Code-switching : Insights from Code-switched English/Igbo Expression

Abstract

This paper point out that code-switching is situation-based. With data from English/Igbo code-switching, four situations emerge. The first is interpreted as a case of borrowing. The second is argued to be a form of quasi-borrowing. Certain English expressions have been assimilated into Igbo and used synonymously with the Igbo equivalents. Support for this is drawn from the fact that Igbo monolinguals and partial and full English/Igbo bilinguals use the expressions. The third represents real code-switching and is motivated b the need to show solidarity or relax formality and some other socio-physiological factors outside the scope of this paper. The fourth involves names, which by convention ought not to be substituted to preserve their referential properties. Via these situations, the paper concludes that a good number of expressions designated code-switched expressions do not qualify to be.