

the second or foreign language.

There are many reasons for Bilinguals to code-switch their languages. As Hoffman as

cited in Noge, (2011, p. 19), he states:

1. Talking about a Particular Topic

2. Quoting Somebody Else

3. Being Emphatic about Something (Express Solidarity)

4. Interjection (Inserting Sentence Fillers or Sentence Connectors)

5. Repetition Used for Clarification

6. Intention of Clarifying the Speech Content for Interlocutor

7. Expressing Group Identity

10
1.1.1.4- CODE-SWITCHING IN CONVERSATION

Gumperz (1983)argues that the use of code-switching by Bilingual speakers is to express

social and linguistic meanings during conversation. These bilingual speakers may purposely

interact in code-switching within a conversation in order to misinform, disguise, or brag

about their linguistic abilities.

Yusuf (2012) shows that the practice of code-switching is conscious behavior that

normally appears in the course of conversation between speakers of two or more

languages. On the contrary, Peter Auer (2010) says that the performance of alternating

between languages is noticed as a subconscious act of bilinguals.

2- Prior research related to Code switching in conversation between English

studies students

The review of related literature contains a systematic and relevant description of the

very latest facts and the results of the previous studies concerning code-switching in

conversation between students of English studies.

A study was done by Sardar, Mahdi and Mohd (2015) about Code-switching in Daily

Conversations among Iraqi Students in Malaysia shows that English-Arabic code-switching

is a common phenomenon in the daily interactions of the Iraqi students . The kinds of code-

switching that occur are intersentential, intrasentential and tag code-switching. The

indication of solidarity with co-speakers in the conversation between Iraqi students is due

to the limited use of CS in daily interactions. However, frequent use of CS will have

negative effects on the students’ confidence and proficiency in the use of the target

language (English).

11
 In her thesis, Waturaka (2011) focuses on her analysis of Students’ Code-switching in

classroom interaction. Although her analysis was on code-switching of both students and

teachers, I focused only on students’ code-switching. In her investigations, she concluded

that there were 16 times intra-sentential code-switching and 15 times inter-sentential code

switching done by the students in classroom interaction.

She also found that five reasons for code-switching are not used by the students: Quoting

somebody else, repetition used for clarification, because there is no lexical equivalent,

excluding other people from the conversation, and expressing group identity.

In the thesis, a study on the Code-switching in conversation between the second year

students of SMPK Sapienta, Noge (2011) concluded that during the conversation, two types

of code-switching occurred; intra-sentential switching occurred 7 times and inter-sentential

switching occurred 8 times. She also found that the reasons behind code-switching

occurred several times; talking about a particular topic occurred twice, being emphatic

about something occurred 5 times, clarifying the speech content occurred 5 times, request

or command occurred once and lack of lexical equivalent occurred 4 times.

In his thesis, an analysis of the code-switching in conversation of the seventh-grade

students of SMPK, Garut (2015) indicated the frequency of the occurrence of the types and

the reasons for code-switching used by the students in their conversation as follows:

Types of Code Switching Frequency Percentage

%
Tag Switching 0 0
Intrasentential Switching 9 64.3
Intersentential Switching 5 35.7
Total 14 100 %

12
Reasons of Code Frequency Percentage
Switching %
Being Emphatic about 3 21.42
Something (Express
Solidarity)
Repetition Used for 2 14.28
Clarification
Intention of Clarifying the 2 14.28
Speech Content for
Interlocutor
Because of Real Lexical 7 50
Need
TOTAL 14 100 %

13
PART 2: DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS

1-Methodology and Theoretical Framework

1-1.Theoretical Framework

Erom (2014, p. 61) states that the theoretical framework is important to guideline the

researcher to help him in solving the problem in a research. This paper studies the types of

code switching, its reasons and factors, and why it‘s used in conversation between students

of English Studies Students.

The theoretical framework of this study is as follows:

14
1-2.Methodology

The main purpose of this study is to have an idea about the types and the functions of

code-switching that are used by participants in conversation and to identify the reasons for

doing it.

The participants of this study are some students from the department of English Studies-

Chouaib Doukkali University. The number of students is 40.

The researcher uses a descriptive qualitative method. Quantitative data will be collected

through the tool of a questionnaire which will contain 31 questions. The researcher uses

Google forms to make the questionnaire and then send the link to the students to fill it.

After collecting the data, the researcher starts analyzing the types and the functions of

code-switching. Then he analyzes the results to find out the students’ reasons for code-

switching in conversation.

