Code-switching, Attitudes, and Identity Among Cantonese-English Bilinguals

Abstract

Code-switching is the spontaneous switching from one language to another within a single speech event (Appel & Muysken, 1987). It is often performed by bilinguals who have mastered a communicative competence in their two languages; it is a communicative as well as social strategy, using linguistic cues as a means to index social categories and group solidarity. Though historically perceived negatively, it has been documented as acceptable in certain contexts, particularly multilingual communities. It has also been suggested that bilinguals are able to recognize different structural patterns in code-switched speech and consequently, use such speech patterns to validate their ingroup membership and identity (Chen, 2008). The present research program seeks to be an interdisciplinary work in analyzing the relationship between code-switching attitudes and cultural identity, with the adoption of different methodologies and inclusion of both sociolinguistic and social psychological perspectives. The first study examined the implications of code-switching on bilinguals’ language attitudes and identities using a qualitative approach. Although code-switching was frequently used by bilinguals, it elicited mixed emotions for its users. It was a reminder of bilinguals’ weak heritage language skills, but it was also used by others as a means to judge the bilinguals’ linguistic abilities and group membership. Code-switched speech, thus, could undermine bilinguals’ cultural identities, emphasizing the implication of language on social psychological dimensions. The second study investigated the relationship between cultural identity and code-switching attitudes directly by adopting the bidimensional model of acculturation to characterize bilingual biculturals (Berry, Kim, Power, Young, & Bujaki, 1989). Biculturals were differentiated according to the their relative strength of cultural identification and as a result, bicultural subgroups were found to be significantly different in code-switching attitudes and preferences, with strong biculturals most preferring code-switching in communication. The third study used the matched-guise technique to empirically assess the effects of different degrees of code-switching on evaluative reactions. There were significant effects of language and degree of code-switching on bilinguals’ evaluative reactions, but differentially for status, solidarity, and perceptions of Canadian and Chinese identity. Bilinguals were cognizant of different code- switching patterns and their subsequent speaker evaluations highlighted that structural linguistic differences had social effects, implying a direct association between linguistic structures and social perception. Altogether, the present research program offers an integration of sociolinguistic and social psychological perspectives and elucidates the complex relationship between code-switching attitudes and cultural identity.