ABSTRACT
Socio-linguistic studies of bilingualism for the most part focus on the linguistic aspects of the problem. Linguists specializing in bilingualism cite it to provide examples of extreme instances of interference, and middle-class native speakers in ethnically diverse communities are frequently reluctant to recognize its existence. The assumption is that the presence or absence of particular linguistic alternates directly reflects significant information about such matters as group membership, values, relative prestige, and power relationship. The foregoing analysis has some important implications for the cross-cultural study of bilingualism. Since there is more to communication than grammar alone, mere knowledge of the alternating varieties is not enough. The investigator must control the speaker's own system and must pay particular attention to the often quite arbitrary signs by which these values are signalled in speech. As a behavioural strategy, code switching bears considerable similarity to the use of polite and familiar address pronouns in other societies.