1-2-1. SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (APPENDIX)

31 questions were designed for the survey questionnaire which is divided into two

sections. Section one covers the personal information, academic profiles and Language

learning history of the participants. Section two covers the students’ assessment towards

code-switching.

1-2-2. PARTICIPANTS

40 students participated in the survey of this research. They are from the department of

English Studies- Chouaib Doukkali University; 60 % are females and 40 % are males. 72.5 %

belong to the age group of 19-23. The majority of the participants are semester 5 and 6

students. Most of the participants admit they speak many languages; 26 of the students

said they speak 3 languages and 13 of them speak only 2. The spoken languages are

15
English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. 50 % of the students have studied 4 years at the

Department of English.

2- RESULTS AND FINDINGS

2-1. DATA ANALYSIS

The survey questionnaire results were analyzed in a quantitative form, the frequencies

and percentages were calculated to see the types of code-switching that usually occur, and

the main causes of code switching. Colors are used to distinguish the readings of the data.

SECTION ONE

16
17
18
7-What language(s) do you normally use as a mean(s) of communication
with your classmates?

LANGUAGES Number of students

English 1

English-Moroccan Arabic 21

Moroccan Arabic 12

Moroccan Arabic-French 1

English-Moroccan Arabic-French 4

English-Moroccan Arabic-Spanish 1

19
SECTION TWO

20
12-How do you feel when you code switch?

Number of students Percentage of students

It is normal 28 70 %

It is annoying but not a 7 17.5 %

problem

I have to but I really don’t 4 10 %

want to

It makes me feel 1 2.5 %

frustrated

21
22
23
24
19-Which of these factors make you most inclined to code switch?

Number of students Percentage of students

Linguistic elements 4 10 %

Social identity 9 22.5 %

Situational factor 17 42.5 %

(participants, settings,
topics)

Easier to retrieve words 25 62.5 %

from the brain

Level of education 9 22.5 %

age of L2 Learning 3 7.5 %

20-21-22
Counts and percentages of students’ responses to types of
switching they use

YES NO MAYBE

When you code- 13 (32.5 %) 12 (30 %) 15 (37.5%)

switch, do you
literally translate a
phrase without
regard to proper
context (Calque)

Do you use words 27 (67.5 %) 6 (15 %) 7 (17.5 %)

from the secondary
language in the
same grammatical
format (Borrowing)

Do you insert an 24 (60 %) 7 (17.5%) 9 (22.5 %)

entire phrase from
the secondary
language into a
conversation using
the other language
(inter-sentential)

25
23-24
Types of code switching (Situational or Metaphorical)

YES NO MAYBE

Do you code- 32 (80 % ) 3 (7.5 % ) 5 ( 12.5 % )

switch according
to the situation you
are in (situational
code-switching)

Do you code 24 (60%) 7 ( 17.5 % ) 9 ( 22.5 % )

switch according
to the topic of the
conversation
(Metaphorical
code-switching)

25- Choose from the sentences below examples which appear

close to your type of code switching?

Number of students Percentage of students

have selected the
sentence

Oh my God! Had xi zwin 19 47.5 %

bazzaf (Intersentential).

lbare7 sawabt l 24 60 %
homework dyali
(Intrasentential)

I love it bazzaf It is cute 16 40 %

wallah (tag switch)

26-27- Code-switching in conversation of English Studies students

Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never

Switching from 9(22.5% ) 12(30% ) 15(37.5% ) 4(10% ) -

English to Moroccan
Arabic

Switching from 10(25% ) 9(22.5% ) 19(47.5% 2(5% ) -

Moroccan Arabic to
English

26
28-Topics when switching between English and Moroccan Arabic

TOPICS PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS

Personal issues 27.1%

Educational issues 24%

Social issues 17.7%

Emotional issues 12.5%

Politics 5.2%

Religion 3.1%

Other 10.4%

27
31- I code-switch to Arabic in my conversation because

Agree Disagree Uncertain

Deficiency in 20(50 % ) 9(22.5% ) 11(27.5% )

English

To add a sense of 20(50% ) 11(27.5% ) 9(22.5% )

humor

Show my Arabic 12(30% ) 14(35% ) 14(35% )

culture

Draw attention 24(60% ) 12(30% ) 4(10% )

No equivalent 26(65% ) 5(12.5% ) 9(22.5% )

To show off 3(7.5% ) 29(72.5% ) 8(20% )

To be understood 32(80% ) 2(5% ) 6(15% )

