The Multilingual World

of the Learner UNIT 3 CODE-SWITCHING AND

CODE-MIXING
Objectives
3.0 Objectives

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Pre-requisites to Code-Mixing and Code-Switching

3.2.1 Language Contact

3.2.2 A Linguistic Community

3.3 Mixing Codes

3.3.1 What is a Code?

3.3.2 Conditions for Code-Mixing and Code-Switching

3.4 The Language of Code Mixing

3.4.1 What is Code Mixing?

3.4.2 Study of the Language of Code Mixing in Written Language

3.4.3 The Language Aspect of Conversational Code-Mixing

3.5 Constraints on Code-Mixing

3.6 Switching Codes

3.6.1 Switching and Mixing

3.6.2 Motivation for Code-Switching – Does the Speaker always

have a reason for Switching Codes?

3.7 Let Us Sum Up

3.8 Things to Do – Points to Ponder

3.9 Key Words

3.10 References and Further Readings

3.0 OBJECTIVES
In this Unit, we shall consider the pre-requisites to code mixing and code-
switching, the meaning of ‘code’ in the context of ‘mixing’ and ‘switching’ and
also the requisites for them to occur in written and interpersonal communication.
Linguists’ views on the language and the constraints on code-mixing, and the
motivation for this will be presented with examples from their data. We shall
then look at other samples of conversation to see whether speakers always
have a considered reason for switching codes. We will also look at linguists
views on the difference between code mixing and code switching.
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After completing this Unit you should be able to: Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
 understand the background against which code mixing and code switching
occur;
 recognize code mixing and code switching as natural phenomena in bi/
multilingual settings with special reference to India;
 recognize the Indian multilingual setting as different from other bilingual/
multilingual nations;
 analyze the use of a mixed code and code switching and its possible
motivation in written and oral communication; and
 appreciate the fact that the use of more than one language can help students
to make meaning in the language learning process.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
You have already learnt that in most countries there are at least two languages
that are spoken and/or written. In other words, people of most countries in
the world today use more than one language to communicate. You have also
seen that in India people are by and large bilingual and a large number are
multilingual. And this ability can be used to great advantage in the classroom.
In a bi/multilingual setting different languages co-exist and are used to perform
different functions. These functions depend upon the role a language plays in
a particular setting. For example, the official language of a state is generally
used in all official (administrative) communication. In English speaking countries
the official language is English, though in the private domain other languages
may be used along with English. In India the situation is quite complex. Hindi
is the official language and English the associate official language of the Central
Government. While the language used by the States to communicate with the
Centre is Hindi/English, the official language of each state is the first language
of that State. Thus Tamil is used as the official language of Tamil Nadu. Telugu
is the official language of Andhra Pradesh, Bengali is the official language of
Bengal and so on. Other labels that indicate the status and functions of a language
are tribal language, minority language, regional language, link language.
Unlike the names of languages the labels are not naturally exclusive. A tribal
language may be an official language, as Mizo is the official language of Mizoram.
A scheduled language like Sindhi is a minority language. Sometimes the labels
also change when socio-political changes take place. For example, Konkani,
which was a minority language become a majority language when the new State
of Goa was created and it also became its official language and a scheduled
language listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Such forces that bring
about a change in the status of the language are due to the social and political
forces.
The kind of structural and functional relation between languages in multilingual
settings have a bearing on the choice of language for a given purpose. The
choice is not entirely free. For example, the role of Hindi as the official language
of Himachal Pradesh, precludes the use of a Pahadi language for official work.
Thus if an official role is assigned to a language, it prevents another language 137
The Multilingual World from being assigned the same role. However, the official status of a language
of the Learner
need not necessarily affect an individual’s use of language in the private domain.
The freedom that an individual has to choose the language they wish to
communicate in is dependent on several factors such as knowledge of the
language of people they interact with (if it is different from their first language),
the context (formal/informal), the topic of conversation, etc. Sometimes when
two individuals speak different languages and do not know each other’s first
language, communication is possible only when a third language known to both
is chosen, depending on the attitude they have to the third language they choose.
For example, when a Tamil or Malayalam speaker and a Hindi speaker
communicate with each other they would most probably choose English, because
it is a neutral language and therefore, more acceptable. Often the social
relationship between interlocutors influences the choice of language for
communication. Generally, in such cases the language of the person with higher
social status is chosen. But all other things being equal, individuals in India tend
to use two languages known to them – switching between them or mixing them,
creating a code-mixed variety which has a form of its own. Educated speakers
in India who know English and an Indian language, mix English with the Indian
languages. Speakers who do not know English may mix Hindi with their mother
tongue, for example, an Indian in Himachal Pradesh may mix Hindi with Pahadi/
Himachali.
In this Unit, we shall study the phenomenon of code-mixing and code-switching
as an aspect of the unique multilingual setting in India. We shall consider pre-
requisites to code-mixing and code-switching, and look at some requisites for
these. We shall also examine the language factor in code mixing, that is,
constraints on code mixing, and possible motivation for code mixing.
In the next section, we look at the backdrop against which code mixing and
code switching happens.

