ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will examine the social and conversational attributes of code-switching, the alternating use of two or more languages within the same conversation. Bilinguals most often switch languages in ordinary conversations when they are in the company of other bilinguals. Code-switching is perhaps the most obvious indication of one’s bilingual abilities, since very few bilinguals keep their two languages completely separate (Gardner-Chloros, 2009; see also Chapter 1). But monolinguals often have negative attitudes toward codeswitching and think that it represents a deficient knowledge of language and a grammarless hodgepodge. Bilinguals themselves may feel embarrassed about their code-switching and attribute it to careless or lazy language habits. Pejorative names such as “Spanglish” or “Tex-Mex” (mixture of Spanish and English by bilingual speakers in the American Southwest) and “Franglais” (mixture of French and English in parts of French-speaking Canada) reflect these negative attitudes.
