1-047 - One-Size-Fits-All? Variations in Bilingual Children’s Code-switching/mixing Behavior

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Code-switching (CS) or code-mixing (CM), the practice of using two or more languages in the context of a single conversation, is often regarded as a common linguistic phenomenon among bilinguals. However, the language and social environment that a bilingual speaker is in often plays an important role in deciding what, when, and how much to code-switch/mix. This symposium takes on a funnel-approach and presents data of CS/CM in bilingual children across similar and different sociolinguistic contexts, highlighting the various factors that influence the nature and frequency of CS/CM in these children. Paper 1 explores how language dominance and status affect CS/CM in French-English bilingual preschoolers from two different communities. While children from both communities tended to switch/mix more when interacting with speakers of their less dominant language, they differed in their frequency of mixing that depended on the language status in the specific community. Paper 2 examines the differences in English-Mandarin preschoolers’ CS/CM from two sociolinguistic environments within the same community and the impact of CS/CM on the children’s linguistic competency. Children from one preschool switched/mixed significantly more than children from another preschool, but both displayed linguistic competency in their less dominant language without negatively impacting their more dominant language. Finally, Paper 3 presents individual differences in CS/CM of children from the same preschool, highlighting the richness in the variation of CS/CM even amongst children from the same preschool environment. The discussant will deliberate on the sociolinguistic factors that influence the nature and prevalence CS/CM in young children.

Sub Unit

• Language, Communication

Chair

• Suzanne Flynn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Discussant

• Gita Martohardjono, Graduate Center - CUNY

Individual Presentations

• The Majority Language of the Community Affects Preschool Bilingual Children’s Code-mixing - Presenting Author: Elena Nicoladis, University of Alberta; Johanne Paradis, University of Alberta

• Code-Switching and Its Impact on Linguistic Competency in Bilingual Preschoolers from Two Different Language Environments - Presenting Author: W. Quin Yow, Stanford University; Ferninda Patrycia, Singapore University of Technology & Design

• Patterns in English-Chinese Children’s Code Switching in Singapore - Presenting Author: Carissa Kang, Cornell University; W. Quin Yow, Stanford University; Suzanne Flynn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Barbara Lust, Cornell Univ