3.2 PRE-REQUISITES TO CODE-MIXING AND

CODE-SWITCHING
3.2.1 Language Contact
When we consider a sociolinguistic phenomenon such as code mixing and code
switching we pre-suppose the co-existence of two or more languages or varieties
of a language in a state, and each of these languages or varieties of a language
has its own place and function in various domains. When we say these languages
co-exist we mean that these languages come into contact with each other because
they form part of a speaker’s competence, that is, the same individual may
know more than one language / variety of a language and therefore have two
or more co-existing competencies. They could draw on these competencies in
different contexts. From the point of view of communication this would form
an individual’s repertoire. In addition to ‘intra-personal’ contact of languages,
‘interpersonal’ contact between people using more than one language in public
and private domains naturally results in these languages coming into contact as
well. This is evident in code-mixing and code-switching in bi/multilingual
communities.

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3.2.2 A Linguistic Community Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
A linguistic community is a group of people who share the same language.
Members of this community, who are monolingual may have a high and a low
variety. The high variety is formally learnt by instruction and used in “formal”
social contexts such as public speech, classroom instruction and for identification
of knowledge and its transmission in the written mode. A multilingual community
is one in which speakers know and are able to use more than one language
for communication. Competence in more than one language can be viewed from
individual as well as social perspectives.
India is a multilingual country. There are speakers of 200 languages that
historically belong to four different language families, viz., Indo European (54)
Dravidian (20), Austro-Asiatic (20) and Sino-Tibetan (84). The rest (22) are
unclassified and foreign languages. These languages are abstractions of our
11,600 mother tongues reported by the people in the 1961 census. This language
diversity is not merely demographic, it is also functional. There are 22 official
languages used as medium of administration, 43 educational languages used as
medium of instruction at the primary level, nearly 100 languages used as medium
of information dissemination through print and so on.
Though the country is divided into states on linguistic lines, each state is
multilingual. Linguistic minorities vary from 4% in Kerala to almost 40% in
Manipur. The States are multilingual to different degrees.
While there are two official languages (English and Hindi) of the Central
Government, the official languages of the states are as many as there are states.
At the level of the individual, we often come across people with competence
in at least two languages, sometimes even three or four, owing to increased
inter-state mobility. But at the socio-political level the choice of language tends
to get restricted to two or at best three languages. Knowledge of a number
of languages serves as a resource for individuals to communicate with others
successfully. When they use two or more languages alternately at either the level
of the word, or the level of the phrase or the sentence they code-mix or code-
switch. Before we consider the aspects from which code mixing/code-switching
have been examined by linguists we shall briefly look at what a ‘code’ means
and what the requisites are for people to mix or switch codes.

3.3 MIXING CODES

3.3.1 What is a Code?
The first question that comes to mind when one refers to code mixing/switching
is ‘what is a code?’ Strictly speaking a ‘code’ is defined in the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary as ‘a system of words, letters, numbers or symbols that
represent a message or records information secretly or in a shorter form’. Looked
at from the perspective of language as a system of communication it would
mean an arrangement of words in a rule-governed system that convey meaning.
Thus a mixed code would be one in which two codes with different systems
are combined to make meaning. What are the requisites for code mixing?

