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How bilingual speakers code-switch depending on the environment

Aim: To investigate how bilingual speakers code-switch.

Introduction:
For bilinguals the ability to speak two or more languages gives them the advantage of being
able to communicate with people from other nations around the world. However, despite
having this advantage, it is very rare when an individual can speak both their native tongue
and second language to the same level of fluency. Therefore I have decided to undertake an in
depth study on bilingual speakers and how individuals tend to speak one native language and
emerge it with a second language within a spontaneous conversation, which is more
commonly known as style shifting. I am also interested in discovering what kind of errors they
make whilst speaking, based on their grammar and other aspects. I chose to study codeswitching as it is closely linked to my family life, as we are all bilingual and also because the
other subjects Im studying are mostly modern languages.
Hypothesis:

I believe that multilingual people adapt themselves to their surroundings, by choosing

which code to use depending on the situation, conversation and surroundings.
Some of the difficulties faced by bilingual speakers when able speak several languages
are mostly based around grammar, and the differences between each of the languages.
The majority of mistakes are linked to grammar and sentence structure.

However when 2 bilinguals of a different native language converse:

Hesitations occur more regularly

Simple lexis and mainly present tense are mainly used

Methodology:
For my investigation I have decided to collect my data through recordings, as I am analysing
the key features of bi-lingual speech. So that I was sure that all my recordings were
spontaneous I decided to record my data first then ask for the participants permission, so that
my recording wouldnt be effected by observers paradox. This I found worked out for the best,
as the majority of the participants agreed that I could use the recording after I played it to
them. However one of the participants didnt want a recording to be used so I deleted it. As I
have recorded different people it was difficult to record a variety of spontaneous
conversations, of similar contexts therefore there may be some features which will vary
across the data. However this will be useful, as the data will demonstrate the reasons why
bilinguals code-switch e.g. to explain something, conjunctions etc. Once I had my data I
decided to present my results in several tables, each one or couple allocated to a different
framework or linguistic feature related to bilinguals speech which will enable me to analyse
my results more efficiently.

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Results and Analysis:

Background information of Participants
Martino: He was born in Italy; therefore he speaks Italian fluently and came to the UK in his
mid 20s where he learnt English through communicating and working with native people.
Krimo: He was born in Algeria, and so speak Algerian and French fluently, he then came to
the UK when he was 19 and also Learnt English though communicating and working with
native people.
Isabelle: She was born in France, therefore speaks French fluently, she came to England
when she was 23 where she picked up English through communicating and work, she then
went on to study English in college.
Samy: He was born in England, but brought up in a multilingual family, therefore he also
speaks French, however isnt as confident as Kamila.
Kamila: She was born in England, but brought up in a multilingual family; therefore she can
also speak French fluently.

Non- Fluency Features

On my recording there are conversations between two English- French speaking bilinguals
who would continue a conversation by saying Alors... and follow it with English, instead of
going straight in to the conversation with English So.... Alternatively they have started a
phrase with Si tu le mais en...meaning if you put it on...Code- Switching usually occurs
when bilinguals use vocabulary from their first language as fillers and tags while conversing
with a person who is also fluent in the languages being spoken. There are many reasons why
and when code- switching could take place in a conversation, including reporting and quoting
what someone has said, or simply just because a certain conversation topic seems to be more
appropriate when discussed in a different language. People also find it easier to express
emotions or opinions in one language, for example Mexican Americans talk about money in
English la consulta era (the visit cost) eight dollars However because a bilinguals first
instinct is to speak in their first language, they tend to begin or continue a conversation, by
using fillers, tags and connectives of their native tongue.
In the transcript of conversation 2, Samy begins by responding to Isabelle in French, showing
interest in the conversation. Yet once Kamila is involved in the conversation he reduces the
amount of French he speaks and shows more attention to his conversation with Kamila, by
speaking English. When code switching is used in this way, the speaker is unconsciously
showing respect to the listener by acknowledging their knowledge of languages. In a way, the
speaker is using this skill to impress and give them a quality to have in common therefore
adapting themselves to the listener. This becomes more apparent towards the end of the
transcript as Isabelle hardly says anything showing that Samy has completely adapted himself
to Kamilas preferred language. This can be supported by a theory published by Howard Giles
in Second Language learning and language teaching which stated that Bilinguals tend to
adapt the code they speak, according to whether they like the other participant or want

