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Code Mixing

Code-mixing refers to mixing elements of two or more languages in speech. There is no consensus on definitions, as scholars differ on whether code-mixing and code-switching are interchangeable or distinct phenomena. Code-mixing occurs intrasententially by placing linguistic units such as words or phrases from different languages within the same sentence, while code-switching occurs intersententially between sentences. Some see code-mixing as drawing on hybrid grammars and code-switching as moving between distinct grammars. The terms are also used differently across fields such as linguistics, sociolinguistics, language acquisition, and psychology.

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520 views

Code Mixing

Code-mixing refers to mixing elements of two or more languages in speech. There is no consensus on definitions, as scholars differ on whether code-mixing and code-switching are interchangeable or distinct phenomena. Code-mixing occurs intrasententially by placing linguistic units such as words or phrases from different languages within the same sentence, while code-switching occurs intersententially between sentences. Some see code-mixing as drawing on hybrid grammars and code-switching as moving between distinct grammars. The terms are also used differently across fields such as linguistics, sociolinguistics, language acquisition, and psychology.

Uploaded by

Ankit Rao
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Code-mixing

Code-mixing is the mixing of two or more


languages or language varieties in
speech.[1]

Some scholars use the terms "code-


mixing" and "code-switching"
interchangeably, especially in studies of
syntax, morphology, and other formal
aspects of language.[2][3] Others assume
more specific definitions of code-mixing,
but these specific definitions may be
different in different subfields of
linguistics, education theory,
communications etc.

Code-mixing is similar to the use or


creation of pidgins; but while a pidgin is
created across groups that do not share a
common language, code-mixing may
occur within a multilingual setting where
speakers share more than one language.

As code-switching
Some linguists use the terms code-mixing
and code-switching more or less
interchangeably. Especially in formal
studies of syntax, morphology, etc., both
terms are used to refer to utterances that
draw from elements of two or more
grammatical systems.[2] These studies are
often interested in the alignment of
elements from distinct systems, or on
constraints that limit switching.

Some work defines code-mixing as the


placing or mixing of various linguistic units
(affixes, words, phrases, clauses) from two
different grammatical systems within the
same sentence and speech context, while
code-switching is the placing or mixing of
units (words, phrases, sentences) from
two codes within the same speech
context. The structural difference between
code-switching and code-mixing is the
position of the altered elements—for code-
switching, the modification of the codes
occurs intersententially, while for code-
mixing, it occurs intrasententially.[4]

In other work the term code-switching


emphasizes a multilingual speaker's
movement from one grammatical system
to another, while the term code-mixing
suggests a hybrid form, drawing from
distinct grammars. In other words, code-
mixing emphasizes the formal aspects of
language structures or linguistic
competence, while code-switching
emphasizes linguistic performance.

While many linguists have worked to


describe the difference between code-
switching and borrowing of words or
phrases, the term code-mixing may be
used to encompass both types of
language behavior.[5]

In short, code switching, borrowing, style


shifting and code mixing are some labels
used in the literature on bilingualism to
describe various kinds of mixtures
resulting from language contact. These
processes are so intermingled and
differences are so subtle that it becomes
problematic for the linguist to dichotomize
and proved explicit definitions for them.

In sociolinguistics
While linguists who are primarily
interested in the structure or form of code-
mixing may have relatively little interest to
separate code-mixing from code-
switching, some sociolinguists have gone
to great lengths to differentiate the two
phenomena. For these scholars, code-
switching is associated with particular
pragmatic effects, discourse functions, or
associations with group identity.[6] In this
tradition, the terms code-mixing or
language alternation are used to describe
more stable situations in which multiple
languages are used without such
pragmatic effects. See also Code-mixing
as fused lect, below.

In language acquisition
In studies of bilingual language
acquisition, code-mixing refers to a
developmental stage during which children
mix elements of more than one language.
Nearly all bilingual children go through a
period in which they move from one
language to another without apparent
discrimination.[7] This differs from code-
switching, which is understood as the
socially and grammatically appropriate
use of multiple varieties.

Beginning at the babbling stage, young


children in bilingual or multilingual
environments produce utterances that
combine elements of both (or all) of their
developing languages. Some linguists
suggest that this code-mixing reflects a
lack of control or ability to differentiate the
languages. Others argue that it is a
product of limited vocabulary; very young
children may know a word in one language
but not in another. More recent studies
argue that this early code-mixing is a
demonstration of a developing ability to
code-switch in socially appropriate ways.[7]

For young bilingual children, code-mixing


may be dependent on the linguistic
context, cognitive task demands, and
interlocutor. Code-mixing may also
function to fill gaps in their lexical
knowledge. Some forms of code-mixing by
young children may indicate risk for
language impairment.[8]

In psychology and
psycholinguistics
In psychology and in psycholinguistics the
label code-mixing is used in theories that
draw on studies of language alternation or
code-switching to describe the cognitive
structures underlying bilingualism. During
the 1950s and 1960s, psychologists and
linguists treated bilingual speakers as, in
Grosjean's term, "two monolinguals in one
person".[9] This "fractional view" supposed
that a bilingual speaker carried two
separate mental grammars that were more
or less identical to the mental grammars
of monolinguals and that were ideally kept
separate and used separately. Studies
since the 1970s, however, have shown that
bilinguals regularly combine elements
from "separate" languages. These findings
have led to studies of code-mixing in
psychology and psycholinguistics.[10]