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The Multilingual World 3.3.2 Conditions for Code-Mixing and Code-Switching
of the Learner
Some conditions are necessary for code mixing/switching to happen. The first
of these is a knowledge of or an awareness of at least two codes (languages
or language varieties). Code mixing, in other words can only happen if
participants in an interaction know at least two languages. Not only should they
know two languages they should also share the same two languages. For
example, code mixing or code switching cannot happen between two people
one of whom knows Tamil and Malayalam and the other English and Marathi.
The extent to which two individuals mix codes can vary according to their
competence in the languages they use to communicate.
Look at some real-life conversations, for example:
1 A: Thambi, please give me Tayir (curd).
B: Yes, yes, bring bring. (serves A with curd)
A: Kunjam kunjam
B: Little, little.
A: thank you.
2 A: Please buy karapurvalli, I like them. (a variety of banana in
Tamil Nadu)
B: Yes, yes get Tumaro.
A: NaLLairku (nice is)
B: Hahaha…
3 A: Aap ke pass printed material hai – suuti (cotton)
B: Ha hai memsaheb. Aaie dekhye.
A: Bahot dark colours nahii chaahiye.
B: Jo chahiye vohii dikhaaunga. Ye dekhiye… Ye le test hai, ekdam
new. Rung fast hai, garenTiiD.
In the first and second conversations it is clear that A and B do not speak
a common Indian language. A knows English well and B’s first language is Tamil.
A also has a smattering of Tamil and B a smattering of English. A uses mainly
English and switches to Tamil only at the word level. Hence the Tamil words
tayir, kunjam – KarpurvaLLi and a short utterance – naLLa irku.
In spite of the use of single words in the switched code, communication happens.
Code mixing is thus used as an effective communicative device.
In dialogue 3, A knows both English and Hindi well. B responds to A’s query
in Hindi at first, then switches to English words to describe the material he
is selling ‘latest’, ‘new’, ‘fast hai’, ‘garantiid.’
Look at another conversation in which all the speakers know English well and
but for one speaker have Tamil as their first language.
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 A: Have you seen the invitation card? Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
B: What invitation?
A: To an evening of two plays by Becket.
B: No.
A: (Shows the card)
B: Ah. (Reads the card)
Lights… Narsingh Rao
Oh the same Narsingh Rao
A: Yes. Have you seen Daasi.
B: No.
C: I haven’t either.
A: I’m told they’re going to show all these films on TV.
D: When?
A: I don’t know. They’re going to show ViiDu next Sunday.
C: Archana acts in that, doesn’t she?
B: Yes.
D: In what?
C: ViiDule modal modelle aekTpaNNi naale.
Notice that the entire conversation is in English until the very end when C
unpredictably switches to Tamil and utters the entire sentence in Tamil. The entire
conversation is in English because one of the participants doesn’t know Tamil,
and has a mother tongue other than Tamil. It is clear from these examples that
in terms of functional value and prestige, English is important in the Indian
multilingual setting.

3.4 THE LANGUAGE OF CODE MIXING

3.4.1 What is Code Mixing?
Before we consider the ‘language factor’ in code mixing we would like to point
out that code mixing/switching is not a simple case of borrowing used to fill
in gaps that may occur in the lexicon of a given language. The phenomenon
can be noticed even when equivalents in the two languages exist. Moreover,
unlike borrowings, code mixed elements do not necessarily get assimilated into
the recipient language by regular linguistic change.

3.4.2 Study of the Language of Code Mixing in Written

Language
The study of code mixing/switching by linguists presupposes the acceptance of
these as a natural phenomenon of bi-/multilingualism governed by rules like any
other natural language. Thus Kachru (1975) discusses the formal aspects of
code mixing and says that it involves ‘functioning at least, in a disystem, and
141
The Multilingual World as a consequence, developing another linguistic code comprising formal features
of the Learner
of two or more codes. Kachru examines the various linguistic units and processes
which are involved in code mixing (Hindi-English) with examples primarily from
Hindi magazines/newspapers. In other words, the examples are those of the
written variety of code mixing.
(a) Unit Insertion: This according to Kachru refers to the introduction of a
grammatical unit above a word in a sentence (e.g., a noun phrase or a
verb phrase) from another language. for example,
i. NP Insertion
1 tenk va redar prapt karne ki bhi yojna (Navbharat Times NBT 8.3.75)
tank and radar procure do of also scheme
ii. VP Insertion
2 Vipaksh dvara vak aut (NBT-7.3.75)
Opposition by walkout
(b) Unit Hybridization: This refers to the use of code mixing within a unit, say
for example a NP, a VP or a compound verb.
3 isliye cans lene ke siva hamare pas koi upay nahi tha
Therefore chance take – except our near any alternative not was
(Dharmayug (D) 17.6.73)
4 Sarkas aur numayis yaha phel hai
Circus and exhibition here fail are
Kachru says that this process has developed into an extremely productive
process for ‘mixing’ Indian languages such as Hindi, Urdu with non-Indian
languages, English and Persian. This process is most productive in producing
what are termed ‘compound verbs’ and ‘conjunct verbs’. For example,
(1st type) expect karna ‘to expect’; satisfy karna ‘to satisfy’; examples of
the 2nd type are ‘holiday lena’ ‘to take a holiday’; ‘permission dena’ ‘to
grant permission’.
(c) Sentence insertion: It means inserting a sentence of one language into
another language for example:
5 parhne me Sima ki bahut ruchi hai vah kahti hai
Education is necessary for life (D, 29, 4.73)
(d) Idiom and Collocation Insertion: The idioms and collocations of English
have generally a higher frequency of occurrences in code mixed Indian
languages, than, say, proverbs. Some of the examples given are:
6 aur mai parivartan ghar se suru karuga kyuki
and I change home from begin will do because
Charity begins at home. (D, 29.4.73)
142
7 tum ko ho kya gaya why do you cry over spilt milk Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
to you happen what ……………………………….
sab thik ho jayega
all fine will become
(e) Inflection attachment and re-duplication
There are a number of English and Persian borrowings in South Asian languages
in such code mixing, e.g. sakuti digri vala (a person who possesses a school
degree; D, 12.8.73)
The process of re-duplication, which is very common in South Asian languages,
is applied to English items, e.g.
8 …acting (acting) …vekting mai ka janu re
(Saptahik Hindustan 29. 7.7.3)

