CODE SWITCHING IN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA

Code Switching In University Of Nigeria Nsukka: Every human society is characterized by the existence of diverse linguistic varieties. These speakers of these varieties at some points have various degrees of contact with the non- Fakaza
speakers of their variety, which one of the outcome of the linguistic contact is code switching.

For amapiano communication to be effective in any human society the appropriate language must be put in to use in the appropriate context, When two or more languages come in contact, there is tendency of mixture of varieties or a shift or transit from one linguistic system to another. One major influence of globalization is increase bilingualism.

This refers to an individual or societal ability to use / speak two languages. It is a usual phenomenon to see bilinguals’ code switch or mix in discourse situations. Due to the fact that people are increasingly becoming bilinguals and even multilingual, it therefore brings the issue of code switching as glaring day to day linguistic Zulu
phenomenon.

In a typical educational setting like Fakaza, Nideria, Hip-hop Nsukka, Nigeria, with a heterogeneous population involving people of diverse ethnic enclaves; there is bound to be the existence of many varieties like English, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Nigeria Pidgin English and even indigenous languages of neighbouring Benue and Kogi. It is a common phenomenon to see people shift from one variety of language to another.

Likewise a child, who is a product of bilingual marriage, for instance, an Igbo speaking mother with a Hausa speaking father living in Nsukka; will automatically be exposed to at least three or more languages; and one of the major consequences is code switching. Code switching occurs when a speaker uses two or more languages in the course of a single utterance.

It is common to see second language speakers of English usually switch between their mother tongue and their English language and vice versa during their interpersonal conversation (informal communication). Code-switching, therefore the practice of moving back and forth between two languages or between two dialects or registers of the same language is a common practice among multilingual speakers from all walks of life. Not surprisingly, it has drawn the attention of scholars who have approached it from a range of perspectives, including formal or structural linguistics (cf. Poplack 2001), psycholinguistics (cf. Taha 2009) and sociolinguistics (Gumperz and Bloom 2000; Myers-Scotton 1993, 1997). Others have approached it from educational (cf. Lin 2008, 2013) and neuro-linguistic perspectives (cf. Bialystok 2001, 2009; Bialystok, Craik, Green and Gollan 2009; Westly 2011).

In the past, code-switching has been viewed negatively, even by academics. For example, Grosjean (2008) reports that some researchers have tended to appraise bilinguals’ language skills based on monolingual standards. Code-switching has thus been regarded as “contaminating”, and has been dismissed as ‘bad practice’ constituting ungrammatical language usage characteristic of semi-lingual speakers without complete control of either of their SA Songs Mp3 languages (Grosjean 1982).

Notwithstanding the social stigma attached to code-switching, particularly in restrictive formal environments, code-switching in bilingual societies is increasingly becoming valued as a useful communicative strategy in facilitating the achievement of interactional goals in different domains (cf. Shartiely 2013; Shin 2010; Shin and Milroy 2000). In fact, code-switching manifests itself in diverse ways in order to meet particular goals, such as signifying identity or achieving solidarity among people with shared values (cf. Cook 2003; Walker 2011), or for instructional purposes when learners have inadequate mastery of the language of instruction (cf. Shartiely 2013; Shin 2010; Taha 2009; Uys 2010; Zabrodskaja 2009).