Robel Belay
Rhetoric Final Paper
Samantha Looker
12/1/2009
Code Switching: A Social Adaptation
Language can be as plain as a glass of water or be as colorful and diverse as the
ocean. Its uses are as varied as it is; language can be a means of communicating emotions and
ideas or can be used to mobilize nations. It is one of the most important aspects of a society
because after all if you cannot communicate effectively with others you barely have a society at
all, so there is always one standard language that unifies a people. It is often a symbol of power
the more powerful a society the more widespread its language is. However even though a
standard language is used the primary method of communication, it can be observed that there
are non-standard forms in almost every society that usually only certain groups individuals use.
In our society alone there are probably tens of variations of Standard English that people of
different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities use. The question society is faced with is why these
non-standard forms exist and what purpose do they have. There is also evidence that among
those who use a non-standard variety, users often code switch between standard and nonStandard forms. The reason that users of these non-standard forms elect to use a standard form in
some situations and not others is mainly due to social norms and the societs’ view on the nonstandard form and its users; if the view is negative then users will be a lot less likely to use it
when speaking to non-users or in certain situations.
There has been much research and literature written on the topic of code switching in our
society that is incredibly insightful and can shed much light on the topic; there have been many
interesting experiments on code switching and non-code switching dealing with perceptions.
Many of these studies deal with African American Vernacular English, where they examine rules
and syntax. Many people are surprised to hear that you don’t just speak however you feel and
that there are rules regarding structure, grammar, and pronunciation just like you would find in
any other language. The origins of AAVE on the other hand are not as clear as its rules are; there
are many theories some of which are directly opposed to each other.
One such experiment was one conducted by Koch that appeared in the journal of Black
Psychology in 2001. The experiment was designed to find out adult African American
perceptions of African American Vernacular English or what they refer to as Black English; they
allowed the subjects of the experiment to listen to audio recordings of the same man speaking
using different language variations. The man they recorded was asked to speak Black English
also known as AAVE , then there was a recording of the man speaking Standard English (SE),
then Code Switching appropriately(ACS); which means to use AAVE in informal setting and
Standard English in a formal setting, and Code switching inappropriately(ICS) which is the
inverse of the above mentioned.
This is a key difference from almost all other experiments done on code switching
because not only do they compare more types of language variation but also gave cues as to what
social setting they are being used in, in the case of this experiment the man talks to a friend about
an interview and the man talks to the interviewer. This is important because according to Koch
and many others’ studies, that although there are many factors that are taken into account by
users the most important is social setting and familiarity with the speaker (2001). It is also of
note that many previous studies performed on code switching whose results yielded that
participants prefer Standard English to AAVE were only given those two options and no social
context when listening to the recordings; this could have a statistically significant impact on the
results and one cannot draw the conclusion that people always prefer Standard English.
Then the participants were asked rate the speaker in twelve pairs of adjectives which can
be grouped into one of three categories labeled sociointellectual status, aesthetic quality, and
dynamism. The study found that participants rated the SE speaker and appropriate CS
significantly higher that ICS or the recording that spoke strictly AAVE (Koch et al. 2001). The
participants were also asked how they felt about getting to know or working with all of the
models; the results were that, again, they would much rather work with SE or ACS model
respectively than the ICS or AAVE model. However although they rated the SE and ACS models
higher, the AAVE model was still not seen negative light socially because participants said they
would still want to get to know the AAVE speaker. It is also important to mention that the ACS
and SE speaker was rated higher by people of both gender Koch makes the claim that this shows
that the participants were are judging based on the dialect alone (2001). I contest however that
one cannot simply make that claim without testing if the gender of the speaker and not just the
gender of the participants mattered. I decided to investigate these concepts on my own and tried
to see if the results would be replicated.
I started my research with some general questions in mind and started my investigation.
