Cover not available
Article published In:
Journal of Language and Sexuality
Vol. 13:1 (2024) ► pp.76–97

Cross-cultural code-switching for sexuality professionals

 | Widener UniversityChesterPA, USA
 | Widener UniversityChesterPA, USA
 | Widener UniversityChesterPA, USA
Sexuality professionals (sexologists) often communicate from a broad perspective of sexuality based on unique training. Cross-cultural code-switching is useful for sexologists to communicate with those who have different sexological worldviews. We discuss the concept of cross-cultural code-switching and its usefulness for sexuality professionals. We consider the theories behind the usefulness of this tactic in one’s work as a sexologist and offer practical considerations for effective code-switching across cultures. We observe the power dynamics in code-switching and offer this theoretical work as a way to raise one’s awareness to these realities of communication in the roles sexuality professionals hold in the world.
Keywords: sexuality professionals, code-switching, communication, sexological worldview, cross-cultural communication, professional development
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Contextualizing cross-cultural code-switching
    • 2.1Contextualizing culture
    • 2.2Brief history of code-switching
    • 2.3Functional definitions for sexologists
  • 3.Theoretical grounding for sexuality professionals
  • 4.Theory in practice: The art of code-switching
    • 4.1Areas to consider while code-switching
      • 4.1.1Operation
      • 4.1.2Belief systems
      • 4.1.3Reason/purpose
      • 4.1.4Self-awareness
    • 4.2Possible barriers in code-switching for the sexologist
      • 4.2.1Conflict with values
      • 4.2.2Ethnocentrism
      • 4.2.3Lack of knowledge of cultural norms
      • 4.2.4Lack of metacognitive ability (awareness of when to use cultural knowledge)
  • 5.Power dynamics and code-switching
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 30 January 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.00031.lev
References (62)
References
Alfaraz, Gabriela G. 2009. Language alternation and choice in a formal register: Spanish and English in bilingual Catholic services. International Journal of Bilingualism 13(4): 419–445. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Appel, René & Muysken, Pieter. 1987. Language Contact and Bilingualism. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Argenter, Joan A. 2005. Did our ancestors code-switch? Inferring from written records. In ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, James Cohen, Kara T. McAlister, Kellie Rolstad & Jeff MacSwan (eds), 84–93. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Bailey, Benjamin. 2011. Multilingual forms of talk and identity work. In APA Handbook of Intercultural Communication, David Matsumoto (ed), 145–168. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Barna, Laray M. 1994. Stumbling blocks in intercultural communication. In Intercultural Communication: A Reader, Larry A. Samovar & Richard E. Porter (eds), 337–346. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Bazerman, Charles. 2009. Issue brief: Discourse communities. National Council of Teachers of English. 〈[URL][URL]〉 (September 29, 2023)
Bennett, Milton J. 1986. A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 10(2): 179–196. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(ed). 1998. Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication: Boston, MA: Intercultural Press.Google Scholar
Benson, Erica J. 2001. The neglected early history of codeswitching research in the United States. Language & Communication 21(1): 23–36. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Blom, Jan-Petter & Gumperz, John J. 1972. Social meaning in linguistic structures: Code-switching in Norway. In Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication, John J. Gumperz & Dell Hymes (eds), 407–434. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Chou, Rosalind S. & Feagin, Joe R. 2016. The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cushner, Kenneth, McClelland, Averil & Safford, Philip. 2012. Human Diversity in Education: An Intercultural Approach. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Deters, Ping. 2011. Identity, Agency and the Acquisition of Professional Language and Culture. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
DuBois, William E. B. 1994[1903]. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Dover Publications.Google Scholar
Elias, Amanuel. 2017. Racism, anti-racism and intercultural dialogue. In Interculturalism at the Crossroads: Comparative Perspectives on Concepts, Policies and Practices, Fethi Mansouri (ed), 257–276. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
Ervin-Tripp, Susan. 1964. An analysis of the interaction of language, topic, and listener. American Anthropologist 66(6): 86–102. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Espinosa, Aurelio M. 1911. The Spanish language in New Mexico and Southern Colorado. Historical Society of Mexico 161: 1–37.Google Scholar
Garson, Kyra, Padda, Harminder & Qazi, Amna. 2021. Engaging students with intercultural and anti-racism resources. Teaching Practices Colloquium, Virtual. 〈[URL]〉 (September 29, 2023)
Harris, Ida. 2019. Code-switching is not trying to fit in to White culture, it’s surviving it. Yes! Solutions Journalism. 〈[URL]〉 (September 29, 2023)
Hedgepeth, Evonne & Helmich, Joan. 1996. Teaching about Sexuality and HIV: Principles and Methods for Effective Education. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Hofstede, Geert, Hofstede, Gert Jan & Minkov, Michael. 2010. Culture and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Horndern, Amanda J. & Street, Ammette F. 2007. Communicating about patient sexuality and intimacy after cancer: Mismatched expectations and unmet needs. Medical Journal of Australia 186(5): 224–227. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Israel, Tania. 2002. Studying sexuality: Strategies for surviving stigma. Feminism & Psychology 12(2): 256–260. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Janks, Hilary. 2010. Language, power and pedagogies. In Sociolinguistics and Language Education, Nancy H. Hornberger & Sandra Lee McKay (eds), 40–61. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jawed-Wessel, Sofia. 2019. Dismantling traditional teen pregnancy prevention approaches: Moving from a risk to rights-based approach. (Paper presented at 2019 AASECT Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA)
