This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Genesee, F. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Social Psychological Significance of Code Switching in Cross-Cultural Communication

McGill University

Four studies were carried out to explore observers' evaluative reactions to bilingual code switching as a function of 4 factors: situational norms, sociocultural status of the language, ingroup favouritism, and interpersonal speech accommodation. English and French subjects gave evaluative reactions to code switching by English- and French-speaking Canadian actors who were depicted interacting in the roles of a salesman and a customer. Four different patterns of code switching, consisting of 3 or 4 speaker turns each, were depicted in each study. Subjects' reactions to the speakers' language choices were elicited after each turn. The major findings to emerge were a) there was a significant shift in the basis of the subjects' evaluations from primarily situational norms to interpersonal accommodation; b) early language choices during the interactions had significant effects on reactions to later language choices; c) the impact of the situational norms was reinforced when they were concordant with the sociocultural status of the actors but mitigated when they were discordant; and d) both English and French Canadian subjects expressed favouritism toward ingroup language choices; but this was especially true among the English subjects. It is concluded that the social psychological significance of code switching is both dynamic and multiply determined; a tentative empirical model integrating the results is outlined.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. M. Smith Social Psychology and Language: a Taxonomy and Overview Journal of Language and Social Psychology, January 1, 1983; 2(2-3-4): 163 - 182. [Abstract] [PDF]