My working research question was what affect code switching has on different people who use
Non-Standard English and it also evolved the question of why they in fact choose to code switch
because of the results I was getting. I decided that a survey, observation, and interviews would
be the most effective ways of researching my questions regarding code switching its affects and
the reasons behind it. I wrote my questions for this survey with several things in mind. First I had
to make sure that it gathered an adequate amount of specific information. I also wanted to make
it quick and easy to take so I decided to start my survey by asking the simplest questions so as to
keep people from being deterred from taking it. I decided that the simplest questions would be
quick demographic questions. I also made the majority of my questions multiple choice check
boxes in order to further facilitate those taking the survey.
These types of quick questions don’t present any challenge to the reader because they
require almost no thought to answer, but these are very helpful for the purposes of my research
because it allows me to compare the results and answers of people from different backgrounds
and ethnicities. It gives me a little more insight about who they are without having to ask for
specific personal information. This helps me when I have to analyze my results and try to make
connections between the answers and my working research thesis. I trying to establish that code
switching between any form of non-standard English and Standard English has practical uses as
well, as opposed to the notion that it is simply done because it seems unprofessional in certain
settings, although that is one of the reasons.
Then I asked the specific questions which are more pertinent to my research. I tried to
make sure that my survey didn’t assume anything when I was asking questions. My first question
about the research was whether the reader spoke any version of English that deviated from the
standard form. If they didn’t they were asked to skip several questions to the ninth which simply
asked why they only use Standard English. If they answered yes then these are the people that
my survey and research is attempting to target so they were allowed to continue with the survey.
The questions now get more specific and ask what kind of slang they use and I gave
several options that they could choose but because I wanted to remain unassuming I always left
an “other” option where they could what they felt best described how they spoke. I did not want
to limit any answers and didn’t want biased results I also made all of these questions multiple
choice as well. The remainder of the questions try to get a sense of how often and in what
settings they do in fact use their particular form of slang. The questions also try to get a good feel
for why people use it more or less in certain settings than in others and affect they think it will
have if they used more or less often. Then I end the survey by asking how the reader feels the use
of their non-standard form has on them here at the University.
I have not got a really large sample size just yet but the results and responses are coming
in as I had expected. The majority of those I received results from consider themselves African
American Vernacular English speakers were also self described African Americans. They
professed to have used it either always or often when they were among friends or peers. I was
not surprised by this, in that this is what is generally expected of people who use African
American Vernacular English; however I was surprised to learn that some of these people who
responded this way also said that they do use African American Vernacular English even in
professional and classroom setting.
The fact they feel comfortable enough to use it in a classroom or professional setting
might be a sign of the times. The traditional sentiment in regards to African American
Vernacular English has usually been to use it when among peers and to refrain from using it in
any time of professional setting. It could be that they are not able to code switch as well, but
more than likely if they can code switch and they use African American Vernacular English in a
classroom setting it’s by choice.
This could mean that the user’s views towards African American Vernacular English are
changing. Another interesting result I found in my analysis of the survey is the peoples’ answers
to the questions regarding the impact of African American Vernacular English on their social life
and academic career. People where all in agreement on the first half of that question, they all
agreed that either it had no impact on their social life or a positive one. No one has yet to say that
they felt this has a negative effect on their life. This seems to hold true with the general notion
that it is more appropriate for African American Vernacular English or other slangs to be spoken
when one is with their friends.
As far as using African American Vernacular English I have received the exact reverse of
the previous answer, most felt it had no affect or that it would have a negative effect. This is
probably due for the most part to same reasons and biases mentioned in the above paragraphs.
Some people also went into this when explaining how it affects them here at the University.
They said they feel it was beneficial so they could communicate with their professors
“effectively” and at the same time be able to share something in common with those of the same
ethnic background. I had never considered the idea that dialect that be seen as a valuable bonding
tool. Some also said that they feel that code switching helps meet the “expectations of the
University” and that it is important to learn to do it. Others said that they use Standard English
because they work is graded according to that standard and that it only makes sense to do so.
The next phase of my research consisted of interviews, I felt it was important to get a few
personal and in depth answers to my questions. I interviewed a friend of mine who stays on my
floor and received some interesting answers to some of my questions. I went into the interviews
with a set of guideline questions but was not rigid about how I conducted it so the questions
asked of those I interviewed differed some based on answers to previous questions. I wanted to
use unstructured interviews because I felt it would give me the most relative and interesting
information and would also allow the interviewee to have the most freedom about how and what
they choose to answer.