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something in common with them. Alongside this theory he published that bilinguals may
modify their speech to emphasize the differences between themselves and other participants,
when they dont want to continue the conversation.

No of CS in General
Isolated Words
Phrases
Whole Clauses

Conversation 1
0
0
0
0

Conversation 2
6
1
4
1

According to my set of results (above) it seems that code switches are most likely to occur as
phrases, as opposed to isolated words. However this could vary amongst bilinguals, due to
their cultural background, the conversation topic and who the other participants are (Friends,
Acquaintances, Family). However after doing some external research I found one set of
calculations, which contradicted my results by stating that bilinguals code-switch on smaller
aspects of a sentence. That investigation came to the conclusion that 84% of switches are
isolated words, 10% of switches are phrases and a mere 6%are whole clauses. Through more
research I also discovered that there are two main restrictions as to when a person can codeswitch, whilst ensuring that the sentence still makes sense. These are: (1) The free
morpheme constant and (2) The equivalence constraint. The first of which states that the
speaker cannot switch languages between a word and its endings, unless the word can be
pronounced in the same language as the ending and is still understandable e.g. runeando
wouldnt make sense, whereas flipeando would, because flip could be a Spanish word. The
second restriction states that a language switch can take place at any point in a sentence, as
long as it doesnt violate the grammar of either language..
Conversation One
Martino
Krimo

Isabelle

Conversation Two
Samy
Kamila

Hesitations

Interruptions

Pauses

20

10

10

13

From the table above we can see that Martino made over three times more hesitations and 5
times the number of pauses that Krimo did. This tells us that although he spoke a fair bit more
than Krimo he isnt completely comfortable with the English language. By looking at the
actual transcript he pauses just after a hesitation such as err or between a repetition,
almost as if he is using both the pause and the repetition as a diversion as he recollects more
vocabulary, or thinks about what he is going to say next. However when Krimo uses pauses
and hesitations it is more apparent that he is reflecting on what he has said as he tends to
correct himself thats why I dont (.) its all (3) it destiny here he has changed what he
wanted to say twice. This could be due to the number of processes the human brain must go
through in order to collect all of the information necessary to speak, pronounce and use
grammar effectively within a foreign language. This process takes places in different areas of
the brain, therefore these hesitations give the brain a fraction of a second longer to process
the second language.

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The main difference between conversation 1 and 2 is that the results for hesitation are
completely different. Throughout my results participants in conversation2 didnt hesitate at all
during compared to those in conversation 1, whom hesitated several times. I believe this is
due to the fact that both participants in conversation 1 learnt English practically, through
meeting people and attempting to communicate. This means that they may not know as
many connective words, specialist vocabulary, fillers or how to express themselves as
confidently as the participants in conversation 2, who picked up the language from a very
early age. The remaining participant went to college and university in England although being
born in France, and is practically a native speaker. This result could also be due to the fact
that in their native languages people tend to umm and errr a lot for no reason, thats just
how they speak, this feature is also very common in French, and so perhaps they have
interpreted that language feature in to the way they speak English.

Accuracy
Non- Standard Grammar
Quotes

Grammar

had we not find this....

