Tyler Mangru
Professor Jorge Velez
FIQWS 10103
November 15, 2021
Dear reader,
I hope this message finds you well. This paper was probably the hardest piece of literature I have ever written. When choosing a topic for the phase 3 essay, I looked to code-switching right away. The topic has always interested me and I wanted to do it for my phase 2 essay but I forgot when we were choosing a topic. While writing, since this is an argumentative essay I felt that it was necessary to choose a side concerning code-switching. In the early stages, however, I found myself scrapping and rewriting constantly because I just didn’t know what side was “correct” when discussing whether code-switching was good or not. I ended up going with my gut and own personal experience and saying that it does. Nevertheless, while finishing up the paper, I started to have second thoughts and decided to reach out to two of my friends. Both of them had a very different view on the matter. We discussed for a while only to come to the agreement that there was no answer. That conclusion swings back to my intended audience which was my fellow classmates that also had to write about a similar topic. The fact that so many people had such different experiences with code-switching was my most meaningful insight. I truly believe that I learned a lot about society’s use of code-switching while constructing this paper. Similar to my phase 2 essay, this one helped me locate research sources as my Course learning outcome. This was one of the few times I had to scrap my sources I search for more sources that I was satisfied with. I am now more confident in my ability to do so.
Overall, this essay was one I had a good time with. Although it may seem a bit rough, I think it helps show how difficult code-switching is which is a message I want readers to take from the paper. I hope you enjoy reading.
Code-switching isn’t easy
The language we use is extremely diverse, and without knowing it, most of us probably participated in code-switching. In many parts of the world, communities exist using more than one language. The people of these communities may resort to code-switching to help communicate. According to the Britannica encyclopedia, codeswitching is the process of shifting from one linguistic code to another, depending on the social context or conversational setting. The way we code switch is often developed at an early age when we are children when we’re first exposed to multiple cultures. Whether code-switching is beneficial or not has always been debated with some saying that it may cause harm towards people and their interpretations of themselves while some argue in its favor pushing for its ability to make people adaptive. Code-switching is beneficial because it improves the communication skills of the people involved.
In the modern world that we live in, the number of multilingual communities grows every day. For these people, a code-switching is a tool that can be utilized to help connect individuals with each other. One area where code-switching shines is the classroom. The ability for students and teachers to communicate in a way their most comfortable with can increase the productivity of both parties involved.
The article “The Communicative Function and the Benefit of Code-Switching Within Bilingual Education Program or Multilingual Children In Learning English” by Abdul Majid helps convey this. With the text, Majid explains what code-switching is and why people use it. Majid used recordings, notes, and interviews among students and teachers to conclude that code switch was beneficial to the classroom with the actual data collection. Specifically, Majid stated:
Students who are allowed to code-switch in the classroom are better able to convey their knowledge of the subject matter to their classmates and teachers. In the immersion classroom where code-switching was not allowed or understood, children often stopped themselves mid-sentence or declared that they did not know the answer to a question (Majid 65).
With the data Majid collected, it can be seen how the absence of code-switching impacted the productivity of the class. Within the test classroom where code-switching was not allowed, students weren’t able to convey themselves as freely as they would have been able to in a standard environment.
Because students weren’t allowed to speak freely they either stopped halfway or claimed they didn’t know an answer, both of which are extremely counterproductive in a learning environment. Masjid also stated, “In many circumstances, a teacher may encourage students to exchange codes seeing it as an advantage for learning the target language”(Majid 65). By letting students speak using code, the benefit in those students learning the target language was so prominent, the teacher encouraged it. The contrast in the flow of the classroom with and without the use of code-switching is enough to show how impactful it is as a tool in the classroom.
Another investigation by Sidra Shafi named “Benefits of Code-Switching in Language Learning Classroom at the University of Education Lahore ” also reinforced code-switching in the classroom. Within the experiment, Shafi and her team observe teaching at the University of Education. Within the institute, teachers utilize code-switching in a very similar way to the class that Majid observed. In the report, Shafi stated:
“With students coming from a different social stratum, it becomes an inevitable choice for teachers to code-switch so the lesson material related to English language learning may not appear too tiresome to students and they may easily grasp the foreign words, connotations, and concepts” (Shafi 1).