Kamwangamalu, Nkonko M. 2010. Multilingualism and codeswitching in education. In Sociolinguistics and Language Education, Nancy H. Hornberger & Sandra Lee McKay (eds), 116–142. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Koltko-Rivera, Mark E. 2004. The psychology of worldviews. Review of General Psychology 8(1): 3–58. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levand, Mark A. & Canan, Sasha N. 2018. Navigating sexualization as a sexuality professional: Recommendations from sexuality educators at the 2016 National Sex Ed Conference. American Journal of Sexuality Education 13(1): 94–107. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Love, Edward O. D. 2016. Code-switching with the Gods: The Bilingual (Old Coptic-Greek) Spells of PGM IV (P. Bibliothèque Nationale Supplément Grec. 574) and Their Linguistic, Religious, and Socio-Cultural Context in Late Roman Egypt. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Luria, Mijal, Byers, E. Sandra, Voyer, Susan D. & Mock, Moshe. 2013. Motivations and sexual attitudes, experiences, and behavior of sexuality professionals. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 39(2): 112–131. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mahootian, Shahrzad. 2006. Code switching and mixing. In Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, K. Brown (ed), 511–527. Oxford: Elsevier. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Melaku, Tsedale M. & Beeman, Angie. 2020. Academia isn’t a safe haven for conversations about race and racism. Harvard Business Review. 〈[URL]〉 (September 29, 2023)
Molinsky, Andrew. 2007. Cross-cultural code-switching: The psychological challenges of adapting behavior in foreign cultural interactions. Academy of Management Review 32(2): 622–640. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Moore, Danièle. 2010. Code-switching and learning in the classroom. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 5(5): 279–293. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mullen, Alex. 2015. In both our languages: Greek–Latin code-switching in Roman literature. Language & Literature 24(3): 213–232. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nilep, Chad. 2006. ‘Code switching’ in sociocultural linguistics. Colorado Research in Linguistics 19(1): 1–22.Google Scholar
Okami, Paul. 2002. Causes and consequences of a career in sexuality research. In Handbook for Conducting Research on Human Sexuality, Michael W. Wiederman & Bernard E. Whitley Jr. (eds), 505–512. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Pahta, Päivi. 2012. Code-switching in English of the Middle Ages. In The Oxford Handbook of the History of English, Terttu Nevalainen & Elizabeth Closs Traugott (eds), 528–537. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pennycook, Alastair & Otsuji, Emi. 2019. Mundane metrolingualism. International Journal of Multilingualism 16(2): 175–186. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poza, Luis. 2017. Translanguaging: Definitions, implications, and further needs in burgeoning inquiry. Berkeley Review of Education 6(2): 101–128. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Qian, Xiaofang, Tian, Guisen & Wang, Qiang. 2009. Codeswitching in the primary EFL classroom in China – Two case studies. System 37(4): 719–730. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rampton, Ben. 2003. Youth, race and resistance: A sociolinguistic perspective in micropolitics in England. In Voices of Authority, Monica Heller & Marilyn Martin-Jones (eds), 403–417. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.Google Scholar
Rogers, Carl R. & Freiberg, H. Jerome. 1994. Freedom to Learn. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Rokeach, Milton. 1973. The Nature of Human Values. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Schendl, Herbert. 2015. Code-switching in early English literature. Language and Literature: Journal of the Poetics and Linguistics Association 24(3): 233–248. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Scrimgeour, Margaret & Ovsienko, Helen. 2015. Anti-racism and pre-service teacher education: Advocating for intersectional privilege studies. Journal of Educational Enquiry 14(2): 33–44.Google Scholar
Silliman, Jael, Fried, Marlene G., Ross, Loretta & Gutiérrez, Elena R. 2004. Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.Google Scholar
Sitron, Justin A. & Dyson, Donald A. 2009. Sexuality attitudes reassessment (SAR): Historical and new considerations for measuring its effectiveness. American Journal of Sexuality Education 4(2): 158–177. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2012. Validation of sexological worldview: A construct for use in the training of sexologists in sexual diversity. SAGE Open 2(1): 1–16. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sitron, Justin A. & Lock, Li. 2022. Sexological worldview development explained by the developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. American Journal of Sexuality Education 17(1): 106–124. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Slobin, Dan I. (ed). 1967. A Field Manual for Cross-Cultural Study of the Acquisition of Communicative Competence. Second Draft -- July 1967. Berkeley, CA: University of California.Google Scholar
Smith, Christian. 2016. The conceptual incoherence of ‘culture’ in American sociology. American Sociologist 47(4): 388–415. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stayton, William R. 1998. A curriculum for training professionals in human sexuality using the sexual attitude restructuring (SAR) model. Journal of Sex Education & Therapy 23(1): 26–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Szlachta, Alaina & Champion, Jane. 2020. Working toward culturally responsive sexuality education: Recommendations for becoming a culturally responsive teacher. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community 48(4): 348–364. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tahir, Naema N. 2021. Understanding arranged marriage: An unbiased analysis of a traditional marital institution. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 35(1): 1–20. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thielmann, Winfried. 2011. Power and dominance in intercultural communication. In APA Handbook of Intercultural Communication, David Matsumoto (ed), 105–121. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Thompson, Matt. 2013. Five reasons why people code-switch. NPR Code Switch 〈[URL]〉 (September 29, 2023)
Vygotsky, Lev S. 1978. Mind In Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Wells, Megan. 2011. Codeswitching in the comedy of George Lopez. Journal of Applied Language Studies 5(1): 65–76.Google Scholar
Young, Vershawn Ashanti. 2009. Nah, we straight: An argument against code switching. JAC: Journal of Advanced Composition 29(1/2): 49–76.Google Scholar
Zurbriggen, Eileen L. 2002a. Researching sensitive topics: Stories, struggles and strategies. Feminism & Psychology 12(2): 253–255. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002b. Sexual objectification by research participants: Recent experiences and strategies for coping. Feminism & Psychology 12(2): 261–268. DOI logoGoogle Scholar