Cover not available
Part of
Understanding Language and Cognition through Bilingualism: In honor of Ellen Bialystok
Edited by Gigi Luk, John A.E. Anderson and John G. Grundy
[Studies in Bilingualism 64] 2023
► pp. 86–119

Chapter 5
Beyond bilingualism

Code-switching and its cognitive and social correlates

 | University of Toronto
Code-switching, the spontaneous switching from one language to another within a single speech event (Appel & Muysken, 1987), is essentially a linguistic concept derived from language contact research. The notion of bilingual code-switching has been far-reaching: it has been the topic du jour for decades in the field of sociolinguistics, it has been incorporated into cognitive studies to further the study of bilingualism, and it has been adopted into social psychological research from attitudes to identity. While each field has its own perspective of the concept and ways of operationalizing it into their respective methodologies, it remains necessary to have a well-rounded understanding of this linguistic concept and its definitions, constraints, and functions. An overview of the core ideas linked to code-switching will be explained, followed by a discussion of the studies that have incorporated the construct into cognitive bilingualism research and the social psychology of language. Finally, implications and future avenues for the study of code-switching and bilingualism will be discussed.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Code-switching: Definition and background
  • Code-switching in the sociolinguistic arena
  • A functional approach
  • Incorporating code-switching in cognitive psychology research of bilingualism
  • Eliciting code-switching and the bilingual verbal fluency task
  • Studying code-switching from a social psychology of language perspective
  • Code-switching as a valued asset
  • From attitudes to social identity
  • Conclusion and future prospects
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 June 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.64.05yim
References (110)
References
Abutalebi, J., & Green, D. (2008). Control mechanisms in bilingual language production: Neural evidence from language switching studies. Language and Cognitive Processes, 23(4), 557–582. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Allport, G. W. (1935). Attitudes. In C. A. Murchison (Ed.), A handbook of social psychology (pp. 798–844). Clark University Press.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. A., Hawrylewicz, K., & Bialystok, E. (2018). Who is bilingual? Snapshots across the lifespan. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(5), 929–937. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Anderson, J. A., Mak, L., Chahi, A. K., & Bialystok, E. (2018). The language and social background questionnaire: Assessing degree of bilingualism in a diverse population. Behavior Research Methods, 50(1), 250–263. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Appel, R., & Muysken, P. (1987). Language contact and bilingualism. Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Auer, P. (1984). Bilingual conversation. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1999). From codeswitching via language mixing to fused lects: Toward a dynamic typology of bilingual speech. International Journal of Bilingualism, 3(4), 309–332. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Banaji, M. R., & Heiphetz, L. (2010). Attitudes. In S. Fiske, D. Gilbert, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (5th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 348–388). John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Barac, R., & Bialystok, E. (2012). Bilingual effects on cognitive and linguistic development: Role of language, cultural background, and education. Child Development, 83, 413–422. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Benet-Martínez, V., & Haritatos, J. (2005). Bicultural identity integration (BII): Components and psychosocial antecedents. Journal of personality, 73(4), 1015-1050. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Power, S., Young, M., & Bujaki, M. (1989). Acculturation attitudes in plural societies. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 38, 185–206. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E. (1988). Levels of bilingualism and levels of linguistic awareness. Developmental Psychology, 24, 560–567. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2001). Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy, and cognition. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., Klein, R., & Viswanathan, M. (2004). Bilingualism, Aging, and Cognitive Control: Evidence From the Simon Task. Psychology and Aging, 19(2), 290–303. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., Green, D. W., & Gollan, T. H. (2009). Bilingual minds. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 10, 89–129. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Ryan, J. (2006). Executive control in a modified antisaccade task: Effects of aging and bilingualism. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 32(6), 1341–1354.Google Scholar
Blom, J., & Gumperz, J. J. (1972). Social meaning in linguistic structure: Code-switching in Norway. In J. J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in sociolinguistics: The ethnography of communication (pp. 407–434). Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.Google Scholar
Boztepe, E. (2005). Issues in code-switching: Competing theories and models. Working Papers in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 1–27.Google Scholar
