Review of Economics and Development Studies Vol. 5, No 3, 2019 497 Volume and Issues Obtainable at Center for Sustainability Research and Consultancy Review of Economics and Development Studies ISSN:2519-9692 ISSN (E): 2519-9706 Volume 5: No. 3, 2019 Journal homepage: www.publishing.globalcsrc.org/reads A Sociolinguistic Investigation of the Code Switching Practices of Students Outside Classroom in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 1 Mujahid Shah, 2 Ali Furqan, 3 Khalid Mehmood Zaman 1 Assistant Assistant Professor, Department of English, AWKUM, mujahidshah@awum.edu.pk 2 University of Lahore. 3 University of Lahore. ARTICLE DETAILS ABSTRACT History Revised format: 30 June 2019 Available Online: 31 July 2019 Code switching is a common phenomenon, generally observed in multilingual communities across the globe. A critical look at codes witching literature reveals that mostly code switching has been studied in classroom in learning and teaching context while code switching outside classroom in settings such as café, hostel and so on have been the least explored areas. In view of the above the current research investigated the reasons for code switching in the interactive practices of students and their perceptions regarding the same in outside classroom settings. Data were collected by means of audio recording 90 minutes student’s interactions in café and hostel and serving an open-ended questionnaire to the participants. The findings showed that the student’s code switched on account of socio-cultural, socio-psychological and communicative reasons. The study is important in the sense that it will further students understanding about CS in outside classroom settings. © 2019 The authors, under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 Keywords Code swithing, Classroom, Multilingual, Socio-Cultural, Socio-Psychological JEL Classification: Z13 Corresponding author’s email address: mujahidshah@awum.edu.pk Recommended citation: Shah, M., Furqan, A. and Zaman, K. M. (2019). A Sociolinguistic Investigation of the Code Switching Practices of Students outside Classroom in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Review of Economics and Development Studies, 5 (3), 497-504 DOI: 10.26710/reads.v5i3.709 1. Introduction During the last decade code-switching (CS) has gained impetus, which can be gauged from the fact that since 2005, The Linguistics and Language Behavioral Abstracts (LLBA) electronic databases identified nearly 1800 matches to CS (Nilep, 2006). Most of the studies on CS fall into main two categories: grammatical and sociolinguistics. Researchers who approached CS from grammatical perspective focused different structural/grammatical issues such as morphological, syntactic and morpho-syntactic constrains, nature of grammar governing CS. (MacSwan, 1999; Chomsky, 1995; Joshi, 1985; poplack, 1980). On the other hand, the sociolinguistic approach focuses on the functions and meanings of CS. 1. macro-sociolinguistic studies of CS, 2. micro-sociolinguistic studies of CS. The macro approach takes CS as collective bilingual phenomenon governed by the norms and regulations of the community concerned. Studies in this category view CS as orderly and stable phenomenon (Heller, 1988; Blom & Gumperz, 1972; Fisherman, 1972). Fishman (1972) elaborated that in bilingual/multilingual communities mostly each variety has a specific domain of use. The uses of these varieties are predetermined. Therefore, the speakers have very little choice of their own. Their choices are determined by the social and cultural norms of their communities. He added that the topic of interaction is of great importance. Different varieties are associated with http://www.publishing.globalcsrc.org/reads Review of Economics and Development Studies Vol. 5, No 3, 2019 498 different topics. Some topics are handled better in one variety than the others. For examples, most of the formal topics are tackled by the formal/standard varieties, while non-formal situations demand for non-formal varieties. In this sense, the use of a language/variety can be predicted if one knows the situation/topic ahead of its actual use. So far the domain of sociolinguistic investigations of CS is concerned; research studies have mainly explored CS in classroom settings but CS in other context such as CS outside the classroom, café, hostel, and other co-relevant settings appears to be neglected. Further, mostly CS studies have looked at either the perceptions of students or teachers or their practices but very limited numbers of them have examined the perceptions of teachers or students with their practices in one and the same study. Besides, CS is explored mostly in the context of English and some other main languages of a particular state or country but CS in the context of English and other local and regional languages have been the least investigated area. In view of the above, the current research have socio-linguistically examined the students code switching practices and their perceptions in outside classroom settings in the context of English and a local language, Pashto. The study is important in the sense that it helps in reviving interest in conducting research in local languages such as Pashto. In addition, the study will create awareness among the students regarding the prevalence of CS and its utility for communication in general. Keeping in view the aim of the research, to create awareness among the students about the emergence, reasons and utility of multilingual practices particularly CS for communication in general, the following questions were designed: 1. Why do the students get engaged in CS outside classroom? 2. What are the common perceptions of students about CS outside classroom? 