To feel 22(55% ) 4(10% ) 14(35% )

comfortable

28
3- DISCUSSION

From the responses of the participants, it has been found that 56% of the students

speak 3 languages and 32.5% speak only 2 languages. The students who claimed they speak

3 languages are divided into 2 categories; the category that speaks Arabic, English and

French represents 52.5% of the participants, and the category that speaks Arabic, English

and Spanish represents only 7.5% of the participants. 37.5% of the participants claimed

they speak only Arabic and English. In addition, 70% of the students’ responses showed

that they use more than one language as a means of communication between the

students. 27.5% of the students’ responses show that code-switching happens daily, and

22.5% show that students occasionally code-switch. This means, they code-switch to

another language while speaking with their mother tongue. This result gives an idea about

the widespread use of code-switching among English studies students.

According to the findings, half of the students claimed they understand completely the

term of ‘code-switching’ and 25% of the students said that they have heard the term and

They are almost sure they know what it means, while only 12.5% of the participants

declared that they have never heard the term of ‘code-switching’. This result suggests two

things. The first one is that code-switching is a conscious practice for many students; it

means that most of the students are aware of their code-switch. The second one is that

code-switching happens subconsciously for 12.5% of the students. Some earlier study

(Mamun, 2012) found that more than half of the participants’ code-switching is

unconscious.

29
 The study shows that code-switching occurs when participants speak with English

studies students. 52.5% of the responses indicate that there is a positive attitude towards

code-switching and 35% are neutral, while there are only 12.5% negative attitudes. These

opposed results show that students are conscious about the practice of code-switching and

they have a general perception about it. 65% of participants claimed, they switch code at

school, because most of the participants are university students. 70% feel comfortable

when they code-switch with friends.

The study shows that the most common code-switching in conversation between English

studies students is from Arabic to English (27.5%), followed by from Moroccan Arabic to

English (20%). This result confirms the widespread use of English in conversation between

English studies students which they are also native speakers of Arabic.

In this study, the classification of types of code-switching in conversation between

English studies students is based on Poplack (1980), Hughes (2006) and Bloom & Gumperz

(2000).

Poplack (1980) indicates three types of conversational code-switching: tag switching,

intra-sentential switching and inter-sentential switching. The responses of the

questionnaire indicate that there are three types of code-switching that have been used by

the students. The type of intrasentential switching is the most used by 60% of the students.

On the other hand, the type of intersentential switching is used by 47.5% of the

participants, and tag switching is used by only 40 % of the participants. This reveals that

there are three types of code-switching that are employed by the English studies students

in conversation and that the most dominant type is intra-sentential switching.

Hughes (2006) defines three types of code-switching: Borrowing, Calque and

Intersentential. The questionnaire’ responses show that 67.5% of the students use words

30
from the second language in the same grammatical format; which means they use the type

of Borrowing which is the most dominant. In addition, the type of intersentential is more

dominant than Calque; this means that students insert an entire phrase from the s econd

language into a conversation using the other language by 60% more than translating

literally a phrase without regard to proper context by only 32.5%. However, the results also

show that numbers of students are not sure of which type they use. 32.5 % are not sure if

they use Calque or not, 17.5% are not sure if they use Borrowing or not and 22.5% are not

sure if they use intersentential.

Bloom & Gumperz (2000) define two types of Code-switching: Situational Code-

switching and Metaphorical Code-switching. The first one happens when the code-

switching occurs depending on the situation of the conversation. The second one happens

when code-switching occurs depending on the topic of the conversation. The results of the

questionnaire revealed that 80% of the English studies students code-switch according to

the situation of the conversation and only 7.5% do not. Also, the results show that 60% of

the responses indicate that students also code-switch according to the topic; which means

that code-switching occurs when the topic is changed. This concludes that metaphorical

and situational code-switching are both present in the conversation of the participants; the

occurrence of one type does not exclude the other from happening.

In this research, it can be concluded that there are many reasons and functions of code-

switching for the students. However, ‘avoiding misunderstanding’ is the most dominant

reason chosen by 26.2% of the students, followed by 24.6% of the students who said the

reason behind code-switching is ‘no matching words’. On the other hand, ‘to fill the gap’ is

a more dominant reason; it is used by 19.5% of the students more than ‘to exclude others’

which is used by 13.1%. These findings reveal that the students used code-switching for

31
several reasons; mainly, for avoiding the misunderstandings and also because there are no

similar words to use. On the other hand, students’ responses of functions of codes -

switching to Arabic show that the majority (80%) of the participants agree that the main

function of code-switching is to be understood and to express your thoughts clearly

without being mistaken. Moreover, the next results of code-switching’ functions are very

close. 65% of the participants agreed that they code-switch to Arabic in order to find the

missing equivalent in the foreign language and 60% of the same students also admit that

their switching is functioning as an attention attracter. Also, an equal percentage of

students (50%) agreed that deficiencies in foreign languages and to add a sense of humor

are other functions of CS. Shockingly, many students (30%) approved that they code-switch

to Arabic just to show their Arabic culture. Now, the question is why they want to show

that? And to whom they want to show their Arabic culture? They are already sharing the

same identity with the participants in the conversation. In addition to that, 72.5% of the

students claimed that they do not code-switch just to show off or to brag about their

bilingual abilities.