Tense
(irregulars)

From the table (left) we can see

that the speaker had difficulties
by the time you realise
finding the past form of find and
something was wrong with
so resorted to using the present
you...
form of the verb. However, in the
err my wife uncle he
Plurals
second quote the speaker
go...
managed to use the past form of
with a kidney it spread
to be but not of realise and so
very quickly...
the sentence doesnt agree. This
is because the speaker should have used the following structure past form of to have +
past participle of the verb which is the past perfect tense. The speaker also missed out the
to have which would have made this phrase grammatically correct. One of the reasons for
this could be that these speakers werent taught English grammar, as they learnt the
language phonetically. This indicates that sometimes grammar is harder to pick up as native
speakers can speak so fast you may not hear the endings. Bilinguals usually acquire some
difficulties when it comes to grammar, as many are not completely fluent in all the languages
they speak. Therefore if they are unsure about which tense to use they usually stick to the
present or use the grammar of their native language and interpret it into the second
language. This was mostly apparent in conversation 1 as in this conversation no codeswitching was involved, as the participants only had English as a common language. So this
was ideal to look at how multi-linguals adapt and use grammar.
I have also noticed that the speakers with English as a second language tend to avoid the past
tense of irregular verbs, or use the wrong form of the verb or simply use it in its present form,
which can be understood, but isnt correct. The example I have used, uses the present form of
find other than found this could be due to the speaker not knowing the simple past form
of the verb, or not feeling comfortable with its use.
Alternatively, learning plurals can be done through phonetic learning. However old habits
stick. This is one of the examples where bilinguals incorporate the grammar of their native

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language into English. er my wife uncle he go... This would be correct to Martino, as in
Italian and a majority of other languages they dont use plurals when talking bout
possessions. For example in Italian would say il zio de mio molie... and in Spanish you would
say el tio de mi mujer tiene.. both of which are directly translated to mean the uncle of my
wife hence why many English speaking bilinguals dont use plurals, they dont feel
comfortable using English grammar, and so they prefer their own, as it makes more sense to
them.
Lexis
Quote

Type of lexis

Shit scared

English Idioms

Which it (.) under the

microscope (.) on the other
kidney

Omissions

And now i (.) tell you why

Some of the lexis used in this conversation demonstrates that English may not be the
speakers first language, however by reading the transcript we can assume the speaker has
spent a sufficient amount of time in England to have picked up colloquial phrases such as
shit scared. A typical English idiom used to express fright. These phrases are considered as
vulgar slang and so would only be learnt through communicating with English born speakers
rather than at home or in school. This agrees with Joshua Fishmans theory that bilinguals
adapt to the conversation and environment they are in. For example many bilinguals may
speak one language at home e.g. French however when with friends they speak a mutual
language. Also they adapt to the environment in a sense that because the conversation I
recorded was set in London the speaker will use the expressions he picked up from that area,
especially when conversing with persons of a different native tongue, rather then of his own
language with would make no sense to the other participant.
Although it may seem as though the speaker is fluent in both languages, as they speak at a
fast pace, use complex lexis and English idioms. This doesnt necessarily mean that they are.
After looking closely at the transcripts I noticed that in both conversations the speakers tend
to pause a lot. However, it is where the pauses are located which is interesting. As they a
located in the middle of sentences, you would assume the speaker is taking a breath yet,
they are really replacing connectives and fillers they dont know.
Conclusion
Having considered the data, analysis and research of this investigation I have come to the
conclusion that although bilinguals do make many errors they are mainly based around the
accuracy of their speech such as more complex forms of grammar e.g. Past Perfect. Therefore
can still be understood as they understand the basic forms of many verbs e.g. present, past
simple and future. However one part of my hypothesis proved to be wrong as I found that
bilingual speakers of the same language seem to hesitate more than those of different native
tongues, although this might not be the case if a wider sample of data had been taken.

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Bibliography
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/inhalt_grammar.htm - Grammar
AUER, Peter Code-Switching in conversation: Language, Interaction and identity (1998)
Routledge
COOK, Vivian Second Language learning and Language Teaching (1991)
Arnold
MILROY, Lesley One speaker, Two Language: Croos-disciplinary perspectives on codeswitching (1995)
Cambridge University Press
Havering Sixth Form College; Language Investigation Handbook