3.4.3 The Language Aspect of Conversational Code-Mixing

Some studies have analysed Hindi English code mixing in conversation. Ira Pandit
(1986) has made an attempt to describe some aspects of the syntax of Hindi
English code mixing. We give below some of the examples from her analyses
of the data she recorded.
Simple sentences
A Head noun in subject noun phrase in English + copula in Hindi
1 Society hii aisii hai
subject copula
Society is like that.
2 Itti opportunities hain
subject copula
There are so many opportunities.
B Head noun in subject noun phrase in English + intransitive verb in Hindi
3 atmosphere itanaa informal ho jaata hai
subject verb intran
The atmosphere becomes so informal.
4 pataa nahiin kabse yeh trend chal rahaa hai
subject verb intran
No one knows since when this trend has been going on.
C Genitive noun phrase in the subject position
i Modifying noun phrase and genitive morpheme in Hindi + head noun
phrase in English + verb in Hindi
5 Bachchon kaa expenditure kuch kam nahiin hotaa hai
Mod Gen Head
The amount that has to be spent on children is by no means small. 143
The Multilingual World ii Modifying noun phrase and head noun phrase in English, genitive morpheme
of the Learner
in Hindi + verb in Hindi
6 Joint family ke advantage bahot saare hain
Mod NP Gen Head
iii Modifying nounphrase and genitive morpheme in Hindi + head noun phrase
in English + verb in English
7 hamaara opinion carries no weight
Mod Gen Head V
My opinion carries no weight.
VERB PHRASE CONSTRUCTIONS
D Predicate adjective in English + copula in Hindi
8 vo thoraa backward hai
Pred Adj cop
E Predicate adjective in English + intransitive verb in Hindi
9 abnormal thoraa saa ho jaate hain
Pred Adj int
They become a little abnormal.
F Object in English + Verb in Hindi
10 aise narrow escapes roz nazar aate hain
Object V
Such narrow escapes are seen everyday.
G Adverbials in English + verb in Hindi
11 Usko definitely pataa chal jaataa hai
Adv V
He gets to know about it definitely.
H Adverbials in Hindi + verb in English
12 yahaan par they are not from poor families.
Adv V
Here they are not from poor families.
CONJUNCT VERB/NOUN + VERB CONSTRUCTIONS
I Noun in English + Verb in Hindi
13 hamane usako baraa suggest kiyaa ki tum science le lo.
N V
COMPOUND SENTENCES
J Conjoined sentences
i First conjunct in Hindi + conjunction in Hindi + second conjunct in
144 English
 14 adults kii nahiin hai lekin it should be for adults. Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
conj
It’s not for adults but it should be for them.
ii First conjunct in English + conjunction in English + second conjunct
in Hindi
15 I don’t say anything because larakiyaan mujhse chiratii hain
I don’t say anything because the girls are jealous of me.
iii First conjunct in English + conjunction in Hindi + second conjunct
in English
16 It is the psychology which is important aur the psychological aspect
you know differs from person to person. Conj
COMPLEX SENTENCES
K Conditionals
i “If” clause in Hindi “then” clause in English beginning with the Hindi
“tab”/ “to”
17 agar tum baat karo unakii personal life ke bare men
If you talk about their personal life.
to they take more interest in their studies.
then
ii “If” clause in English “then” clause in Hindi.
18 If you can get a good servant to thiik hai.
It is all right if you can get a good servant.
L Complement Sentence
i Matrix sentence in Hindi, complementizer in English, embedded
sentence in English
19 ye log impression aisaa dete hain that they are very busy.
comp
These people give the impression that they are very busy.
20 She said kii do spirits aayiin room men and said kii ye bachcha hai
comp comp
isko le chalate hain
She said that two spirits came into the room and said that this is
the child they should take away.
ii Matrix sentence in Hindi, complementizer in Hindi, embedded sentence
in English.
21 to ye bolataa hai kii you be ready and we will run away.
comp
Then he says that you be ready and we will run away. 145
The Multilingual World M Relative clauses
of the Learner
i main clause in Hindi, relative clause in English
22 Hamaari class men kaii girls hain who have got good marks.
Rel cl
There are many girls in my class who have got good marks.
ii Main clause in English, relative clause in Hindi
23 PCS men jo larakiyaan hain they are much better.
The girls who are in PCS are much better.
From the numerous examples of structures in the data on code mixing it is
clear that it is a complex phenomenon; and though the nature and extent of
code mixing is highly unpredictable in face-to-face oral interaction, it seems to
be systematic.