As for the factors behind the participants’ inclining to code-switch, the most appealing

one is the easiness of retrievement of the words from the brain. The majority of the

students (62.5%) admit that this factor decides the patterns of code-switching. Another

factor is chosen by the students (42.5%) that encourage them to switch codes is a

situational factor; meaning that the participants, the context and the topic are elements

controlling the situation of the conversation. These controlling elements are named social

factors (Holmes, 2013). On the other hand, two equal percentages of students (22.5%)

show that the level of education and social identity are also helping factors that determine

the decision of a specific language code as opposed to another. Moreover, 10% of the

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English studies students said that linguistic element is also a defining factor of code-

switching. For example, most students pay attention to the grammatical rules when they

move from one language to another; a percentage of 50% of the participants come to

prove that. Even if 37.5 % of the students claimed that they are not aware of the

grammatical rules, it is still considered as an effective factor. It can be concluded that there

are numbers of factors that make students code-switch and basically the two most

dominant ones which are the facility of retrieving words from the memory and the

situational factor.

In code-switching in conversation between English studies students, most of the

students switch from English to Moroccan Arabic and vice vers a. The questionnaire’ results

indicate that 15 students sometimes CS from English to Moroccan Arabic and 12 students

often do, while 19 students sometimes CS from Moroccan Arabic to English and 10 English

studies students always do. This is an ordinary result due to the students’ linguistic

diversity; they are native speakers of Moroccan Arabic and also study English as a foreign

language. The majority of the students (42.5%) said that CS implies nothing about who they

are. This result, in fact, is shocking because they are not aware of the truth that when they

code-switch, they give a clue to the hearer that they are bilingual or they are English

studies students. On the other hand, 32.5% of the students claimed that CS says something

about their identity, and only 25% are not sure. Nevertheless, 31 students said they use

just a few words when they code-switch between languages and 8 students said they use a

whole sentence in the CS. The reason behind this dominance of usage of words is that

words are easy to think about. 50% of the students claimed that it doesn’t take more time

to think which words to use. Concerning the type of words they use, nouns were the

dominant type with 25 occurrences. Adjectives came in second place with 18 occurrences

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more than verbs with 16 occurrences. In addition, the participants’ responses to the topics

of Code-switching between English and Moroccan Arabic illustrate that ‘personal issues’ is

the most dominant topic which is talked by the students with 27.1%, followed by

‘educational issues’ which is talked by 24% of the students. 17.7% of the participants talk

about social issues and 12.5% talk about ‘emotional issues’.

4- CONCLUSION

The practice of code-switching has become very popular among the youth and is

widespread in conversations between students of Chouaib Doukkali University. Most of the

students have shown a positive attitude towards code-switching. They are both conscious

and unconscious about their switching. They are also confident about their switching. The

majority of the students speak 3 languages: Arabic, English, and French. The study has

shown that code-switching of English-Moroccan Arabic generally occurs when participants

speak with English studies students only. In this paper, it has been found that the students

occasionally code-switch in the beginning, the middle and the end of sentences during

conversation; three types of code-switching have been used by the participants:

Intersentential, intrasentential and tag switching. The intrasentential switching type is the

most used by 60% of the students. Also, 80% of the participants’ code-switching is

according to the situation that governs the conversation and 60% of the responses indicate

that student’s code-switching takes place according to the topic. This means that

situational code-switching occurs more frequently than metaphorical code-switching. The

research has also shown that the participants use code-switching mainly ‘to avoid

misunderstanding’, ‘to fill a gap’, ‘to exclude others from the conversation’, ‘to announce

social belonging’, ‘to be understood’ and when they find ‘no matching words’. As for the

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factors influencing the occurrence of code-switching, they have to do with the easiness of

retrievement of the words from the brain, with situational factors, with the level of

education and social identity.

