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Melissa Meza

Professor Ludlow-Mattson

English 114

10 December 2013

Code-Switching in Our Everyday Lives

Have you ever noticed that you speak in a different manner when you are at home

compared to when you are in a professional setting? If you have, then you have code-switched.

Linguists have defined code-switching as the alternation of different languages in a conversation

(Oxford Dictionaries: “Definition of code-switching in English”). The concept of code-switching

is clearly explained in the article “How Code-Switching Explains the World”, by Gene Demby.

In addition, several examples of code-switching are portrayed in the novel of The Absolutely

True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. In the novel, the main character, Junior,

is an Indian who decides to move to an all-Caucasian school and ultimately decides to code-

switch. In the article of “How Code Switching Explains the World” and the story of The

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, both authors discuss about the concept of code-

switching and state that people who are from different cultural backgrounds code-switch when it

is appropriate to do so based on the setting. In addition, both authors indicate that people who

code-switch act as if they have different identities and people who fail to code-switch do not fit

in among different settings.

In “How Code Switching Explains the World”, Gene Demby defines code-switching as

the changing of tones, or manner of speaking based on what is appropriate for a specific setting.

Code-switching occurs in order for people to fit into a particular environment. Demby states that

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code-switching occurs as a result of the influence that culture has among people. Within the

article Demby states that, “In one sense, code-switching is about dialogue that spans cultures. It

evokes the conversation that we want to have here,” (Page 2). By using this quote Demby

insinuates that code-switching allows individuals with different cultural backgrounds to

communicate with one another. For example, people from different cultural backgrounds are able

to efficiently understand and communicate with their peers in their work environments through

the practice of code-switching.

In order for individuals to communicate with others among differing settings they must

adjust the manner in which they speak. Towards the middle of “How Code Switching Explains

the World”, Demby states that, “Talk in one setting in one that’s best suited for another…” (Page

4). By including this quote in the article Demby indicates that when people practice code-

switching; they are able to change the tone, or manner in which they speak to others as if they

were speaking different languages. When people change the manner in which they speak to

others in certain settings, both sides of the discussions are able to clearly express themselves as

well as understand one another. In addition, Demby indicates that when individuals practice

code-switching, people express different parts of their own identities. Demby clearly states this

point in the beginning of the article when she includes that, “We’re hop-scotching between

different cultural and linguistic spaces and different parts of our own identities-sometimes within

a single interaction,” (Page 2). Although the individuals that practice code-switching are the

same people, they display different characters, or personalities that are found within themselves

when they code-switch. Demby provides an example in which the well-recognized artist,

Beyoncé, can be identified as using different manners in a setting where she is solely with

friends compared to how she would speak when she is performing. In a video linked to the

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article, Beyoncé is shown playfully confronting her friends by saying things such as “He not

doing nothing, so I can play him.” However, she can also be identified as a professional and

well-renowned artist where she respectfully responds to her fans by using proper grammar.

In the article of “How Code Switching Explains the World”, and the novel The

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, both authors indicate that people who fail to code-

switch also fail to fit in to specific settings. For example, Demby provides an example in his

article in which President Obama attended a restaurant that is located in a predominantly black

neighborhood in Washington D.C. In that setting, Obama was caught responding to the cashier

“nah, we straight,” (Page 2). If President Obama would have spoken in the restaurant as he

approaches his national addresses, then he would have failed to fit in the restaurant’s setting. In

addition, if he would speak in the same manner as he did in the restaurant when giving his

speeches, then he would not fit into what is an idealized picture of our country’s presidency.

Sherman Alexie also provided an example in which failing to code-switch prevents people from

fitting into a specific environment. It becomes clear that Junior’s failure to code-switch resulted

in the failure to fit in among his peers when he describes a situation in which he physically

assaulted a classmate, Roger, after he made a joke about his culture. “I punched this big guy in

the face. And he just walked away…” (Page 68). Junior failed to code-switch because he was

accustomed to protecting himself by fighting in the reservation, but that was not how students in

his new school resolved their disputes. When Junior failed to understand this, his classmates

began to distance themselves from him more than they had done so prior to the event.

Similarly, as Demby indicated in his article, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time

Indian, Junior, the main character and the narrator, immediately recognized that he felt as if he

was being split among two different identities when he began to attend an all-white school.

