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Multilingualism

Language contact

 
 
There is a certain phenomenon that is admitted by most of linguists called code switching. It is the process of swallowing between languages. It happens when a person substitutes the phrases of his own language with phrases from a co-existing language.

There is a certain phenomenon that is admitted by most of linguists called code switching. It is the process of swallowing between languages. It happens when a person substitutes the phrases of his own language with phrases from a co-existing language.

There exists a concept of communicate competence that defines the level of proficiency this or that person has in other (non-mother-tongue) languages. There are two types of communicate competence that is presently distinguished by modern linguists.

Code switching

Communication at the level of ordinary speakers depends on the intensions they have. Whenever it happens, people express either positive or negative emotions. Even if being a layman in one of the languages, speakers may find a way of expressing own intensions by means of gestures, mimics, etc.

There is a certain phenomenon that is admitted by most of linguists called code switching. It is the process of swallowing between languages. It happens when a person substitutes the phrases of his own language with phrases from a co-existing language.

This code-switching is very often present in conversations. Everything depends on the person's attitude and his desire to show sympathy/antipathy towards another language. Bilingual interaction may take place between speakers even without code-switching. In Scandinavia, for example, it is common to use both Swedish and Norwegian in the bordering territories not differentiating them in a great way.

The same thing was observed in Czechoslovakia when Czechs and Slovaks understood both languages almost completely.

If people want to express sympathy, they look for common features in conduct. Whereas they wish to express antipathy to each other, they look for every possibility to express hostility.

Language contact and change as a result usually takes place between minority and majority languages. It is the field of research connected with code switching and code mixing. The studies investigate the elements one language get completely integrated in elements of the other one (complete switch) and partially (partial switch).