3.5 CONSTRAINTS ON CODE-MIXING

Though the number of languages studied in code mixing is rather limited, linguists
have proposed some universal constraints on code mixing. The existence of
universal constraints is based on the assumption that the mixed code has the
properties of a natural language. The assumed linguistic properties of the mixed
code according to Annamalai (IJSL 75, 1989) are (a) mixing is governed by
levels of units such as word level, clause level, sentence level and so on (b)
it is sensitive to syntactic constituents like Noun Phrase, Verb Phrase, etc. and
(c) it is a variable with reference to word classes such as nouns verbs etc.
Here we shall look at the constraints / restrictions on code mixing in South
Asian languages as proposed by Kachru (1975). According to him, there seems
to be a cline of acceptability in code-mixing. It is not an open-ended process
either grammatically or lexically. He illustrates this with the following constraints.
A Rank shift constraint
The rank-shifted constructions are not from English. For example the
following sentences are an odd mix.
*1 voh kitab which is on the table meri hai
That book …………………...mine is.
*2 mera voh amriki dost who lives in Chicago aj hamare ghar ayega
My that American friend ……….................…………..today our
house will come
B Conjunction constraint
i In code mixing of South Asian languages and English conjunctions (and,
or, etc.) are not used to conjoin two NPs. The following sentences
sound odd, for example

146
 *3 NP and NP aye the. Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
*4 mai usko akhbar deta but diya nahi
I to him newspaper give gave not
Kachru says that conjoining two sentences from two languages is,
however, common.
bhai, khana khao and let us go.
brother meal eat
ii The conjoining item is from the same language in which the
conjoined sentence is introduced. Therefore, the following sentence
is not the preferred construction.
*6 John abhi aya nahi lekin I must wait for him.
John yet come not but
C Determiner constraint
There are several constraints on the items which can be code mixed in
a noun phrase in pre-head position.
*7 vaha five sundar larkiya parh rahi thi (numeral)
*8 tum this sundar larki ki bat kar rahe the?
These sentences according to Kachru sounded odd.
D Complementizer Constraint
i If the two sentences are from the same source languages, a
complementizer from another source is not inserted.
*9 mujhe lagta hai that ram kal aayega
to me seems aux… Ram tomorrow will come
ii Given two sentences from two sources (say, Hindi and English) the
preference is given to a complementizer from the language used in
the first sentence, e.g.
10 muje lagta hai ki ram will come tomorrow
To me seems aux that Ram…
This is especially true with verbs of perception (e.g. sunna ‘to hear’, sochna
‘to think’) or verbs of saying (e.g., kehna ‘to say’; batana ‘to tell’)
But Pandit has counter examples to some of the above constraints in her data.
For example, conjunction constraint B (i) and (ii)
(i) Uske bhai and bahan aane waale hote hain
conj
Raja raao and baadal sarcar hii nahiin hain library men
(ii) Sentences 14, 15 and 16 above of Pandit’s data.
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The Multilingual World There are counter examples to Kachru’s complementizer constraint [D (i)
of the Learner
and (ii)]
Examples:
(i) You get an idea kii this is the sort of novel you are reading.
comp
(ii) She said kii do spirits aayiin room men and said kii ye baccha hai isko
Comp Comp
le chalate hain
She said that two spirits came into the room and said that this is the child
they should take away.
- She thinks kii she is in the way.
Comp
- You know they feel kii baraa kuchh garbar maamlaa hai.
Comp
There is something seriously wrong.
Pandit also has counter examples to Kachru’s Rank shift/Restrictive relative
clause constraint in which an English relative clause cannot be embedded
into a Hindi sentence.
Consider the following:
- hamaari class men kaii girls hain who have got good marks.
Rel clause
College main kuchh larakiyaan hain who have boy friends.
Ref Clause
The fact that in the data a Hindi restrictive relative clause is embedded
in an English main clause also challenges this constraint. Look at the
following sentence, for example.
- PCS men jo larakiyaan hain they are much better.
Ref Clause
The difference in the data on code mixing and the counter examples indicate
that there is not enough research and data on code mixing/code switching that
can make it predictable. Only a huge data base could help us formulate a ‘system’
in terms of the language of code-mixing/code switching.