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Junior says that, “I felt like two different people inside one body. No, I felt like a magician

slicing myself in half, with Junior living on the north side of the Spokane River and Arnold

living on the south,” (Page 61). Junior felt as if he had two different identities because he had to

portray his white identity in school as he had to leave his Indian identity in the reservation.

Junior realized that it was best for him to code-switch in the environment of his new school

because he was no longer around people who had a similar cultural background as himself.

Through careful analysis, it becomes clear to the reader that Junior was able to properly code-

switch among his classmates as a result of the help that he received from his friends when he

says that, “Gordy taught me how to study. Best of all he taught me how to read,” (Page 94). As

Gordy taught Junior how to read, Junior was able to greater comprehend the meaning of words

and overall works, which ultimately allowed him to speak what people in his new school

considered proper English. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the author

provides several examples in which it is best for Junior to code-switch in order to fit in among

his peers who speak differently compared to the people from his reservation. For example, when

Junior first speaks to Penelope he is quick to notice that she does not speak by shortening words

when she speaks such as the word ‘rez’ and she is not accustomed to calling children who have

the same name as their fathers ‘Junior’. As a result, Junior must decide whether he wants to learn

how to speak like the people from his new school and whether he is willing to leave his Indian

identity in the reservation.

In my opinion, I think that both texts are saying that is essential for people to determine

when it is appropriate to code-switch based on a particular setting. However, people do not

always think about code-switching because it happens intuitively. For example, in The

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior does not always think through whether he

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should code-switch or not when he begins to get along with his classmates. Junior simply begins

to naturally speak to his classmates with comfort and his classmates respond with the same ease

once they become acquainted with one another. Both authors also indicate that people who fail to

code-switch also fail to fit in to specific settings. Demby and Alexie indicate that people who

practice code-switching portray different identities, or personalities that are within themselves.

Based on my own personal experience, I completely agree with what the article and the novel

indicate about code-switching. From experience, I know that if I failed to code-switch in certain

settings, I would also fail to fit in to particular environments. For example, I would not fit in

school if I spoke as I do at home, which primarily consists of speaking Spanish. When I code-

switch among the English and Spanish languages, I also feel as if I’m splitting myself into two

identities, which are my American and Mexican identities. It is important for me to determine

when to code-switch, but I also practice code-switching without considering whether I should

practice the concept or not. Most of the time, I practice code-switching intuitively as Junior

begins to do so once he begins to make friends in his new school. For example, when I am at

school I do not think through whether I should speak Spanish or English because I begin to speak

English without having to put any thought into it. Both authors create points that many people,

including myself can relate to.

In “How Code Switching Explains the World”, Gene Demby defines code-switching as

the practice of changing languages, or tones and manners of speaking based on what is

appropriate for a specific setting. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman

Alexie provides several examples in which the main character of the novel, Junior, must decide

whether to practice code-switching or not in order to fit into his new school, which consists

primarily of all-white students. Gene Demby and Sherman Alexie that people who do practice

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code-switching portray different part identities that are found within them. By identities it is

indicated that people portray different personalities that are found within them. For example,

when a person is from a mixed ethnicity, or cultural background, he or she will be able to show

others different parts of her mixed origin in different settings. The person may be able to portray

her identity from one of her races in a particular setting and vice-versa. Both authors indicate that

it is important for people who have different cultural backgrounds to code-switch when it is

appropriate in order to fit in to different settings. If people fail to code-switch, then they will be

unable to fit among different settings. However, both authors do not state that people must code-

switch. People must decide themselves when to code-switch if it is the case that they want to fit

in to diverse settings. It not always the case that people decide when to code-switch because

most of the time, code-switching occurs intuitively. For example, professionals do not take time

to think in what manner they will speak to their co-workers in their work place because they

automatically talk to them in a manner that both sides are able comprehend. The practice of

code-switching is essential in all different environments, or settings in order for people who have

different ethnicities and cultures to be able to communicate with others and understand one

another in such settings.

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Bibliography:

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York, NY. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2007. Print.

Demby, Gene. "How Code-Switching Explains the World." npr. (2013): Web. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/04/08/176064688/how-code-switching-explains-the-world>.

"Definition of code-switching in English." Oxford Dictionaries. Web. <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/code--switching>.