BRB, It's Time to Talk About Code Switching!

Figure 1

       Hi! I am a code switcher (Figure 1)! Being a code switcher means that I tend to jump in-between languages sometimes. I am pretty good at using code switching to my advantage. When I am with my friends I know to use slang to relate to them, terms like: lit, YOLO, cancelled, triggered, and the list goes on. If I was talking to my family or teachers though I would have to change the slang into words that are actually in the dictionary LOL (you see what I did there?). Have you ever been in the situation where you're telling your mom a story and slip out a slang word? Then she looks at you all confused and it takes longer to explain the term than the actual story? I can't even imagine my mom trying to relate to all of you readers, she would be like "Hey 7th and 8th graders, my homies, what's the downlow scoop on middle school?" That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? On a serious note, there are many other examples and ways about code switching than just slang.

Figure 2

       You see, my first language isn't English but in school it is mandatory that I learn and speak English proficiently. Learning a completely new language is hard but in the U.S., English is a must for jobs, communication, education, and more. TBH (slang will live on 4ever!!), it's difficult to describe the struggles of code switching to an audience that has never had to do it. The best way to describe code switching, is the act of going against everything you have ever known! Okay, that's a little dramatic but it's kind of true! Think about it, I have to speak, listen, and learn a completely different language throughout all 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. Sometimes I even mix the two languages I know in one sentence (Figure 2).
        

Figure 3

        Another thing is, there is this vocabulary word "ebonics" (3) which means that African American dialect and standard English dialect are two different things (Figure 3). For example, in standard English bath, is pronounced with a 'th' sound at the end, but in African American dialect the 'th' sound would sound like an 'f' sound. If you try to say them both aloud, you can hear a bit of a difference, can't you? To be fair, Southern PPL (are you sick of me yet??) have a different dialect than African American dialect and Standard English, the South population sometimes drag out their vowels. My point is, there doesn't seem to be a win-win situation.

      Don't get me wrong there are some positives of being able to code switch effectively. My mom and dad say that it will help me to make friends, have a job, and succeed in school. Sometimes I wish it wasn't that hard though. Schools try to make it seem fair by requiring English speaking students to take a secondary language, but two years of learning a new language and a whole lifetime of learning a new language is completely different. Maybe in the future that will change. TTYL for now! 

For a better perspective on African American English dialect, click here for a video.

References:

(1) Girl writing on the paper attached to a clipboard stock illustration [Photograph]. (2017). Retrieved

        from https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/girl-writing-on-the-paper-attached-to-a-clipboard-gm849017134-139613359 

(2) 3rd Tour [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://3rdtour.com/?reqp=1&reqr=nzcdYaEvLaE5pv5jLab= 

(3) Rickford, J. R. (n.d.). What is ebonics (African American English)? [PDF file]. Retrieved from 

       https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-ebonics-african-american-english  

(4) "Linguistic Code Switching?" YouTube, uploaded by Jack Todhunter, 18 April 2012, Retrieved from

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb_0_wVfFKM 

(5) "Don't Judge My African American English." YouTube, uploaded by Up Next, 30 October 2015, Retrieved 

from https://youtu.be/j7_rihFMB78