3.6 SWITCHING CODES

3.6.1 Switching and Mixing
What is the difference between code mixing and code switching? You might
ask.
When we switch codes we use a different language or variety of language midway
through a stretch of speech. Switching codes could either be partial and involve
only a part of a sentence or clause or phrase, and result in a code mixed variety
148 as we have seen above, or it could be a switch to another languages so that
it forms a large chunk of speech in an interaction. This is longer stretch of Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
speech in a different language and is a characteristic of code switching. In other
words, the stretches of the languages involved are generally longer in switching
than in mixing, and we can speak of mixing as concerning a unit of grammar
and switching as concerning a unit of discourse.

3.6.2 Motivation for Code-Switching – Does the Speaker

Always have a Reason for Switching Mixing Codes?
Linguists have made attempts (Grumperg 1971, Kumar 1987, Pandit 1986) to
study the factors that trigger a switch. Change in the context, in role relationships
may trigger a switch from English to the mother tongue and vice versa. A change
in the topic of discourse may elicit code switching. The value attached to a
language or a dialect, and sometimes the intention of the speaker may be
expressed by a switch.
In India, the use of English could occur in formal situations in the spoken as
well as the written forms, because English is associated with official and formal
contexts in the public domain. However, a switch to a common mother tongue
cannot be ruled out when the topic of conversation shifts from the domain of
office to the personal domain or when the boss in an organization switches
to a common mother tongue to accommodate those who are not fluent in English.
In a study conducted on the use of English in industries in Andhra Pradesh
(Sadanand 1983), it was found that executives at the highest levels in urban
industrial organizations switched from English to Hindi/Urdu/Telugu and vice versa
depending on the language the employees were comfortable with. Therefore,
it is not always the case that interaction in the public domain (workplace) is
restricted to English. The senior executives were flexible in their use of language,
in this case it was not the topic of conversation (which was most often technical)
nor was it the role relationship (relative rank in an organization) that triggered
a switch. It was in fact the senior executive’s desire to communicate effectively
in order to ‘get the job done’ which was the primary aim. The motivation for
switching codes was sociostrategic in the public domain.
Another reason for switching codes in socio-political contexts (public domain)
could be to make a point more forcefully, impress the listener and convince
them. Recently, there was a newspaper article (Deccan Chronicle, 5th October,
2014 p.10) on the Prime Minister’s use of English alliteration in his speeches
in Hindi as one of his devices to turn a simple concept into something appealing.
Modi spoke of the “5Ts” (talent, traditional, tourism, trade and technology) to
build brand India. On a TV channel Mr. Modi said the country needed the
3S’s (skill, scale, and speed) to match China.
It is evident from the examples above that codes switches in the public domain
are motivated primarily by the desire to get their message across effectively.
In the personal domain the motivation for code switching/mixing could either
be socio-cultural or socio-psychological.
Look at the following telephone conversation.
A: Hi, how are you?
B: Hi. I’m quite well, thanks. I’ve been very busy……….long hours of teaching
…………. A huge portion to cover. 149
The Multilingual World A: I just hope you don’t feel stressed. Have you to teach today?
of the Learner
B: No. mujhe chaothe pe jana hai at 9.30.
A: Oh, then you must be getting ready to go, main phir bat karungi. Bye!
B: Bye!
B’s switch to Hindi is owing to the occasion ‘chaotha’, a prayer meeting on
the fourth day after someone’s death, which is a part of Indian culture. But
A’s switch to Hindi is not easy to explain.
