Code-switching as Identity Marker: A Sociolinguistic Study of Kurdish EFL University Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21928/juhd.v5n3y2019.pp57-64Keywords:
Code-mixing, Code-switching, Situational Codeswitching, Identity, Kurdish EFL learnersAbstract
Being able to know English along with a mother tongue would inevitably lead into code-switching. Whether intentional or unintentional, it is revealing to investigate codeswitching among English EFL learners. This study, however, focuses specifically on the issue of learner’s identity with codeswitching. Language as identity expresser, or even identity maker, is thought to be strongly connected with identity. This study targets Kurdish EFL students at university level to mainly investigate the reason(s) for code-switching between their mother tongue and English as a foreign language. To this end, quantitative data, through a questionnaire, has been collected. The model adopted for designing the questions is based on a well-known theory by Bloom and Gumperz (1972) known as ‘situational codeswitching’. This study hypothesizes that Kurdish EFL learners code switch from English to Kurdish due to the lack of knowledge in English, or they do code switch from Kurdish to English to mark a different identity, which is the major focus of this study. To validate or refute these claims, the data collected for this paper has been qualitatively verified to reach some conclusions.
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Behavioral Sciences, 70, 1174-1179.
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vocabulary acquisition of adult and young EFL learners: A study in the
Korean context (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford).
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Chinese students, parents and teachers(Doctoral dissertation, Faculty
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language alternating?.Journal of Educational and Social Research,
5(1), 339.
Matras, Y. (2009). Language contact.Cambridge University Press.
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the Egyptian Society.EPiC Series in Language and Linguistics, vol. 2,
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Research in Linguistics. June 2006. Vol. 19.
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processes and language awareness. In Proceedings of the Fourth
International Symposium on Bilingualism (pp. 1945-1960).
Rovira, L. C. (2008). The relationship between language and identity. The
use of the home language as a human right of the immigrant.REMHURevistaInterdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana, 16(31), 63-81.
Velásquez, M. C. (2010). Language and identity: Bilingual code-switching in
Spanish-English interviews (Doctoral dissertation).
Veldtrup, H. (2010). Functions of Code-Switching in Bilingual
Conversations. Seminar Paper.
Weinreich, Uriel. 1953. Languages in Contact. The Hague: Mouton
grammar.Cumhuriyet Science Journal, 36(;3), 847-868.
Al Abdely, A. (2016). Types and Functions of Code-Switching in the English
Language used by Iraqi Doctors in Formal Settings.University of
Anbar.
Amorim, R. (2017). Code switching in student-student interaction; functions
and reasons!.Linguística: Revista de EstudosLinguísticos da
Universidadedo Porto, 7.
Anastassiou, Fotini & Andreou, Georgia. (2017). Factors Associated with the
Code Mixing and Code Switching of Multilingual Children: An
Overview. University of Thessaly.
Anggraeni, M. (2016). The Reasons of Using Code Switching for English
Education Students in Facebook at Universitas Kristen Satya
WacanaSalatiga, Indonesia (Doctoral dissertation, Program
StudiPendidikan Bahasa Inggris FBS-UKSW).
Ayeomoni, M. O. (2006). Code-switching and code-mixing: Style of
language use in childhood in Yoruba speech community. Nordic
Journal of African Studies, 15(1), 90-99.
Backus, A. (1992). Patterns of language mixing: A study in Turkish-Dutch
bilingualism (Vol. 11). Otto HarrassowitzVerlag.
Barnett, R. (1994) The Limits of Competence, Knowledge, Higher Education
and Society. SRHE and The Open University Press, Buckingham.
Basit, T. (2010) Conducting Research in Educational Context. London:
Continuum.
Bhatia, T. K., & Ritchie, W. C. (2004). Social and Psychological Factors in
Language Mixing.In W. C. Ritchie and T. K. Bhatia (eds.), Handbook
of Bilingualism (pp.336-352).Blackwell Publishing.
Blom, Jan-Petter, and John Gumperz. 1972. “Social Meaning in Linguistic
Structures: Code Switching in Northern Norway.” In: John Gumperz
and Del.
Cantone, K. F. (2007). Code-switching in bilingual children(Vol. 296).
Dordrecht: Springer.
Chloros, M. (2009).Code-switching by Penelope Gardner‐Chloros. Journal
of Sociolinguistics, 15(1), 138-141.
Chughtai, I., Khan, M., & Khan, M. (2016). Reasons and contexts to switch
and mix English code by Pakistani young learners in their native
speech: A sociolinguistic study. International Journal of Language and
Linguistics, 3(1), 85-94.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2007) Research Methods in
Education. 7th ed. USA: R
Edwards, J. (2009). Language and identity: An introduction. Cambridge
University Press.
Eastman, C.M. (Ed.). (1992). Codeswitching (Vol. 13).Multilingual Matters.
Esen, S. (2019). Code Switching: Definition, Types, and Examples.
Owlcation.https://owlcation.com/humanities/Code-SwitchingDefinition-Types-and-Examples-of-Code-Switching.
Grosjean, F. (1982). Life with two language. An introduction to bilingualism.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hymess, Dell. 1986. Directions in Sociolinguistic; The Ethnography of
Communication. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Kim, E. (2006). Reasons and Motivations for Code-mixing and Codeswitching. Issues in EFL, 4(1), 43-61.
Koban, D. (2013). Intra-sentential and inter-sentential code-switching in
Turkish-English bilinguals in New York City, US. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 70, 1174-1179.
Lee, J. H. (2010). The differential effects of teacher code-switching on the
vocabulary acquisition of adult and young EFL learners: A study in the
Korean context (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford).
Lo, K. N. V. (2007). Cultural identity and code-switching among immigrant
Chinese students, parents and teachers(Doctoral dissertation, Faculty
of Education-Simon Fraser University).
Mabule, D. R. (2015). What is this? Is it code switching, code mixing or
language alternating?.Journal of Educational and Social Research,
5(1), 339.
Matras, Y. (2009). Language contact.Cambridge University Press.
Mohamed. R. S. (2017). Identity and the Indexicality of Code-switching in
the Egyptian Society.EPiC Series in Language and Linguistics, vol. 2,
pp. 159-171.
Nguyen, T. (2014). Code Switching: A sociolinguistic perspective. Anchor
Academic Publishing (aap_verlag).
Nilep, C. (2006). Code switching'in sociocultural linguistics.Colorado
Research in Linguistics. June 2006. Vol. 19.
Riehl, C. M. (2005). Code-switching in bilinguals: impacts of mental
processes and language awareness. In Proceedings of the Fourth
International Symposium on Bilingualism (pp. 1945-1960).
Rovira, L. C. (2008). The relationship between language and identity. The
use of the home language as a human right of the immigrant.REMHURevistaInterdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana, 16(31), 63-81.
Velásquez, M. C. (2010). Language and identity: Bilingual code-switching in
Spanish-English interviews (Doctoral dissertation).
Veldtrup, H. (2010). Functions of Code-Switching in Bilingual
Conversations. Seminar Paper.
Weinreich, Uriel. 1953. Languages in Contact. The Hague: Mouton
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Published
2019-07-08
How to Cite
Abubakr, S. N., Hassan, Z. M., & Muhedeen, B. L. (2019). Code-switching as Identity Marker: A Sociolinguistic Study of Kurdish EFL University Students. Journal of University of Human Development, 5(3), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.21928/juhd.v5n3y2019.pp57-64
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