Code-Switching | Definition, Explanation & Examples
Code-switching is a feature of language that describes how people can switch between different languages or dialects depending on the context of the language interaction.
Some linguists take a slightly narrow view of code-switching and see it as only concerning a switch in language within, say, a single sentence, while others distinguish this as “translanguaging.”
In this example, the student uses the English phrases “extended essay” and “heat transfer” in an otherwise Czech sentence because the vocabulary used is specific to the educational context.
A wider view of code-switching is that we adopt dialects or languages to fit in with our interlocutors, adopting more formal or informal dialects according to the context.
“He switched to the softer, more inflected language of the Veneto. ‘Excuse me, signora, but perhaps you could help us?’”—Friends in High Places, Donna Leon
What is code-switching?
There isn’t complete consensus about what code-switching is, but the simplest way to think about it is this: code-switching describes the way people change the dialect or even language that they use depending on their situation.
It can be as simple as not saying “Hi!” as a greeting to a visiting dignitary (or “Hello. How do you do?” to your best friend). Or it can be a quite complex, often unconscious, matching of vocabulary, syntax, and grammar (i.e., “code”) to the people around you.
In what context do people use code-switching?
Whether we are discussing bilingual (or multilingual) contexts or monolingual ones, there are a few common strands to when code-switching takes place. These can be broadly classified as situations where the speaker wants to fit in or, conversely, where they want to stand out.
Imagine a bilingual Catalan-Spanish speaker working as a bank manager. Leaving the house on the way to work, they greet their Catalan-Spanish bilingual neighbor, and they both use the familiar Catalan language to greet each other. Later in the day, the neighbor comes to the bank to discuss taking out a loan. On this occasion, they address the manager in the language that is associated with higher status—Spanish.
In many languages (including, but not limited to, the Romance languages like French, Spanish, and Italian) there are informal and formal pronouns for the second person singular (e.g., “tu” and “vous” in French, “du” and “sie” in German, or “ty” and “vy” in Czech). Deciding when to use the informal (“tu,” “du,” “ty,” etc.) or the formal (“vous,” “sie,” “vy,” etc.) can be tricky. But this is an example of two different codes—one formal, respectful, and polite, the other informal.
Sometimes the adoption of one code or another will be entirely unconscious. Other times, there might even be some agonizing over which code to switch to, and sometimes it might be a decision agreed upon between the speakers (for example, Czechs might agree to “tykat,” meaning “use the informal ty form” at the start of a conversation).
So in Macbeth, the eponymous hero greets the king as “your highness,” reflecting Duncan’s high status, while the latter uses “thee” to address his subordinate.
Another example of code-switching in Shakespeare is seen with the use of blank verse and prose. It is rare to see low-status characters speaking in verse, and high-status characters will switch according to the context. In Othello, for example, Iago is quite comfortable speaking in high-staus verse, but when he is manipulating Roderigo he lapses into prose, perhaps to give the impression of guileless simplicity.
What are some good examples of code-switching?
If you have squirmed with embarrassment as Michael Scott tries ingratiating himself with the warehouse staff in The Office, you have witnessed inappropriate code-switching! When he tries to fit in with the warehouse staff by talking how he imagines they talk, it simply goes wrong!
At the simplest level, if you’ve ever been accused of having a “telephone voice,” then someone has spotted your code-switching. Or if your loved ones notice you speak differently when you have been calling “back home,” the same applies.
In William Labov’s classroom and community research of the late 1960s, the striking transformation in African American students’ verbal performance revealed the power of code-switching. When addressed in the formal, standardized English expected in school, many children responded briefly and hesitantly, reinforcing teachers’ assumptions of verbal deficiency. Yet when the researcher shifted into African American Vernacular English and topics rooted in the students’ own experience, the same pupils became animated, fluent, and rhetorically skillful. Their sudden eloquence showed that linguistic ability was not lacking—it was contextually constrained by code. What appeared as silence in one code was revealed, in another, to be sophisticated narrative and expressive competence.
African multilingualism
In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, switching among multiple languages (e.g., Swahili, English, and a local ethnic language) is a daily norm. A Kenyan might use English for technical explanation, Swahili for negotiation, and a local language for humor or solidarity—all within one conversation. Code-switching here is a pragmatic resource, not a sign of confusion.
Frequently asked questions about code switching
- What is the difference between code-switching and translanguaging?
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Some linguists draw a distinction between code-switching and translanguaging. They see code-switching as speakers using two distinct codes, languages, or dialects and using each one in separate contexts (e.g., speaking Swahili at work and their local dialect at home).
Translanguaging, however, refers to a speaker using all their languages and dialects as one resource, regardless of context (e.g., a Czech student in an English language high school might say “Jak palivo uvolňuje energii, kvalita energie se snižuje v důsledku heat transfer do okolí,” (“As a fuel source releases energy, the quality of the energy decreases due to heat transfer to the surroundings.”) because English is the language of instruction for scientific terms like “heat transfer”).
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Marshall, T. (2025, October 10). Code-Switching | Definition, Explanation & Examples. Quillbot. Retrieved October 15, 2025, from https://quillbot.com/blog/language-learning/code-switching/
