A research paper published in a Scopus-indexed journal

Between Us Bi-Multilinguals: Bilingual and Multilingual Views on Codeswitching
Estrella F. Fajardo, Massuline Antonio D. Ligaya, and Joung-Hyun Ham
Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, Vol. 9, No. 8, August 2018
DOI: 10.5958/0976-5506.2018.00860.4

Research Summary

Codeswitching—the practice of alternating between two or more languages within a conversation—is a common feature of communication in bilingual and multilingual societies. In the Philippines, where many people routinely use English, Filipino, and regional languages, codeswitching has become a natural part of everyday interaction. This study examined the phenomenon among bilingual and multilingual English teachers, focusing not only on how they switched languages but also on the communicative purposes their switches served.

The study specifically investigated the syntactic patterns of codeswitching used by the teachers and the social or discourse functions underlying their language choices. Eight English faculty members participated in the study: three bilingual speakers of English and Tagalog and five multilingual speakers who also spoke Kapampangan. Naturally occurring face-to-face communication and interviews were used to gather samples of their linguistic behavior. The recorded switches were classified according to their syntactic patterns and communicative functions and analyzed using frequency counts and percentages.

A total of 90 codeswitched utterances were identified. Intrasentential switching—changing languages within a phrase, clause, or sentence—was by far the most common pattern, accounting for 64.44% of all observed switches. This was followed by intra-word switching (17.77%), intersentential switching (12.22%), and tag-switching (5.55%). Most switches occurred at the word or phrase level rather than through more structurally complex changes between complete sentences. The teachers also tended to use Tagalog-based sentences containing English elements despite all participants being English teachers.

The analysis further showed that codeswitching performed several communicative functions. Among the functions identified, ease of expression was the most frequent, followed by insufficient academic vocabulary. Other functions included repetition for clarification, expressing the speaker’s mood, adding emphasis, and habitual experience. These findings suggest that codeswitching is not merely random language mixing or evidence of linguistic deficiency. Rather, speakers draw on the languages available to them to communicate ideas, emotions, and experiences more naturally and effectively.

Overall, the study highlights codeswitching as a functional and socially meaningful feature of bilingual and multilingual communication. The findings demonstrate how language choice is influenced by context, topic, linguistic resources, and the speaker’s communicative needs, particularly in an academic workplace where several languages coexist.

Research Contribution

The study contributes to the understanding of codeswitching by combining structural analysis with communicative-function analysis in the natural interactions of bilingual and multilingual English teachers. It reinforces the view that codeswitching should be understood not simply as alternation between languages but as a linguistic resource speakers strategically—and sometimes unconsciously—use to facilitate communication and express meaning.

Keywords: codeswitching, bilingualism, multilingualism, syntactic patterns, discourse functions, language choice

Full Text

The full text of this publication is available upon request. Researchers, educators, students, and other interested readers who wish to obtain a copy may contact the author through this website or by email at madligaya@gmail.com.