Look at another real-life conversation
A: I waited for you yesterday evening.
B: I’m so sorry. I should’ve called you. But I lost your number.
A: That’s OK. I’ll give you my number now.
B: You know I had to go to my cousin’s house. Uska pehla Karva Chauth
tha.
Here B switches to Hindi because ‘Karva Chauth’ is culture specific. In North
India it is celebrated nine days after Dussehra. On this day women fast and
pray for the long life of their husbands. The first fast after marriage is a special
occasion.
In both these conversations, the trigger seems to have been a socio-cultural
event which is typically Indian.
These examples, however, should not lead us to believe that all such instances
invariably trigger a switch. Individuals may vary among themselves and a
speaker may vary from one context to another in what s/he mixes and how
much s/he mixes to express herself/himself. There is thus a certain degree of
indeterminacy.
Again in the personal domain individuals may sometimes mix codes, switching
to the language of the person spoken to in order to identify with them. The
switch may signal a friendly attitude and thus establish a good rapport with
him/her. For instance, in dialogues 1 and 2 in section 3.3.2 speaker A and
B have different mother tongues, so A uses English to communicate with B
but switches to Tamil words to identify with B who in turn uses the little English
he knows and thus a friendly atmosphere is created.
In dialogue 3, A uses Hindi, which she knows well mixed with English to ask
for what she wants. B in turn uses Hindi mixed with English to indicate that
he has understood A. While the choice of English words by B in the mixed
code is intended to attract the customers attention to the quality of the material
and promote his business, it is not clear why A has switched to ‘printed materials’
and ‘dark colours’. It is possible that A did not have an appropriate Hindi
equivalent for the word ‘printed’. But there is a common Hindi word for ‘dark
colours’ (gehre rang). So the motivation for a switch in the latter case is not
easy to explain.
In ‘Some Observations on Motivation’ for code switching, Ashok Kumar (1987)
attempts a neat classification of the ‘considerations’ that dictate the alteration
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from ‘Hindi to English’. This is based on a study of Hindi-based bilinguals.
a) Switching under emotional stress; Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
b) Switching for imposing authority;
c) Switching for fashion;
d) Inevitable, technical code-switching;
e) Switching for business;
f) Switching in creative writing;
g) Euphemistic code-switching; and
h) Switching for reinforcement
While it may be possible that a switch from Hindi to English is triggered by
these considerations, the switching of codes in the following narration (Pandit
1986, p. 66) cannot be attributed to any motivation or change in the topic
of discourse.
1 I had gone to Kamala Nagar Mr. Puri ke saath.
2 We wanted to go kyonki kuch khareedanaa tha.
3 You know that place Birla Mills ke pass?
4 When you go to Amba raaste men naheen hai?
5 As it is my husband is very nervous jahaan tak merii driving kaa savaal
hai.
6 Vo mujhe drive naheen karene dete aur main bhii.
7 I don’t’ tell him in the morning kii main car le jaa rahii huun.
8 Us din to I had a very narrow escape.
9 Vahaan se murane lage vo jo roundabout naheen hai?
10 I was just turning.
11 Vahaan se ek private bus aa rahi thii.
12 Vo itanii speed se aayee.
13 I had just turned.
14 Vo itnii jyada speed se aayee aur usane moraa aur front mein, right side
pe badly touch huyii gaarii.
15 Itanii zor se aawaaz huyii kii I can’t tell you.
16 I was so scared.
17 Maine car rok dii.
18 I put a stop otherwise to sub kuch khatam ho gayaa hotaa.
Thus A’s narration of how she narrowly escaped a terrible accident illustrates
the difficulty of describing all instances of code mixing in terms of motivation.
Switching to a code mixed variety is common in the unique Indian multilingual
setting. This is probably owing to two or more co-existing competencies in the
individual which he/she may draw upon for communicating meaning.