2. Literature Review CS has a vast domain. It could not be restricted to classrooms only. It can be observed in different spheres of life. However, it is to be noted that in most of the cases whenever CS is discussed in informal settings, along with micro aspect, the macro- social dimension of the functions/reasons for CS has also been touched. For instance, Zakaria and Kalong (2010) explored the reasons and types of CS in an informal interaction among a group of TESL students in Malaysia. Data were gathered by means of recording the informal conversation of the students in their rooms. The results showed that students code switch for solidarity, elaboration of certain points, emphasis, specification of addressee and for local identification. Similarly, Nishimura (1995) examined the functions of CS in the context of Japanese-English languages in Canada. The interaction of three individual were recorded and transcribed. The study showed that CS has been used for interactional purposes, organization of discourse, stylistics effect and functional motivation. Finally, CS has also served as ethnic identity markers. In both these studies, it has been observed that the focus is made on the social and communicative functions of CS. In addition, the macro dimension the broader social and cultural aspect have also been touched and elaborated upon. Again, these studies have a limited range, restricted to the investigation of CS in the interactions outside the classroom, which can partly inform the analysis and discussion of the current research study in its exploration of the functions and reasons for CS outside the classroom. Moreover, there are also some studies, which have made focus on CS as communicative strategy. In other words, CS has been used as tool for achieving certain objectives. Chung (2006) explored the purposes and reasons for CS in the conversation of Korean-English bilinguals and showed that here CS functions as communicative strategy by facilitating family communication, reducing language barriers and consolidating cultural identity of the interactants. In addition, the study also showed that CS could be brought about and shaped by the dynamics of the relationship of the speaker-addressee. Therefore, while exploring CS one has also to keep in mind the relationships of the interactants with each other. The most noteworthy point about the study is that here again, the social and linguistic aspects of CS have been highlighted. In other words, the study will help in exploring the reasons for CS outside the classroom from social and linguistic perspectives. Likewise, Ariffin (2009) explored CS as communicative strategy in the context of Bhasa Milayu-English bilingual conversation. Data for the study was collected during organizational training session. The findings revealed that the speakers employed CS to enhance, organise, add and increase their communicative potential. The study emphasise on the communicative aspect of CS. He further added that CS in most of the cases is a conscious process used by the speakers for achieving various communicative goals. Das (2012) again investigated CS as communicative strategy and showed that CS reduces language barriers and manifest cultural identity. The study further highlighted that CS can be used to signal social relationship, language preferences, resolve communicative difficulties, framing discourse, conveying cultural expressive message, giving Review of Economics and Development Studies Vol. 5, No 3, 2019 499 special effects, lowering language barriers, reiterating messages, etc. Both, Ariffin (2009) and Das (2012) mainly emphasis on the fact that mostly CS is used for communicative purposes. Lowi (2005) turned to the analysis and examination of the functions of CS in naturally occurring conversation between Spanish-English bilinguals. The study showed that CS is used as features of discourse for emphasis and change of topic, which will help in exploring CS outside the classroom from discourse-oriented perspective. Alam (2011) while exploring the functions of CS in Punjabi, Urdu and English languages among the multilingual community of Pakistani staying in UK, has taken a different direction and approached CS from micro and macro perspectives. Data for the study was gathered by recording the interaction in a natural environment in kitchen and dining table through an ethnographic case study approach, which were then qualitatively analysed from both micro and macro perspectives. The study showed that CS is used for a variety of purposes including attaining conversational goals, discourse strategies, highlighting speakers' identities and bringing forth their cultural and social background. Then there are some studies which have focused on the atitudes of the speaker towards CS. Some of these studies considered CS as something negative and recommended that it should be avoided (Chaudron, 1988; Ellis, 1984). There did exist studies which recommended the use of multilingual resources in the classroom in particular and outside classroom in general. Most of the studies, favouring codeswitching are in line with flexible bilingualism and the language ecology approaches. They consider that codeswitching is a positive practice and it facilitates the teachers, learners and the overall teaching process (Creese & Blackledge, 2010; Garcia, 2007.). Most of the above mentoned studies are guided by Gumperz (1980). Gumperz (1982) being one of the poinner studies in interactional sociolingistic, is considered to be one among the most influential sociocultural linguistic theoretical framework which has contributed a great deal to the development of CS from sociolinguistic perspective. The current research study is guided by Gumperz (1982) for categorisation and analysis of data. Before Gumperz (1982), Blom and Gumperz (1972) tried to approach the functions of CS by combining both: the micro and macro sociolinguistics perspectives. They introduced the concepts of Situational and Metaphorical CS. In situational CS, the change of situation causes change in code. For example in Pakistan, the teachers and students stay very formal in their interaction and mostly use a specific variety inside the classroom but when they move out of classroom, their formality changes into informality. Metaphorical CS relies on the use of two language varieties within a single social setting. For example, most of the greeting in classroom between teachers and students take place in