As a language major, I hold the power of speaking more than one language in very high esteem. However, it’s not simply the ability to speak in another way that provides people with the power of knowing other languages. Bilingualism allows an individual to view the world without a previously and singularly constructed set of ways to view the world, and the value of words and meaning further expand beyond something previously exclusive, and apart from the human capacity for reasoning without words! Have you ever been in a language class, or studying abroad, or simply speaking with friends that say something to you in your non-native language, and you understand them clearly without needing to translate each word to the letter for your mind to understand it? This is largely due to the fact that learning new languages can further separate your mind’s ability to think of things without the crutch of a ‘native’ aspect of thought.

The term “Code-Switching” describes a phenomenon that occurs in the mind of a bilingual individual. When speaking, they replace a segment of their active speech with a word that fulfills the syntax and grammatical requirements of the second language, resulting a “gap” in the first language that is filled by an unwitting reflex in the mind to fill this response with the first meaning that comes up. The fascinating part about code-switching, however, has been shown to have less to do with a speaker’s inability to continue speaking in a specific language, and more with “triggers” and active lexical loans from phrasings and thoughts that may be active toward another language they can willingly command, but in the case of code-switching, unwittingly do so. For example, if a native English speaker is speaking in Russian about a topic with mostly English-compatible cognates, the probability to code-switch is conducive, simply because there is an overlap between the parts of speech and structures of words. In contrast, there are certain topics that have a very shallow level of vocabulary to explain in a certain language, and in order for a bilingual person to successfully explain their point, their capacities rapidly scramble to put together the nearest approximation, which can result in switching languages briefly without realizing immediately.

The applications behind Code-Switching mainly deal with the neurological concept of meaning association. For example, common observances with children who grow up in a bilingual household- meaning one or more persons in the family speaks a language other than English, in this case- can become uncomfortable around a new person they meet that has the same name as one of their parents or siblings. At this stage in the mind’s development, meaning association becomes slightly fragmented, and the mind moves beyond this discovery behind a word that has an abstract purpose beyond letters and sounds. Here is an example of how code-switching affects the minds of children, and with more research on how Code-Switching takes effect in oral conversation and in thought, code-switching could demonstrate developments in how to learn second languages!

An example of code-switching and lexical loaning, whereas the languages the ad jumps between does not rely on the exclusive attempt to make the reader think in another language, but to fill meaning!

Reyes, Iliana. Functions of Code Switching in Schoolchidren´s Conversations. University of Arizona, 2004. Web. <http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ireyes/bibDoc/Reyes_BRJ_2004.pdf>.