Braver, T. S., Reynolds, J. R., & Donaldson, D. I. (2003). Neural mechanisms of transient and sustained cognitive control during task-switching. Neuron, 39, 713–726. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brysbaert, M. (1998). Word recognition in bilinguals: Evidence against the existence of two separate lexicons. Psychologica Belgica, 38(3–4), 163–175. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cashman, H. R. (2005). Identities at play: Language preference and group membership in bilingual talk in interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 37(3), 301–315. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cepeda, N. J., Kramer, A. F., & Gonzalez de Sather, J. C. M. (2001). Changes in executive control across the lifespan: Examination of task-switching performance. Developmental Psychology, 37(5), 715–730. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chen, K. H. Y. (2005). The social distinctiveness of two code-switching styles in Hong Kong. In J. Cohen, K. McAlister, K. Rolstad, & J. MacSwan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism (pp. 527–541). Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
(2008). Positioning and repositioning: Linguistic practices and identity negotiation of overseas returning bilinguals in Hong Kong. Multilingua, 27, 57–75. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015). Styling bilinguals: Analyzing structurally distinctive code-switching styles in Hong Kong. In G. Stell & K. Yakpo (Eds.), Code-switching between structural and sociolinguistic perspectives (pp. 163–184). Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cheng, C.-Y., Lee, F., Benet-Martínez, V., & Huynh, Q.-L. (2014). Variations in multicultural experience: Influence of bicultural identity integration on socio-cognitive processes and outcomes. In V. Benet-Martínez & Y.-Y. Hong (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of multicultural identity (pp. 276–299). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Clément, R., & Beauregard, Y. (1986). Peur d'assimilation et confiance en soi: Leur relation à l'alternance des codes et à la compétence communicative en langue seconde [Fear of assimilation and self confidence: Their relationship to code choices and communicative competence in a second language]. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 18(2), 187–196. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comeau, L., Genesee, F., & Mendelson, M. (2007). Bilingual children’s repairs of breakdowns in communication. Journal of Child Language, 34, 159–174. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Costa, A., Hernández, M., & Sebastián-Gallés, N. (2008). Bilingualism aids conflict resolution: Evidence from the ANT task. Cognition, 106, 59–86. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Deuchar, M. (2020). Code-switching in linguistics: A position paper. Languages, 5(22). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Deuchar, M., & Stammers, J. (2012). What is the “Nonce Borrowing Hypothesis” anyway? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(3), 649–650. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J., & Nakano, S. (2013). Multilinguals’ perceptions of feeling different when switching languages. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(2), 107–120. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J. M., & Li Wei. (2014a). Intra-and inter-individual variation in self-reported code-switching patterns of adult multilinguals. International Journal of
Multilingualism, 11(2), 225–246. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J., & Li Wei. (2014b). Attitudes towards code-switching among adult mono- and multilingual language users. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 35(3), 235–251. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dragojevic, M. (2017). Language attitudes. In H. Giles & J. Harwood (Eds.), The Oxford encyclopedia of intergroup communication (Vol. 1, pp. 263–278). Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Festman, J., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., & Münte, T. F. (2010). Individual differences in control of language interference in late bilinguals are mainly related to general executive abilities. Behavioural and Brain Functions, 6(5), 1–12. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fung, L., & Carter, R. (2007). New varieties, new creativities: ICQ and English-Cantonese e- discourse. Language and Literature, 16(4), 345–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gafaranga, J. (2005). Demythologising language alternation studies: Conversational structure vs. social structure in bilingual interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 37(3), 281–300. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gardner-Chloros, P., McEntee-Atalianis, L., & Finnis, K. (2005). Language attitudes and use in a transplanted setting: Greek Cypriots in London. International Journal of Multilingualism, 2(1), 52–80. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garrett, P. (2010). Attitudes to language. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Bourhis, R. (1982). The social psychological significance of code-switching in cross-cultural communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 1(1), 1–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Bourhis, R. Y. (1988). Evaluative reactions to language choice strategies: The role of sociostructural factors. Language and Communication, 8(3/4), 229-250. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Holobow, N. E. (1989). Change and stability in intergroup perceptions. Journal of language and social psychology, 8(1), 17-38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gibbons, J. (1987). Code-mixing and code choice: A Hong Kong case study. Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Giles, H., Bourhis, R. Y., & Taylor, D. M. (1977). Toward a theory of language in ethnic group relations. In H. Giles (Ed.), Language, ethnicity, and intergroup relations (pp. 307–348). Academic Press.Google Scholar
Green, D. W. (1998). Mental control of the bilingual lexico-semantic system. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1(2), 67–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grosjean, F. (1982). Life with two languages: An introduction to bilingualism. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