the native language of the students and teachers but when the teachers start delivering lectures, the native language changes into the official medium of instruction, which in most of the cases remain English language. However, this classification is criticised on the ground that definition of the terms (e.g. situational, metaphorical etc.) are not clear. Besides, the model is not based on real data but rather driven by idealised categorisation. Realising the shortcomings in the previous study, Gumperz (1982) came up with conversational CS. He elaborated that it is difficult for the analysts to identify particular choices of language as metaphorical or situational. Therefore, it is deemed appropriate to conduct a close analysis of the interaction and then describes its functions. In simple words, he preferred the micro perspective to macro perspective for analysis of interaction. On the basis of his close analysis of several speech communities, he suggested a list of six functions of CS which have been observed in different situations. These functions are quotation, addressee specification, interjection, reiteration, message qualification and personalisation versus objectivization. Quotation is used when the speaker while speaking in one language quotes something from another language. The function of using quotation is to emphasise the authenticity of the argument and enhance the communicative effect of the statement. Secondly, CS can be used to specify addressee by directing his/her message to a specific person. It means that by specifying addressee the speaker is accommodating the person concerned. On the other hand, it can be used as a strategy for excluding other speakers from interaction. Thirdly, CS can be used to mark an interjection (serving as sentence fillers). Fourthly, CS can be used as reiteration for reinforcing one's statement/message. This occurs when a message is repeated in another language to emphasise a particular point. Fifthly, CS can be used for message qualification. The speaker can say something in one language, which is then explained by CS to another language. Finally, CS can be used for personalization and objectivization purposes. This shows the speaker’s involvement or distancing from a message. In other words, it indicates that whether the statement is a personal opinion or knowledge or a general statement or known fact. Thus keeping in view the potential of the theoretical framework the current research is informed by Gumperz (1982). Review of Economics and Development Studies Vol. 5, No 3, 2019 500 3. Methodology The research study aimed to explore the perceptions of students and their interactive practices outside the classroom for determining its functions and reasons in Khyber Pakhtunhwa, Pakistan. In view of the nature of the nature of current study and its research questions a qualitative reseach design was opted. Data were collected by means of recording students' interactive practices outside the classroom and serving an open ended questionnaire to all the 25 participants of the study. Data were transcribed and an observational analysis of the data informed by Gumperz (1982) was conducted. 3.1 Background and Location The study was conducted in Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, a public sector university in Pakistan. The University is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province situated in the North West of Pakistan. There are more than 26 languages spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pashto language is the dominant and native language of majority of the people in the province. Broadly speaking Pashto is mostly in the domestic and social settings while English is mainly used as the medium of instruction in higher educational institutes. In addition , Urdu being national language of the country is also used at times. In such multilingual environment the emergence of CS is a natural phenomenon. 3.2 Participants A total of 25 graduate students were purposively selected. The students were selected from 5 different departments, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan. In order to anonymize the identity of the participants, they were named as 'S1', 'S2', 'S3', 'S4', 'S5' and S6. The age range of the students was from 19-21 year. Before proceeding with data collection, all the ethical procedures/formalities were fulfilled. 3.3 Data Collection Data were collected by audio taping the interactions of the students for a period of 90 minutes; 40 and 50 minutes in café and hostel respectively. Then in order to document the perceptions of the students, a questionnaire with open ended questions were designed and distributed among the students. Afterwards, the interactions were transcribed informed by Seedhouse's (2004). Consequently, an observation analysis of the data guided by Gumperz (1980) were conducted. As some of the questions in the questionnaire were overlapping at certain points, therefore, the participants left it either blank or repeated the same responses on the same questions. Morover, for the sake of convenience, responses on the following questions (as given below) were combined and analysed together. 1 . Why do students do CS outside the classroom? 2. Why do you use CS outside the classroom? 3. What are the reasons of students CS outside the classroom? 4. Analysis and Findings Students' perceptions and their interactions outside the classroom Q: (1) In ysssour opinion, why do students OUTSIDE the classroom change languages or use more than one language? 4.1 CS For Social Status Regarding questions (1, 2& 3), the students give similar responses. 