I began by first my first interviewee asking him if he understood the concept of code
switching and AAVE. He said he did and I asked him my first question which was the base of
the interview; whether he code switched in different environments or did he use one form of
English. He replied that he code switched between slang with his peers and Standard English in
classroom and other professional settings. I of course asked him why he felt code switching was
necessary, to which he replied that it made it a lot easier to fit in with peers in the neighborhood
and outside of class but also added that he wanted to differentiate himself from his classmates
and was often eager to participate and had no problems with using Standard English. He even
professed to have used words that were thought to be above grade level to be noticed by the
teacher.
This led me to ask about those who could not code switch. He said that those who used
only slang fit in fine but their school work was lacking and they fell behind on the other hand
those who always used Standard English were fine academically but he had no idea about them
socially because “I was always in a different circle that them, we never really associated with
them, you know”. That you know meant that those kids were essentially the social outcasts and
he was just saying that tactfully. The affect of not being able to code switch was a double edged
sword. I then asked where he picked up Standard English and how it influenced him. He said
that his mother, now a principal, was a teacher at the time and only allowed the use of Standard
English in the house. As far as its influence he said it made learning a lot easier and he never
personally had to struggle with grammar or writing, and said it probably had a positive impact on
his academic career. I asked how his code switching affects him here at the University. He said
“I honestly don’t think I would have been admitted into the University if all I knew was slang”
but went on to say that he prefers to use slang with peers because it feels more comfortable to do
so. He feels that “it is inappropriate to use slang in settings that are academic or professional. I
feel that his views on slang were heavily influenced by his mother and that according to how he
answered certain question he inherited the academic bias that many scholars have towards
AAVE. We read many documents that tried to oppose the predominant view that it is an
incorrect or as he put it “inappropriate” but it seems this is still the notion held by many,
surprisingly even people like him who profess to use AAVE in their everyday dealings with
people. I also asked some demographic questions and he said his actual schools were nearly all
black but the neighborhood they were in was half black and half white.
My second interview was with another friend of mine who also considers himself a
speaker of AAVE. I started with asking where he learned Standard English and what he used at
home and at school. He said he was allowed to speak how he wanted at home minus the
profanity but his parents considered it rude and disrespectful to use slang when to talking to an
elder. This shows me that the trend just continues on how even speakers of AAVE regard it
themselves. He says his parents asked for a “certain amount of respect” when being addressed.
He learned Standard English in school and different summer programs he had been in and recalls
“a certain program whose name escapes me, but dealt with ethnicity and it was then when I
realized I couldn’t speak the same way to everyone and expect them to understand me.”
I then asked why he used slang when among peers. He said “it feels natural jo, like when
me and you speak.” He went on to say it only makes sense that someone would speak the
predominant language of their neighborhood, it’s as simple early childhood language acquisition(
psych major). I also asked the same question about those who could not code switch and he gave
me largely the same answer, except he says that there were girls in his classes growing up that
spoke only Standard English and much to my surprise he says they did not face the same ridicule
and were not out casted to the degree that the males who were like them were. The demographic
of the neighborhood and schools he attended were almost completely black.
So it would seem that perhaps sex can play a role in the affects code switching and that
males tend to get mocked more than females, and it is harder for males who speak only Standard
English to find acceptance. He reinforced my idea later in the interview when he stated that he
couldn’t tell me how the Standard English speaking males because he didn’t even know of there
were any in the class and if there were he never associated with them personally. I asked how it
affected him here at the University. He said he could speak slang and meet many people
regardless of ethnicity because he could code switch, “but I can also walk into my lab and speak
perfectly Standard English.”
