Code-Switching and Identity: A Case Study of Mandarin-English Bilingual College Students' Language Use

This research investigates code-switching between Mandarin and English among six bilingual college seniors. Three are Chinese language students who are native speakers of English, and three are Chinese American students who... [ view full abstract ]

This research investigates code-switching between Mandarin and English among six bilingual college seniors. Three are Chinese language students who are native speakers of English, and three are Chinese American students who grew up speaking both English and Mandarin Chinese. The study examines the relationship between language, identity and code-switching behavior. It does so using recordings of participants’ code-switching behaviors, and well as surveys and interviews of the participants about their code-switching behavior. Analysis of this data allows for a discussion of how code-switching reflects the identity and language background of the speaker, with Chinese language students viewing English as their base identity and Chinese as a part of their personal growth, and Chinese American students viewing both Chinese and English as integral to their heritage and to the identities they have shaped for themselves as Chinese Americans.