20 out of 25 students believe that the students code switch outside the classroom for social status. S7: To show that they are educated and belong to higher class. S8: To give an impression that he /she is educated. S9: They think that by speaking English language the people will take him to be modern The analysis of students' interactive data outside the room reveals that at certain point the students, as suggested by their tone and manner, deliberately code switch to English for social status. For instance, in the following lines it can be noted that S1 code switches from Pashto to English in a deliberate manner for social status. This is indicated by the way and manner that S1 inserts English words such as colour, purple and white combination in a Pashto matrix. S1: bus sa okum da ma hagha wruz aghashty wo nu S2 aow sta da colour (I can’t say anything? I purchased it (colour) the other day, thought to wear it today) S1: S2 dir khukaly lagi staso da purple and white combination (S2 Review of Economics and Development Studies Vol. 5, No 3, 2019 501 your purple and white colour shirt is very attractive) staso chioce aow selection zama dir khwakh shu (I like your choice and selection) The reason for using CS for social status may be found in the socio-psychological and sociocultural background of the speakers. In Pakistan English is considered to be a language of elite and upper class. 4.2 CS Unconsciously 15 out of 25 students consider that the students code switch outside the classroom habitually and unconsciously. S1.The students being bilingual cannot help it and thus do CS naturally and habitually. It is an unconscious process and the students are not aware of. S2. They code switch unconsciously S4. Well this is natural and may be due to our association with English. The analysis of students' interaction outside the classroom also shows that the students quite frequently in a very effortless and fluent manner, employ CS in their interaction. It seems like that the CS in their interactions emerge naturally and unconsciously. For example, in line 5, 'S3', in response to 'S1' appreciation of her dressing, thanks her and then inquires about her dressing that if there is something special that she is dressed so well. The line begins with thank you so much then followed by code switching to Pashto using words nun sa (today) and again falling back on English, by using words special occasion, and then moves to Pashto chi taso dasy (that you) and then yet again to use an English word dressing. Here 'S1' utters the entire sentence in a fluent manner with no gap and hesitation, which is indicative of the fact that she code switches unconsciously with no deliberate efforts on her part. Again, the same unconscious code switching has been observed in line 9, where 'S3' in a very fluent manner accommodates the English words deceive and farewell in a Pashto matrix. S3: thank you so much S1 nun sa special occasion wo chi taso dasy (Thank you so much. S1 is there anything special today that you dressed and prepared very well) S3: S1 taso mong deceive kralu mong va parun farewell di nu ma aow (S1 you deceived us. We thought that the farewell party was the other day, which we missed). 4.3 CS For Ease and Comfort Besides, 11 out of twenty five students also consider that students’ code switching (English to Pashto) outside the classroom is triggered by the relaxed and informal environment, where the speakers can freely code switch to native language (Pashto). For instance S4 in her interview explains that in outside classroom they feel relax and find a kind of comfort to use their native language. S4. I use Pashto as I am feeling ease and relax to talk in Pashto which is my native language. In the university we feel bound to use English mostly. I also feel a kind of pleasure to talk in my other tongue S9: They feel free and feel comfortable to talk in Pashto, as Pashto is their native language. The students believe that inside the classroom, the students feel restricted and are mostly bounded to use English language, while outside the classroom, there is no such restriction and so they are free to interact in any language. Therefore, students, on account of ease and comfort due to their social and cultural attachment with Pashto, turn to use it in their interactions outside the classroom. This is supported by the interactive data in the sense that mostly they used Pashto in their interactions in café and hostels. 4.4 Reiteration for emphasis The interaction of the students outside the classroom also brings forward some additional |reasons, including students’ use of CS for emphasis, clarification and explanation of concepts and ideas, which are referred by the students in their interviews. S7 argues that sometimes they code switch to English or vice versa even at their homes to highlight a particular point. S7. I would say code switching is a good technique we use it for different purposes. Sometimes we code switch to emphasize a particular point. Review of Economics and Development Studies Vol. 5, No 3, 2019 502 The interactive data also endorses the same point. For example, S7, while talking about the attitudes of the parents towards new fashion in dressing, explains that parents mostly dislike their children's orientation towards new fashion. 'S7' repeats the word mother in both the languages: first in Pashto moor (mother) and then switches to English mother. Here, 'S7' repeats the concept in both the languages to emphasis on the fact that it is mother who takes care of all these issues. S7: aow short chi b mong achol zamung da moor mother zamung aunts ba (When we used short shirt our mothers did not feel happy with that) Again, in the following lines, 'S6' resorts to the use of reiteration. 