The Sociolinguistic Study of Code Switching among the Algerian University Students .

Abstract

Algeria is a very interesting area for sociolinguistic studies because of the diglossic, bilingual, and even multilingual situations that it prevails. These linguistic situations have created a phenomenon of mixing between the existing varieties such as code switching and borrowing which have become a common practice among all parts of the Algerian society. This study sets to investigate code switching among Algerian university students and to examine the effects of the existing varieties in contact. The main aim of this research paper is to figure out the reasons behind switching and mixing languages within one sentence in daily discourse. To keep this study in acceptable bounds, third year English students at Ibn Khaldoun University (Tiaret) have been chosen as a sample since they are attached to the languages previously stated. So, in order to investigate this phenomenon, the methodology comprises both qualitative and quantitative methods to describe and analyze data collected through two research tools, a questionnaire and a week-live observation. A sample of the population of English students is chosen to be examined and it consists of thirty students. The analysis and interpretation of the results of the present study seem to support the hypotheses that English students code switch according to the topic and the context. Also, they do it to show prestige and their level of education. Therefore, it has been discovered how Third year students switch codes according to the formality of situation at hand, not to forget that the lack of vocabulary in their language has a certain impact for mixing languages. Also, the results show that whenever students learn a new language they will find a way to code switch through it unconsciously too.