Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 12. Number 2 June 2021                                        Pp. 109 -124
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no2.8

Full Paper PDF

Functions of Code Switching from Arabic to English among Jordanian Pilots in their Daily
Informal Conversations: A Case Study

  Maha S. Yaseen
Department of English, Al-Ahliyya Amman University
Amman, Jordan 

Rami A. Sa’di
Department of English, Community College of Al-Kharj
Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University
Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia

Talha A. Sharadgah
Department of English, Community College of Al-Kharj
Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University
Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia

Received: 1/31/2021               Accepted: 5/27/2021              Published: 6/24/2021

 

Abstract:
This study examines the frequency and the functions of code switching in informal conversations among Jordanian pilots, who have created their own jargon. It also explores the most frequent English expressions that the pilots switch to in their informal Arabic discourse. The conversations of eight Jordanian pilots aged between thirty and fifty-five were tape-recorded in three separate informal natural settings. The data were used for the purpose of finding out what the pragmatic and communicative functions are that the pilots’ code switching serves, and to investigate the most frequent expressions used in their conversations. The results showed that eight main conversational functions can be identified in their code-switching routines, namely: to compensate for the lack of exact equivalents in Arabic, to avoid interruption to the communication when not knowing the Arabic equivalent, to replace long and technical terminology in Arabic with acronyms in English (acronyms are not common in Arabic), to use aviation titles and ranks, to quote/ directly report phrases of speakers, to say the numbers, to refer to names of companies, places, documents, and organizations, and to insert some English formulaic expressions. The findings also showed that the most frequent terms and expressions used in code switching amongst Jordanian pilots are more related to the aviation register than to common-core vocabulary.
Keywords: Arabic-English, code switching, functions, informal daily conversations, Jordanian pilots

Cite as:   Yaseen, M. M.S., Sa’di, R. A. , & Sharadgah, T. A. (2021). Functions of Code Switching from Arabic to English among Jordanian
Pilots in their Daily Informal Conversations: A Case Study.  Arab World English Journal, 12 (2) 109 -124.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no2.8

References

Abdulhady, S. E., & AL-Darraji, O. O. (2019). Code switching: A close study of translating English linguistic terms into Arabic. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation2(3), 175-187. DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2019.2.3.20

Alenezi, M., & Kebble, P. (2018). Investigating Saudi medical students’ attitudes towards English-Arabic code-switching in classroom instruction. The Asian ESP Journal14(1), 142-160.

Alkhatib, M., & Sabbah, E. H. (2008). Language Choice in Mobile Text Messages among Jordanian University Students. SKY Journal of Linguistics, 21, 37–65.

Auer, P. (1998). Introduction: Bilingual conversation revisited. In P. Auer, (ed.), Code-switching in conversation: Language, interaction and identity (pp. 1-24). London and New York:  Routledge.

Biber, D., & Finegan, E. (1994). Sociolinguistic perspectives on register. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bokamba, E. G. (1989). Are there syntactic constraints on code‐mixing? World Englishes8(3), 277-292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971X.1989.tb00669.x

Cannon, G. (1989). Abbreviations and Acronyms in English Word-Formation. American Speech, 64(2), 99-127. https://doi:10.2307/455038

Gumperz, J. (1982). Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hamed, I., Elmahdy, M., & Abdennadher, S. (2017). Building a first language model for code-switch Arabic-English. Procedia Computer Science117, 208-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.10.111

Haugen, E. (1956). Bilingualism in the Americas: A bibliography and research guide. Publication of the American Dialect Society, No. 26. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press.

Hleihil, H. (2001). Arabic-English Code-Switching among American Fastfood Restaurants’ Employees and Customers in Jordan: Motivations and Attitudes, (Unpublished Master’s thesis) Yarmouk University, Jordan.

Hudson, R. (1980). Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hussein, R. (1999). Code-alteration among Arab college students.  World Englishes, 18(2), 281-289.

Monaghan, P., & Roberts, S. G. (2019). Cognitive influences in language evolution: Psycholinguistic predictors of loan word borrowing. Cognition186, 147-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2019.02.007

Muysken, P., & Muysken, P. C. (2000). Bilingual speech: A typology of code-mixing. Cambridge University Press.

Myers-Scotton, C. (2006). Multiple Voices: An introduction to bilingualism. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Rabab’ah, G., & Al-Yasin, N. (2017). English-Arabic code switching in Jordanian EFL teachers’ discourse. Dirasat, Human and Social Sciences43(2), 313- 329. https://doi.org/10.35516/0103-044-004-019

Romaine, S. (1995). Bilingualism (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

Sampson, A. (2011). Learner code-switching versus English only. ELT Journal, 66(3), 293–303.

https://doi:10.1093/elt/ccr067

Wardhaugh, R. (2006). An introduction to sociolinguistics (5th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

Zainil, Y., & Arsyad, S. (2021). Teachers’ perception of their code-switching practices in English as a foreign language classes: The results of stimulated recall interview and conversation analysis. SAGE Open11(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211013802

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Reddit
Email
StumbleUpon
Digg
Received: 1/31/2021 
Accepted: 5/27/2021   
Published: 6/24/2021   
https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no2.8

Dr Maha Yaseen is specialised in linguistics, with a particular interest in phonetics and phonology as well as in syntax. She is currently conducting research in educational technology and in various types of functional code-switching at Al-Ahliyya Amman University in Jordan in conjunction with colleagues in other universities.ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6719-4829

Dr Rami Al-Sa’di is specialised in linguistics, with a special interest in phonetics and phonology. He also has vested interests in TEFL and educational technology. Recently, he has been conducting empirical lab research on the pronunciation of English as spoken by Arabic-speaking EFL learners, with focus being on stress placement as well as other aspects of articulatory phonetics.ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6205-6144

Dr Talha Sharadgah is specialised in education and TEFL. He is particularly interested in educational technology. He has recently been conducting research on education in a virtual learning environment in the COVID-19 pandemic era.
ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6338-9605