I then decided to actually go and observe some instances of code switching in real life
situations that occurred around the University. It proved to be more difficult than I had first
envisioned because it is hard to pick out and I am so used to hearing both AAVE and Standard
English that they appear to flow and blend harmoniously. In other words there is hard for me to
pick out because it doesn’t necessarily stick out. It is comparable to asking someone who uses
profanity constantly to pick out every time they curse. I would be nearly impossible for them to
catch even half the time they curse.
I observed people dialect in the classroom, specifically my discussions where students
have to interact with the T.A.s and each other; the presumption, based on my interview and
survey results, being that they would code switch if they did in fact use a non-standard form. My
results in the classroom were in line with my results from the surveys with only a slight
deviation. I should also state that since I did conduct this observation here at the university the
majority of the classrooms I am in are predominantly white. This is important in that there will
generally be much less non-standard English spoken in the classroom.
In my classes I noticed that students generally speak less non-Standard English overall in
the classroom. The students who spoke non-Standard English only spoke it to each other
especially if it was different to the degree where to understand it you had to be versed in it. I
noticed the terminology that is similar enough to Standard English is much more likely to either
slip in or be used. This is most likely because student feel that the teacher and even others in the
classroom are more likely to understand what they say if it doesn’t differ from Standard English
too much.
In my math discussion some students who sit behind me were discussing some things
about both of their fraternities and sororities. Then one of them asked our T.A. a question about
the homework. I noticed that not only did her speech pattern change but also that her tone was
different as well. So I now believe that it is not only what we say that matters but how we say it
plays a factor as well. Context it seems changes our speech subconsciously, I say that because
only a moment later she seamlessly slipped right back to how she was speaking when asked a
question by one of the students next to her.
I also profess that, although I understood that they were talking about Greek Letter
Organizations, I understood very little of the terminology or what they were specifically
describing. I am much more familiar with Black Greek Letter Organizations than the other Greek
Organizations on campus mostly because I am exposed to the Black ones much more frequently
and know more members of those organizations than I do of the latter. So if they were to have a
conversation with me about their organization’s events and activities, they would have to use
Standard English or risk having to define what every single term means. I don’t believe however
that their tone would change because I feel that people only do that when talking to a superior or
someone who is in a position where they must not be informal.
In the other classes students either predominantly used Standard English or used a form
of non- Standard English that did not really deviate from the standard form too much. This meant
they did have to code switch slightly but it wasn’t really drastic or even very noticeable. There
were also those who used African American Vernacular English. These students used this form
of non- Standard English mostly among themselves. Except for a few slip ups they almost never
used it when addressing a teacher. They did sometimes use it when conversing with those who
were not as versed in AAVE as them but did not use some of the more obscure technology.
As far as code switching in social settings students usually used their non- Standard
English which, in the case of most of my observations, happened to be African American
Vernacular English. It was rare for them to use Standard English although there were a few
instances where they had to explain certain terminology to non AAVE speakers, which turned
out to be fairly comedic. Even though there were instances where the conversation had to be
stopped for an explanation, those who were using AAVE continued to use it; it did not seem to
bother them and some found the explanation quite humorous. Like I stated above the things
observed were pretty much in line with all of my other research reports which leads me to
conclude that because my results are consistent that they are accurate.
AAVE is a sadly misunderstood language most people in America are completely
unaware that is a very intricate language regardless of how simple it may seem on the surface. It
so complex in fact that there have even been studies on specific rules like be forms and all of the
different ways in which they can and cannot be used. It is an organized and structured way of
communicating although to non users and those who aren’t linguists it simply sounds like
backwards English and they probably perceive those who use it as simply uneducated and not
versed enough in English. It is these negative perceptions that linguists try to eliminate however
that task is proving to be far more daunting than it seemed. They thought the perfect opportunity
to educate the public about AAVE presented itself when in December of 1996 the Oakland
school system approved a resolution that would require teachers to understand AAVE and its
rules. Nevertheless as Weldon says “unfortunately, some misguided statements in the resolution
opened the door for a media frenzy that resulted in the dissemination of a number of linguistic
misconceptions [and] fueled a battle that left linguists scrambling (49).”
