Presents a methodology for the systematic observation of codeswitching distribution, based on a range of defined units of discourse organization including the turn and different types of units within the turn, down to the level of the word. Codeswitching is found not to occur within word unit boundaries. Draws from a study of bilingual performance…

Discusses the deliberate use of code switching for literary expression. Identifies and illustrates shared pragmatic functions of conversational and literary code switching, with particular reference to the alternation of languages in Chicano/a Spanish/English poetry. (Author/VWL)

This paper presents a linguistic analysis of Spanish-English bilingual speech for scholars and practitioners of bilingualism. More specifically, the study surveys several outcomes of language contact, among these, inter-lingual transference, codeswitching, and convergence, as evidenced in the speech practices of heritage Spanish speakers in the…

Bare forms (or [slashed O] forms), uninflected lexical L2 insertions in contexts where the matrix language expects morphological marking, have been recognized as an anomaly in different approaches to code-switching. Myers-Scotton (1997, 2002) has explained their existence in terms of structural incongruity between the matrix and embedded…

The principle of operant selection is examined as a prototype of cultural selection, and the role of the social environment is suggested as the critical element in the emergence of cultural phenomena. Operant contingencies are compared to cultural selection contingencies, designated as metacontingencies. Both of these types of contingency…

There is an ever-increasing trend in the world today to adopt English as the language of instruction in higher education. The increase is in part due to the views that such adoption constitutes the key to competitiveness in a globalized higher education market. Thus, a growing number of universities in non-English-speaking countries switch to…

This report is part of a larger, 2-year ethnography of bi- and multilingual speakers in Japan. On the basis of audio and videotape recordings of discussions among international students in a Japanese university, this study examines participants' deployment of different conversational resources to understand and talk about marginalizing…

Developing the ability to speak in a foreign language is an arduous task. This is because it involves the mastery of different language subsystems, simultaneous focus on comprehension and production, and the impact of a range of social factors. This challenge is further compounded in situations in which learners have limited access to the target…

We present two bilingual patients without language disorders in whom involuntary language switching was induced. The first patient switched from Dutch to English during a left-sided amobarbital (Wada) test. Functional magnetic resonance imaging yielded a predominantly left-sided language distribution similar for both languages. The second patient…

Reports the findings of a study done to test evaluative reactions to code-switching which involved alternation and/or mixing between the grammatical systems of English and Panjabi. Results are in line with similar studies and show that the same person is evaluated in different ways depending on how he or she speaks.

Uses examples of English-Yoruba translation to show that borrowing is a natural way of translating new concepts from source language into target language. Stresses importance of folk etymology in natural translation. (Author/BK)

Research has shown that intersentential code switching is related to conversational structure. This article argues that insertion can be explained in these terms as well. Draws on Halliday's and Hasan's (1976) notion of cohesive tie, claims that insertions are a consequence of the bilingual speaker's attempt to create coherence between utterances…

Discusses a continuum of language alternation phenomena that spans between the prototypes labeled codeswitching (CS), language mixing (LM), and fused lects (FLs), with CS and FLs representing the polar extremes of the continuum and LM a point in between. (Author/VWL)

Examines the roles that morphemes of different types play in contact-induced change. The data examined are taken from interviews with seven speakers of Pennsylvania German. Argues that a turnover of the Matrix language is in process in PG. (Author/VWL)

Simultaneous interpreting is a complex task where the interpreter is routinely involved in comprehending, translating and producing language at the same time. This study assessed two components that are likely to be major sources of complexity in SI: The simultaneity of comprehension and production, and transformation of the input. Furthermore,…