(1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and language, 36(1), 3-15. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grosjean, F., & Li, P. (2013). The psycholinguistics of bilingualism. John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Grosjean, F., & Miller, J. L. (1994). Going in and out of languages: An example of bilingual flexibility. Psychological Science, 5(4), 201–206. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gullifer, J. W. & Titone, D. (2020). Characterizing the social diversity of bilingualism using language entropy. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23, 283–294. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Heller, M. (Ed.) (1988). Codeswitching: Anthropological and sociolinguistic perspectives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hernández, M., Martin, C. D., Barceló, F., & Costa, A. (2013). Where is the bilingual advantage in task-switching? Journal of Memory and Language, 69, 257–276. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kolers, P. A. (1966). Reading and talking bilingually. American Journal of Psychology, 79, 357–376. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kramer, A. F., & Kray, J. (2006). Aging and attention. In E. Bialystok & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), Lifespan cognition: Mechanisms of change (pp. 57–69). Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kray, J., Eber, J., & Karbach, J. (2008). Verbal self-instructions in task switching: A compensatory tool for action-control deficits in childhood and old age? Developmental Science, 11(2), 223–236. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lambert, W. E., Hodgson, R. C., Gardner, R. C., & Fillenbaum, S. (1960). Evaluational reactions to spoken languages. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 60(1), 44–51. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lawson, S., & Sachdev, I. (2000). Codeswitching in Tunisia: Attitudinal and behavioural dimensions. Journal of Pragmatics, 32, 1343–1361. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Li, D. C. S. (2002). Cantonese-English code-switching research in Hong Kong: A survey of recent research. In K. Bolton (Ed.), Hong Kong English: Autonomy and creativity (pp. 79–99). Hong Kong University Press.Google Scholar
Low, W. W. M., & Lu, D. (2006). Persistent use of mixed code: An exploration of its functions in Hong Kong schools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(2), 181–204. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Luk, G., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Bilingualism is not a categorical variable: Interaction between language proficiency and usage. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(5), 605–621. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Luo, L., Luk, G., & Bialystok, E. (2010). Effect of language proficiency and executive control on verbal fluency performance in bilinguals. Cognition, 114, 29–41. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macnamara, J., & Kushnir, S. L. (1971). The linguistic Independence of bilinguals: The input switch. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 10, 480–487. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macnamara, J., Krauthammer, M., & Bolgar, M. (1968). Language switching in bilinguals as a function of stimulus and response uncertainty. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 78, 208–215. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Milroy, L. & Muysken, P. (Eds.). (1995). One speaker, two languages: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on code-switching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Muysken, P. (2000). Bilingual speech: A typology of code-mixing. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
(2013). Language contact outcomes as the result of bilingual optimization strategies. Bilingualism: Language and cognition, 16(4), 709-730. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Myers-Scotton, C. (1988). Codeswitching as indexical of social negotiations. In L. Wei (Ed.), The bilingualism reader (pp. 127–153). Routledge.Google Scholar
(1993). Social motivations for code-switching. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Myers-Scotton, C., & Ury, W. (1977). Bilingual strategies: The social functions of code-switching. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 13, 5–20.Google Scholar
Orfanidou, E., & Sumner, P. (2005). Language switching and the effects of orthographic specificity and response repetition. Memory & Cognition, 33, 355–369. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paap, K. R., & Greenberg, Z. I. (2013). There is no coherent evidence for a bilingual advantage in executive processing. Cognitive Psychology, 66, 232–258. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en Español: Toward a typology of code-switching. Linguistics, 18, 581–618. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1987). Contrasting patterns of code-switching in two communities. In E. Wande, J. Anward, B. Nordberg, L. Steensland, & M. Thelander (Eds.), Aspects of multilingualism (pp. 51–77). Borgströms.Google Scholar
Poplack, Shana. (1989). The care and handling of a mega-corpus. In R. Fasold & D. Schiffrin (Eds.), Language change and variation (pp. 411–451). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poplack, S. (2001). Code-switching (linguistic). In N. Smelser & P. Baltes (eds.), International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences (pp. 2062–2065). Elsevier. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2012). What does the Nonce Borrowing Hypothesis hypothesize? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 15(3), 644–648. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018). Borrowing: Loanwords in the speech community and in the grammar. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Poplack, S., & Cacoullos, R. T. (2016). Data before models. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(5), 893–894. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poplack, S., & Dion, N. (2012). Myths and facts about loanword development. Language Variation and Change, 24, 279–315. