Discourse Functions of Code-Switching Among Normal Kannada-English and Malayalam-English Bilinguals—A Pilot Study

Abstract Code-switching is a complete shift to another language for a word, phrase, sentence, or utterance or borrowing a word from another language and integrating it into the base language. Munhoa (1997) studied pragmatic functions among normal Basque-Spanish bilinguals and concluded that Basque-Spanish bilinguals use code-switching for a wide variety of purposes. The present study focuses on the discourse functions of code-switching among normal Kannada-English and Malayalam-English bilingual adults. Six Kannada-English and 6 Malayalam-English bilingual speakers were studied. Speech samples were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for the presence of different code-switching patterns, such as intersentential code-switching, intrasentential code-switching, tag-switching, and borrowing. Results revealed intrasentential code-switching is commonly seen among the subjects followed by borrowing, tag-switching, and intersentential switching. These types of switching to L2 could be due to the English educational background of subjects, linguistic motivation, lack of technical terms in native languages, and the fact that English might express the message better. The present study contributes to a better understanding of code-switching as a bilingual phenomenon in general and gives an overview of Kannada-English and Malayalam-English bilingualism. To validate these results, more bilinguals should be studied across various Indian languages.