'S6', while contributing her share to the on- gonging discussion, states that you people have praised each other too much with the purpose that you may get praise in return and now nothing is left for me to discuss. Here, the speaker repeats the concept praising in both the languages: Pashto and English. First, she states in Pashto tareefona means praise and then she switches to English by using the word praise. Here, the student reiterates for emphasis. S6. na yara da asy tush praising da tareefona di nor sa nishta da sincere friend pata lagi (This is just empty praising which lack in depth) 4.5 CS for Explanation Similarly, the students in their interviews while discussing the reasons for CS outside the classroom elaborate that they also code switch for explanation. The interactive data also show that the students code switch outside the classroom to explain certain ideas and concepts. For example, S1, in response to a query by 'S2' that if there was any function that you had come so well dressed and prepared, replies yes, we had our last farewell, a kind of internal get together in the class. Here, the speaker first mentions last farewell and then, switches to Pashto to explain what she means by last farewell. S1:aow nun zamung chi kom da last farewell wo class k dasy hapalu ke raghund shavi wu mung wail ghup shup b olagao (Yes, today we had an internal farewell a kind of friendly get together in our class ). s 5. Discussion The findings of students interactions and their perceptions reveals that the students codeswitch outside the classroom for communicative and socio-cultural reasons. The analysis shows that mostly the students outside the classroom codeswitch for social status. Codeswitching for social status may be attributed to the sociocultural and socio psychological background of the speakers and socio-economic status of the target language. In Pakistan, English language is considered a symbol of prestige, education and social standing. Most of the educated and socially and economically advanced classes of the community use English language for their communication. Besides, English language has occupied the status of official language and most of the examinations for high profile jobs are held in English (Rehman, 2006). In view of the above, English is considered to be highly prestigious language. It is generally assumed to be ladder for upward economic and social mobility. This is one of the reasons that the students are oriented towards English. They codeswitch to English from their native language to give an impression that they belong to a higher social and educated class. As social status is something related to social psychological and sociocultural background of the community concerned, which get reflection in their interactions in café and hostel. Besides, the findings also showed that the student code switched unconsiousy. Speaking generally, one of the reasons for the emergence of unconscious codeswitching might be the speakers' socialization in a multilingual environment. In Pakistan, mostly the speakers use native language in their domestic settings while English is used in educational settings and this situation may be one among the possible reasons of the emergence of unconscious code switching in students’ interactions outside the classroom. The findings of the cureent study on this point is in harmony with studies, supporting and endorsing translanguaging and flexible bilingualism. In other words, the speakers freely move back and forth between the two languages. It takes one close to translanguaging and language ecology approaches where the boundaries between the languages permeate and remain elusive and the speakers use codeswitching for different purposes, specifically in pedagogic context (e.g. Creese and Blackledge 2010; Garcia, 2007). Creese and Blackledge (2010:104) explains that language ecology is the study of language diversity within a specific setting, where the process of language use reflect, challenge and create particular hierarchies and hegemonies. Approaching the findings of the current study from an ecological perspective, the existent socio Review of Economics and Development Studies Vol. 5, No 3, 2019 503 political position on the use of languages in Pakistan is challenged. Because from a socio-political perspective, English language is the official language and medium of instructions in most of the educational institutions, while the other local languages are used in domestic and other informal settings. But in the current research study, the students going against by codeswitching between Pashto and English, outside the classroom. Rehman (2003) while discussing the status of English in Pakistan explains that English is the official language is mostly used in educational institutes of higher learning in Pakistan, while the other local languages are relegated to the lower classes, mostly used in the domestic and other informal settings. It means that in the current research study, the speakers violate the rule /norm and freely back and forth between Pashto and English outside the classroom. Finally the findings also revealed that the student code switched outside the cassrooms for communicative purposes including CS for explanation and reiteration for emphasis and clarification. These are the common functions highlighted by a number of other studies as well (Ariffin, 2009; Das, 2012; Lowi, 2005). 6. Conclusion The current study aimed to find out the reasons for CS in the interactive practices of the students outside the classroom. The findings showed that the students code switching outside the classroom are triggered by sociocultural, sociopsychological and communicative reasons. The study was conducted on a smaller scale restricted to Mardan one of the seven divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. In order to explore in depth the reasons for CS in the interactive practices of the students outside classrom and then their perceptions about the same, the range of the study has to be extended to other regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which will enable the readers to get a broader and comprehensive picture of the nature of CS outside the classroom. References Alam, S. (2011) Integration of various approaches towards the functions of codeswitching between Punjabi, Urdu and English. International Journal of linguistics 3:1-18 Ariffin K & Shameem R.G. (2009) Codeswitching as a communication device in conversation. Malaysia. Blom, J. & Gumperz, J. (1972) Social meaning in linguistic structures: codeswitching in Norway. In J.J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (ed.), Directions in sociolinguistics: the ethnography of communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Chomsky, N. (1995) The minimalist program. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Creese, A. and Blackledge A. 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