In Pakistan, there are more than sixty languages that are used. Two of the dominant ones are Urdu and English. When teachers practice code-switching, by implementing and mixing the languages, they make learning easy for people with varying levels of comprehension. Ultimately, code-switching is used to make learning more accessible to people.
Continuing on the topic of code-switching being used to help different cultures communicate, Aaron Blocks’ essay, “Code-switching Isn’t Always Bad” helps illustrate this. When concerning the interactions between people and their families and with the outside world, the two may not always align. When someone is at home, they will speak differently compared to how they do in the outside world. The way a person speaks to their family may not always be understood by others. Block stated, “When talking to one’s family, it may be good others cannot understand them….Code-switching is a way to communicate more productively with people who may not share your cultural background”(Block). When someone is speaking to loved ones they should be able to speak however they feel the most comfortable. The idea that the individuals’ language may not be proficient in the outside world is definitely a view to consider, however, with the implementation of code-switching, individuals have the ability to communicate among two groups efficiently without having to contort the language they use to please one group.
Within Aaron Blocks’ essay, he cited James Baldwin’s essay “If Black English Is Not a Language, Then Tell Me, What is it?”. A specific part of the essay stood out the most while reading it. Baldwin explained how a white person couldn’t understand what his family was saying due to cultural differences. Baldwin said “…convey this with a speed, and in a language, that the white man could not possibly understand, and that, indeed, he cannot understand, until today”(Baldwin). Although both Baldwin’s family and the white man spoke English, it was clear that communication was impossible with the cultural differences present. Rather than Balwin explaining “Black” English to the white man or changing the way he speaks with his family, utilizing code-switching communication among the two parties. This helps reinforce the idea that code-switching is a tool that can help an individual keep their own culture while embarrassing others which is something that is often argued against code-switching. Aninjusticemag.com is one place that argues against code-switching in a similar context. Allison Gaines’s article “How Code-Switching Causes More Harm Than Good” claims that code-switching forces black people to assimilate to white culture. Within the article, Gaines claimed, “Within America, Black people experience intense pressure to assimilate because of a resounding rejection of Black culture in the mainstream”(Gaines). As previously stated, code-switching does the complete opposite to what Gaines stated. By allowing an individual to interact with multiple groups as they feel the most comfortable, you allow them to keep their individuality without having to favor one group over another. This can only be done through the use of code-switching.
However, the idea of code-switching isn’t as black and white as it is painted. Within the video “What Is Code-Switching? | Between The Lines” uploaded by Huffpost, the argument that code-switching is harmful was also made. The video showed how African Americans sometimes are forced to code-switch. The example that was shown was in the murder case of Trayvon Martin. The one witness spoke “Black” English in the court and because of that, the facts of her argument were not judged but her dialect was. The content of the video was very similar to the article by Gaines however the video helps show how grey code-switching actually is. Code-switching as previously stated is a great tool that can be used to help bridge a language barrier among people but it is also a survival mechanism that certain groups use when their language isn’t dominant. From Huffpost and Gaines one can see how nuance code-switching actually is. Everyone who needed to code-switch has needed to do it for a different reason whether it was to match the tone of the room or to survive as some may say. Code-switching isn’t an easy topic. Someone cant claim that it’s good or that it’s bad. The role that code-switching plays in our society is definitely a good one, helping groups communicate, but the context in which code-switching is implemented is what causes so much controversy.
Works Cited
Baldwin James “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” (1979)
“Code-Switching.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,
Gaines Allison “How Code-Switching Causes More Harm Than Good” (2020)
Junadi, Abdul Majid. “THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION AND THE BENEFIT OF
CODE SWITCHING WITHIN BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM OR
MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN IN LEARNING ENGLISH.”
Shafi, Sidra. “Benefits of Code-Switching in Language Learning Classroom at University of
Education Lahore.”
“What Is Code-Switching?| Between The Lines” Youtube uploaded by HuffPost
July 13, 2018