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poplack, S., & Meechan, M. (1998). How languages fit together in code-mixing. International Journal of Bilingualism, 2(2), 127–138. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poplack, S., Sankoff, D., & Miller, C. (1988). The social correlates and linguistic processes of lexical borrowing and assimilation. Linguistics, 26, 47–104. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poplack, S., Wheeler, S., & Westwood, A. (1989). Distinguishing language contact phenomena: Evidence from Finnish-English bilingualism. World Englishes, 8(3), 389–406. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Prior, A., & Gollan, T. H. (2011). Good language-switchers are good task-switchers: Evidence from Spanish–English and Mandarin–English bilinguals. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 17, 682–691. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Prior, A., & MacWhinney, B. (2010). A bilingual advantage in task switching. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13(2), 253–262. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reimers, S., & Maylor, E. A. (2005). Task Switching Across the Life Span: Effects of Age on General and Specific Switch Costs. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 661–671. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rogers, R. D., & Monsell, S. (1995). Costs of a predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124(2), 207–231. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Romaine, S. (1995). Bilingualism (2nd ed.). Blackwell.Google Scholar
Soares, C., & Grosjean, F. (1984). Bilinguals in a monolingual and bilingual speech mode: The effect on lexical access. Memory & Cognition, 12, 380–386. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Soveri, A., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., & Laine, M. (2011). Is there a relationship between language switching and executive functions in bilingualism? Introducing a within-group analysis approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 183–190. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sridhar, S. N., & Sridhar, K. K. (1980). The syntax and psycholinguistics of bilingual code mixing. Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie, 34, 407–416. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stammers, J., & Deuchar, M. (2012). Testing the nonce borrowing hypothesis: Counter-evidence from English-origin verbs in Welsh. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(3), 630–643. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Su, H.-Y. (2009). Code-switching in managing a face-threatening communicative task: Footing and ambiguity in conversational interaction in Taiwan. Journal of Pragmatics, 41, 372–393. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tiv, M., Gullifer, J., Feng, R., & Titone, D. (2020). Using Network Science to map what Montréal bilinguals talk about across languages and communicative contexts. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 56, 100913. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van Heuven, W. J. B., Dijkstra, T., & Grainger, J. (1998). Orthographic neighborhood effects in bilingual word recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 39, 458–483. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van Heuven, W. J. B., Schriefers, H., Dijkstra, T., & Hagoort, P. (2008). Language conflict in the bilingual brain. Cerebral Cortex, 18(11), 2706–2716. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wasylyshyn, C., Verhaeghen, P., & Sliwinski, M. J. (2011). Aging and task switching: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Aging, 26, 15–20. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Weinreich, U. (1953). Languages in contact: Findings and problems. De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Wiseheart, M., Viswanathan, M., & Bialystok, E. (2016). Flexibility in task switching by monolinguals and bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(1), 141–146. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Woolard, K. A. (1998). Simultaneity and bivalency as strategies in bilingualism. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 8(1), 3–29. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wylie, G. R., Murray, M. M., Javitt, D. C., & Foxe, J. J. (2009). Distinct neurophysiological mechanisms mediate mixing costs and switch costs. Journal of cognitive neuroscience, 21(1), 105-118. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yang, H., Hartanto, A., & Yang, S. (2016). The complex nature of bilinguals’ language usage modulates task-switching outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(560), 1–8. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yau, M. (1993). Functions of two codes in Hong Kong Chinese. World Englishes, 12(1), 25–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yim, O. (2010). The relationship between code-switching and task switching in Cantonese-English bilinguals (Unpublished Master’s thesis). York University, Toronto.
(2020). Code-switching, attitudes, and identity among Cantonese-English bilinguals (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Ottawa.
Yim, O., & Bialystok, E. (2012). Degree of conversational code-switching enhances verbal task switching in Cantonese-English bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(4), 873–883. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yim, O., & Clément, R. (2019). “You’re a juksing”: Examining Cantonese–English code-switching as an index of identity. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 38(4), 479–495. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2021). Acculturation and attitudes towards code-switching: A bidimensional framework. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25(5), 1369–1388. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yim, O. & Clément, R. (submitted). Evaluational reactions to degrees of code-switching among Cantonese-English bilinguals.