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The Multilingual World
of the Learner 3.7 LET US SUM UP
We have seen that language contact is a pre-requisite to code mixing and code
switching. It is essential for two or more languages to co-exist in the individual
and between people for them to code switch. Each of the languages that co-
exist is a resource for various communicative and social functions. A community
in which its members know and speak more than one language is a bi/multilingual
community. India is a multilingual country with speakers of about 200 languages,
which are used for various functions such as mediums of administration, mediums
of instruction at the primary level and mediums of information dissemination
through print media.
When we speak of a sociolinguistics phenomenon such as code-switching and
code-mixing we mean that a ‘code’ is an arrangement of words that convey
meaning within a rule-governed system. Mixing codes would then mean that
two different systems are combined to make meaning. In order to mix codes
the speakers must share at least two codes (languages or language varieties).
Code mixing must not be mistaken for a simple case of borrowing used to
fill in gaps that may occur in the lexicon of a given language. Unlike borrowings
the elements do not necessarily get assimilated into the recipient language.
Linguists discuss the formal aspect of code mixing and code switching on the
basis of the assumption that they have the properties of a natural language.
The existence of universal constraints also follows from the same assumptions.
We have looked at the constraints proposed by Kachru (on Hindi/Urdu-English
code mixing) based on data of written and spoken language and an analysis
(Pandit 1986) of the structure of code mixed Hindi-English in conversation
followed by counter examples of Kachru’s constraints. The latter demonstrate
the indeterminate nature of code switching and the need to have a very large
data base for the properties of code mixing and code switching to be more
predictive.
We have considered possible reasons/motivations for code switching in the public
and personal domains and have listed a number of reasons (Ashok Kumar 1987)
given for switching from Hindi to English. By giving an example of data from
Pandit, however, we have drawn your attention to the difficulty of describing
all instances of code switching in terms of motivation.

3.8 THINGS TO DO – POINTS TO PONDER

1 What is your mother tongue? Why do you think it is your mother tongue?
2 How many languages (other than your mother tongue) do you know? Tick
the right column:
Language Well Not so well Not well at all

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3 How many languages do you use to communicate with others? Code-Switching and Code-
Mixing
4a Make notes of your own use of language in different contexts. Do you
mix codes?
4b Which languages do you use at work, in class, at home with family, with
friends and neighbours?
5 Record three conversations of educated bilinguals who know English. Did
any of the participants use a code-mixed variety? Did mixing happen at
the level of the word (as in dialogues 1 and 2 in 3.3.2…? or/and at the
level of the phrase or/and at the level of the whole sentence? You could
refer to Pandit’s analysis of code-mixed language.
6 Look at the possible reasons/motivations for code-switching listed by Ashok
Kumar. Can you apply any of these or any others to the code-switching
in the conversations you recorded?

3.9 KEY WORDS

Bilingual A bilingual is one who uses more than one language.
Linguistic community A group of people who share a language and norms
of its use as well as values assigned to it.
Multilingual community A linguistic community sharing more than one language
and their functional allocation.
Language repertoire The set of languages a speaker possess and uses.
Mother tongue One of the languages in the language repertoire of
a speaker which is used to identify him or her socially.
Borrowing Borrowing is the use of words and grammatical
features from another language, which are assimilated
into the system of the recipient language.
Mixing The alternative use of words and grammatical structure
of another language by a bilingual to convey social
meanings.
Constraints Systematic restrictions on mixing; violation of a
constraint will give an odd/ill-formed mixed sentence.
Switching The alternate use of another language for the length
of a discourse unit when there is a change in
participants or topic or a combination of factors.

3.10 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS

Annamalai (1989) ‘The Language Factor in Code Mixing’ in IJSL75, pp
48-54.
Ashok Kumar (1987) ‘Code-switching. Some Observations on Motivation’
in Indian Linguistic, vol. 48, March-December, 1987.
Gumperz John J (1971) ‘Hindi-Punjabi Code Switching in Delhi’ in Language
in Social Groups. Essays by John Gumperz. Selected and introduced by Anwer
Dil, Stanford University Press, 1971. 153
The Multilingual World Kachru Braj. B. (1975), Toward Structuring the Form and Fucntion of Code
of the Learner
mixing: An Indian Perspective’ in Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, Volume
5, Number 1, Spring 1975.
Pandit Ira (1986), Hindi-English Code-Switching. Mixed Hindi English. Datta
Book Centre, 1986.
Sadanand Kamlesh (1983), ‘The Use of English in Industries in Andhra Pradesh’,
Ph. D. Dissertation 1983. CIEFL, Hyderabad (A. P.)

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