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Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between two or more languages, dialects, or language registers in the course of discourse between people who have more than one language in common. Sometimes the switch lasts only for a few sentences, or even for a single phrase.
The switch is commonly made according to the subject of discourse, but may be for a variety of other reasons such as the mood of the speaker (for example, a person might swear only in French).
Code-switching often occurs in bilingual communities or families. For example, a family that has recently immigrated to a country where a different language is spoken may switch back and forth between that language and their mother tongue, while they are learning the new language (this phenomenon is frequently noted amongst first- and second-generation immigrants to France from its former North African Arabic-speaking colonies, now the Maghreb countries of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria). Also, in communities as, for example, the United States with a large number of Spanish speakers, a sentence might have a mixture of Spanish and English words known as "Spanglish" (a similar situation can occur in communities in Canada with both Francophone and Anglophone populations). Another example of this phenomenon is the mixing of Japanese and English by Western-educated Japanese and half-Japanese children, most notably those living in bilingual environments (e.g., attending International schools in Japan). Code-switching from Tatar to Russian is very popular around bilingual urban Tatars. This situation is similar to other non-Russian urban population of ex-USSR.
In countries such as India, where English is a lingua franca, educated people whose first language is a language other than English but who are also somewhat fluent in English often employ code-switching by inserting English words, phrases or sentences into their conversations. Examples of this type of code-switching can be seen in many Bollywood films.
Code-switching also occurs within a particular language. For instance, a person would likely not use the same words or phrases when speaking to a superior (e.g. an elder, teacher, advisor or supervisor) as they would use when speaking to their friends in an informal atmosphere. Another example is African American Vernacular English among African-Americans.
Code switching is distinct from pidgin, in which features of two languages are combined. Code-switching is also different from (but is often accompanied by) spontaneous borrowing of words from another language, sometimes outfitted with the inflections of the host language, sometimes not.
Code-switching within a sentence tends to occur more often at points where the syntaxes of the two languages align; thus it is uncommon to switch from English to French after an adjective and before a noun, because a French noun normally "expects" its adjectives to follow it. The same is true for switching from French to English after a noun and before an adjective. Code-switching between a subject and its verb is much more likely, because both English and French normally place the subject before the verb.