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APPENDIX
QOUESTIONNAIRE

This questionnaire is designed for some English studies students

The purpose of this questionnaire is to have an idea about the types, functions and factors of code switching
that students use in their conversation.
Section one
Please read carefully the questions and answer them. You can choose more than one answer.
1-Are you Male or Female
☐Female ☐Male
2-Age
☐Between 19-23 ☐Between 24-28 ☐ Between 29-35

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3- Semesters you took this year
☐S1 ☐S2 ☐S3 ☐S4 ☐S5 ☐S6
4-How many languages do you speak?

5-What are these languages?

6-How long have you been studying at the department of English Studies?
☐1 YEAR ☐2 YEARS ☐3 YEARS ☐4 YEARS ☐MORE
7-What language(s) do you normally use as a mean(s) of communication with your classmates?
☐English ☐Moroccan Arabic ☐French ☐Spanish ☐ Other (specify)

8-Are you familiar with the Term 'Code Switching'?

☐-I understand the term completely
☐- I have heard of the term and think I know what it means
☐- I have heard of the term but I am not sure I know what it means
☐-This is the first time I have heard the term

Section two

CODE SWITCHING: Is when a speaker alternates between two or more languages (or dialects or varieties of
language) in one conversation
Example: Sawabti l-homework dyalk? (Arabic + English)

With that idea in mind answer the following questions?

9-What is your attitude towards code switching in a conversation?

☐Positive ☐Negative ☐Neutral
10-How often do you code switch with English studies students?
☐-Daily and often ☐-Always at school ☐- Occasionally at school
☐-Sometimes but not very often ☐-Only when necessary ☐-I try not to
11-When you code switch, you switch from/to

12- How do you feel when you code switch?

☐- It’s something normal
☐-It is annoying but not a problem
☐-I have to but I really don't want to
☐-It makes me feel frustrated
13-Do you feel that your code says something about who you are?
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe
14-Does it offend you when you switch your code at class?
☐-Yes it does ☐-Yes but I realize I have to ☐-It doesn't bother me much
☐-I don't mind ☐-No big deal
15-Do you think that code switching takes more time to think about the words to use?
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe
16-When you switch between languages, is it usually for?
☐A whole sentence ☐A clause ☐A phrase ☐Just a few words
☐Other…
17-Do you pay attention to grammatical rules when moving from one language to another?
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe

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18-Why do you code switch?
☐No matching words ☐Social belonging ☐Avoid misunderstanding
☐To fill the gap ☐To Express Solidarity ☐To Exclude Others
☐To impress the opposite sex
19-Which of these factors make you most inclined to code switching?
☐Linguistic elements ☐Social identity ☐Situational factor (participants, settings, topics) ☐Easier to
retrieve words from the brain ☐Level of education
☐Age of L2 Learning ☐Other (specify)
20-When you code-switch, do you literally translate a phrase without regard to proper context (Calque)
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe
21-Do you use words from the secondary language in the same grammatical format (Borrowing)
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe
22-Do you insert an entire phrase from the secondary language into a conversation using the other language
(inter-sentential)
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe
23-Do you code-switch according to the situation you are in (situational code-switching)
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe
24-Do you code-switch according to the topic of the conversation (Metaphorical code-switching)
☐Yes ☐No ☐Maybe
25-choose from the sentences below examples which appear close to your type of code switching:
☐-Oh my God! Had xi zwin bazzaf ☐-lbare7 sawabt l homework dyali
☐-I love it bazzaf it is cute wallah
26-How often do you switch from English to Moroccan Arabic in conversation with other students?
☐Always ☐Often ☐Sometimes ☐Rarely ☐Never
27-How often do you switch from Moroccan Arabic to English in conversation with other students?
☐Always ☐Often ☐Sometimes ☐Rarely ☐Never
28- What are the topics when you switch between English / Moroccan Arabic most often?
☐Personal issues ☐Educational issues ☐Social issues ☐Emotional issues
☐Politics ☐Religion ☐Other
29-Why do you use words from Arabic while speaking English?
☐No similar words in English ☒Do not know the English words ☐To fill the gap
☐Easier to use my own language ☐To add emphasis
☐To avoid misunderstanding ☐to have privacy ☐To express personal emotions
☐OTERH
30-When you code switch, what do you use mostly?
☐Nouns ☐Verbs ☐Adj ☐Adv ☐Clauses ☐Sentences
31-I code-switch to Arabic in my conversation because

Agree Uncertain Disagree

Deficiency in English
To add sense of humor
Show my Arabic
culture
Draw attention
No equivalent
To show off
To be understood
To feel comfortable

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