It was an initiative by the Oakland school district to reach out to the children who speak
AAVE and improve their Standard English, the idea being that teachers who are versed in AAVE
would be better able to teach them the how to adjust the rules they use to Standard English; in
essence teach them to code switch. This combined with some of the comments made by the
board led to a huge fall out over the issue. People all over the country soon became opposed to
the idea, mostly because of the story the media was projecting. Linguists tried to do damage
control and explain that AAVE is actually a valid language variety and talked about the issue on
the news networks but as Weldon says “on more than one occasion, I was contacted by [the
media] to discuss my views on the issues, only to have convenient sound bites extracted from my
interviews and twisted to support the media’s own, typically negative, spin.” The media’s blatant
prejudice and insatiable appetite for higher ratings and attention grabbing stories turned the
majority of the country against the idea of acknowledging AAVE as a real language variety.
Language, especially those that are different from the standard form, are often seen as a
major aspect a peoples’ culture. It is synonymous with peoples’ identity and they should embrace
it, rather than be embarrassed by it and use it only behind closed doors. It is regrettable that such
a large portion of our society should be made to feel ashamed of a part of their culture because of
all of the pre-existing biases. The racism and discrimination that was faced by African
Americans is reflected in how the language has been judged today; these views have been woven
deep into the fabric of our society, so deep that in order to eliminate them we have to be honest
and come to terms with the real reason why it was considered incorrect, sloppy, uneducated or
any of the other derogatory terms and negative ideas associated with this bias.
Anything that was seen as a “black” thing to do was automatically labeled negative by
bigoted white Americans, who also happened to control the entire structure of society which
means they had more than just social power. They had the power to dictate who got hired or
admitted into college, and making AAVE the language of those who were uneducated was
simply another way to stack the odds against blacks; and I feel this is still being used today as a
legal means to deny many kids opportunities and is a form of covert racism. In order to succeed
in this system one has to either discard AAVE altogether which is to deny a very real part of
their culture and history, without a language you can claim you begin to lose a sense of self, or
they can learn to be bilingual and code switch and leave their identity intact. Some argue that to
ask black kids to be bilingual is putting an unfair burden on them and that they should be taught
only Standard English, but this doesn’t come close to solving the problem. As demonstrated in
the city of Oakland this traditional antiquated approach is obviously not working and they should
have given the new program a try. Black students in that district are falling behind
disproportionally under the traditional system, the real burden is to ask students to not speak how
the majority of their neighborhood and peers speak and still feel like they are a part of that
community. This means asking students to ignore rather than embrace a part of their heritage and
to distance themselves from a large portion of their own people. No other race is being asked to
abandon their language so why is fair to ask that of AAVE users.
It is a shame that the media would abuse their power to continue to perpetuate these
stereotypes, but because of this and the general view point held by society historically, people to
this day continue to discriminate against AAVE and in turn its users. The affects can even be
seen in the opinions of those who use AAVE and still feel like it is not appropriate. Many of
those I know share in the opinion that AAVE is simply an improper form of Standard English,
even many students here at the University who understand that it does have rules for grammar
and syntax still feel that way. If someone understands that it is indeed its own variety of English
and not simply a sloppy version of the standard form and still feels that it is improper, this can
only be logically explained to be caused by all of the negative and sometimes inaccurate
attention it gets from the media and other trusted authorities; and it shows that people will be
slow to discard the false and archaic notion that it is an incorrect lazy form. Most people when
asked cannot actually give a valid reason why it is wrong just that it seems or feels that way; that
feeling they think is intuition is simply their underlying bias which they are not completely
aware of.
However skewed peoples’ perceptions of AAVE might be code switching is still one very
real solution to some of these problems, although it is more work for individual students, it does
not distance them from their culture, and it does not deny them any opportunities in mainstream
society. It is a clever and ingenious survival tool crafted by black kids at a young age. It does not
take a group of researcher conducting tests and doing studies to understand this, just ask first
grader in a public school who code switches, although the student would not understand all of
the implications his/her code switching has, it is a powerful enough statement that a seven year
old has already learned that it’s necessary to do so.