Sridhar and Sridhar define code-mixing as


"the transition from using linguistic units
(words, phrases, clauses, etc.) of one
language to using those of another within
a single sentence".[10] They note that this
is distinct from code-switching in that it
occurs in a single sentence (sometimes
known as intrasentential switching) and in
that it does not fulfill the pragmatic or
discourse-oriented functions described by
sociolinguists. (See Code-mixing in
sociolinguistics, above.) The practice of
code-mixing, which draws from
competence in two languages at the same
time suggests that these competences are
not stored or processed separately. Code-
mixing among bilinguals is therefore
studied in order to explore the mental
structures underlying language abilities.

As fused lect
A mixed language or a fused lect is a
relatively stable mixture of two or more
languages. What some linguists have
described as "codeswitching as unmarked
choice"[11] or "frequent codeswitching"[12]
has more recently been described as
"language mixing", or in the case of the
most strictly grammaticalized forms as
"fused lects".[13]

In areas where code-switching among two


or more languages is very common, it may
become normal for words from both
languages to be used together in everyday
speech. Unlike code-switching, where a
switch tends to occur at semantically or
sociolinguistically meaningful junctures,[14]
this code-mixing has no specific meaning
in the local context. A fused lect is
identical to a mixed language in terms of
semantics and pragmatics, but fused lects
allow less variation since they are fully
grammaticalized. In other words, there are
grammatical structures of the fused lect
that determine which source-language
elements may occur.[13]

A mixed language is different from a


creole language. Creoles are thought to
develop from pidgins as they become
nativized.[15] Mixed languages develop
from situations of code-switching. (See
the distinction between code-mixing and
pidgin above.)

Local names
There are many names for specific mixed
languages or fused lects. These names
are often used facetiously or carry a
pejorative sense.[16] Named varieties
include the following, among others.

Chinglish
Denglisch
Dunglish
Franglais
Franponais
Greeklish
Hinglish
Konglish
Manglish
Maltenglish
Poglish
Porglish
Portuñol
Singlish
Spanglish
Svorsk
Tanglish
Taglish

References
1. Although this article uses the terms
speech and speaking following common
practice in linguistics, these descriptions
apply equally to signed languages.
2. Muysken, Pieter. 2000. Bilingual Speech:
A Typology of Code-mixing. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 0-521-77168-4
3. Bokamba, Eyamba G. 1989. Are there
syntactic constraints on code-mixing?
World Englishes, 8(3), 277-292.
4. BOKAMBA, Eyamba G. (February 1988).
"CODE-MIXING, LANGUAGE VARIATION,
AND LINGUISTIC THEORY: Evidence from
Bantu Languages" . Lingua. 76, Issue 1: 21–
62. doi:10.1016/0024-3841(88)90017-4 .
Retrieved 10 October 2017.
5. Poplack, Shana (2001). "Code switching
(linguistic)". In N. J. Smelser & B. Baltes.
International Encyclopedia of the Social and
Behavioral Sciences. pp. 2062–2065.
6. See especially Social motivations for
code-switching.
7. King, Kendall A. 2006. "Child language
acquisition." In R. Fasold and J. Connor-
Linton (eds.) An Introduction to Language
and Linguistics. Cambridge University
Press. pp. 205-224.
8. Greene, Kai J; Elizabeth D Peña; Lisa M
Bedore (2012). "Lexical choice and
language selection in bilingual
preschoolers". Child Language Teaching
and Therapy. 29 (1): 27–39.
doi:10.1177/0265659012459743 .
9. Grosjean, Francois. 1989. Neurolinguists,
beware! The bilingual is not two
monolinguals in one person. Brain language
36(1):3-15.
10. Sridhar, S.N.; Sridhar, Kamal K. (1980).
"The syntax and psycholinguistics of
bilingual code-mixing". Canadian Journal of
Psychology. 34 (4): 407–416.
11. Myers-Scotton, Carol. 1993. Social
Motivations of Codeswitching. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
12. Poplack, Shana. 1979. Sometimes I'll
start a sentence in Spanish y termino en
espanol: toward a typology of code-
switching. Linguistics 18(233-234): 581-
618.
13. Auer, Peter (1999). "From code-
switching via language mixing to fused
lects: toward a dynamic typology of
bilingual speech". International Journal of
Bilingualism. 3 (4): 309–332.
14. See also Contextualization
(sociolinguistics).
15. Wardhaugh, Ronald. 2002. "Pidgins and
Creoles." In An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics (fourth ed.). Blackwell. pp.
57–86
16. Romaine, Suzanne and Braj Kachru.
1992. "Code-mixing and code-switching." In
T. McArthur (ed.) The Oxford Companion to
the English Language. Oxford University
Press. pp. 228-229.

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