Switching the code

Abstract

Linguistics at the turn of the millennium is characterized by increased attention of researchers to the problem of language contacts, which is due to the processes of globalization, covering various spheres of public life. The expansion and increasing intensity of interethnic contacts give rise to various linguistic processes.

Scientists consider one of the creative aspects of bilingualism to be the phenomenon of speakers switching their speech from one language to another, which sometimes occurs subconsciously, and sometimes represents a purposeful activity for the implementation of certain behavioral functions and intentions, determined by various extralinguistic factors.

The term “code switching” does not have a strict definition; it has different content. Some researchers call code switching only such a transition from one language to another, which is determined by social conditions. Moreover, each of the two parts of the utterance (uttered before the code switch and after the code switch) is subject to the laws of the corresponding language [9, p. 54].