Code Switching in Language Acquisition Essay -- English Language Essay

Code Switching in Language AcquisitionThe acquisition of English as a non-native voice communication proves quite problematic for some individuals. Because English was bursted using modifications and borrowed rowing from scores of fundamentally different languages, it would seem to be a language which most peoples of the world could easily acquire. There should always be something about the language and structure that reflects an individuals native tongue whether it be phonology, syntax, or semantics. However, the very fact that English incorporates an international lexicon with the respective varied syntactical applications makes English a fairly difficult language to acquire. Research by Cummins (1987) focuses on the length of quantify needed to acquire English. To achieve the Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) level, a learner must study English from one to both years. However, to acquire the higher Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), it take s five to seven years. In the acquisition of English, a normal linguistic behavior is the embedding of words or phrases from the native language into spoken English. This is called code switching. Baker (1993) lists 10 purposes for code switches (1) to emphasize a point, (2) because a word is unknown in one of the languages, (3) for ease and efficiency of expression, (4) as a repetition to clarify, (5) to express group identity and status and/or to be accepted by a group, (6) to inverted comma someone, (7) to interject in a conversation, (8) to exclude someone, (9) to cross social or ethnic boundaries, and (10) to ease tension in a conversation (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2002). It is my opinion that the frequency of the use of code switching as well as the purposes for... ...er the changing form of the English language over time. As new cultures and languages converged through the millennia to develop into the English with which we are familiar today, how much impact did code switchin g have on the eventual integration of words from other sources? How much time and how large a population of different languages would be needed to veer a lexicon? In how short a time could such a change occur? The opportunity to ponder these questions might not have occurred without the benefit of having taken this course, History of the English Language. Works CitedCummins, J. (1979). Linguistic interdependence and the educational instruction of bilingual children. Review of Educational Research, 49 (2), 222-251.Diaz-Rico, L. T. & Weed, K. Z. (2002). The cross-cultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston Allyn & Bacon.