Exploring Code-Switching in Kuwaitis

1.0 Introduction

1.1. Overview

This dissertation aims to explore code-switching between Arabic and English bilingual Kuwaiti speakers in the United Kingdom (UK). Code-switching is variously understood as changing between the use of one language to another, the alternation of languages over the course of a conversation, and the use of separate language codes by bilingual speakers (i.e. those who speak more than one language) (Akeel, 2016; Mahsain, 2014; Al Aqad, 2018; Alghasab, 2017). All these definitions refer to code-switching between Arabic and English. In 2013, it was reported that 14,049 Kuwaitis had emigrated to the UK and the UK was the fifth most popular migration destination for Kuwaitis behind Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States, and Palestine (UNICEF, 2013). The same year it was reported that 1,692 students had migrated from Kuwait to the UK, making it the fourth most popular destination for students after the United States, Bahrain and Jordan and before the UAE (UNICEF, 2013). This data indicates that there is a significant population of bilingual Kuwaiti speakers currently living in the UK. Code-switching is commonplace amongst Kuwaiti speakers due to the differences between Arabic, Kuwaiti Arabic and other foreign languages, such as English. Arabic is an Afro-Asiatic sematic language spoken by over 150 million people (Bernhardt et al., 2011). This is modern standard Arabic (MSA), which is derived although not identical to the classical Arabic of the Qur’an and is the form of Arabic used by the Kuwaiti educational system, the media and all written publications (Bernhardt et al., 2011; Nitzany, 2019). Amayreh and Dyson (1998) observe that disglossia, a difference between colloquial spoken Arabic in the various Arab regions, is a common feature amongst Arabic speakers. This is because there are at least 30 separate dialects of Arabic spoken in the Arab world (Bernhardt et al., 2011). Whilst MSA is the official language of Kuwait, Kuwaiti Arabic is the urban spoken vernacular used in everyday life (Nitzany, 2019). It is known locally as Khaliji or as Khamseh and Al Hasaa in other Arabi nations (Nitzany, 2019). There are differences between the dialects of Kuwaiti Arabic spoken in urban and rural areas. Also, due to immigration, Kuwaiti Arabic features words originating from several other languages, including Indian, English, Persian, Turkish and Italian (Nitzany, 2019). Although Kuwaiti Arabic shares many phonetic features with Arabic dialects spoken in other Arab states, there are significant differences in pronunciation that sets Kuwaiti Arabic apart from other Arab dialects (Nitzany, 2019; Bernhardt et al., 2011). For example, such pronunciation differences affect the uvular stop {q} of MSA, affecting how some letters are pronounced in Kuwaiti Arabic (Bernhardt et al., 2011). As well as this, vowel sounds differ across Arab regions. Whilst in MSA the root of the word “salt” is pronounced /mlh/, it is pronounced as /mrlh/ in Kuwaiti Arabic and as /malh/ in Egypt and parts of Jordan (Bernhardt et al., 2011). As well as this, lexical differences are also found between different forms of colloquial Arabic. An example is the many different words for “sock” found across various Arabic dialects (Bernhardt et al., 2011).

Kuwaiti Arabic is familiar to Arabic speakers from other nations and regions due to the popularity of the Kuwaiti soap opera industry in the Arabic-speaking world (Nitzany, 2019). But globalisation and a switch from a maritime to an oil economy have affected the evolution of Kuwaiti Arabic and what languages are spoken in the country. For example, English is now often spoken in certain areas and in various contexts of Kuwaiti life (Nitzany, 2019). For these reasons, English has had a significant influence on the Arab region’s education systems, language policies and patterns of language use (Dashti, 2015). This is because Arab nations have come to realise that English is an important skill to have in all areas of life. Therefore, Arab leaders are increasingly encouraging their people to learn English (Dashti, 2015). This means that most Arab countries have introduced English as a main subject in the school curriculum and most government, private sector and business organisations ask potential employees to prove English proficiency before hiring them (Dashti, 2015). Simlarly, Tryzna and Al Sharoufi (2017) note that all of Kuwait’s higher education institutions use English as the language of instruction. Consequently, entrance exams for college and university programmes include an in-house English language proficiency test in order to assess prospective students’ ability to function successfully in an English-speaking environment (Tryzna and Al Sharoufi, 2017).

1.2 Demographics of Kuwait

In 2016, it was reported that Kuwait had a population of 4.5 million people, with 1.3 million being Kuwaiti nationals and the remaining 3.2 million classified as expatriates. Thus, expatriates make up around 70 per cent of the Kuwaiti population (The National, 2016). Nitzany (2019) observes that around 1.3 million people in Kuwait speak Kuwaiti Arabic. In 2010, Kuwait had an adult literacy rate (amongst individuals over the age of 15) of 93.9 per cent and in 2000, 84.9 per cent of young people were enrolled in education (UNICEF, 2013). Therefore, native Kuwaitis have a high literacy rate. Furthermore, Kuwait clearly has a large immigrant population. According to UNICEF (2013), five countries accounted for 1,558,564 of Kuwait’s 3.2 million expatriate population. These were: India (730,558), Bangladesh (279,169), Pakistan (244,281), Egypt (182,342) and the Philippines (122,214) (UNICEF, 2013). Kuwait’s immigrant population also includes migrants from Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Joran, Iran, Armenia, the United States and the UK (Tryzna and Al Sharoufi, 2017).

1.3 Aims of the Study

1.3.1 Aim

The primary aim of the study is to gain an overview of the way in which Kuwaiti University students’ switch from Arabic to English in their speech. The study will be restricted to Kuwaiti students residing in the UK, as most previous studies of Kuwaiti code-switching were limited to Kuwaitis living in Kuwait.

1.3.2 Purpose/Objective

The goal of the study is to respond to and address the attitudes of bilingual Kuwaiti speakers who speak both Arabic and English and live in the UK toward code-switching and its function. The purpose or objective of the study is thus to attempt to study the circumstances and the factors that affect code switching amongst the Kuwaiti speakers within their daily conversation. The results of the study will therefore reveal the circumstances which cause the respondents to code switch. Examples include familiarity amongst respondents, the setting, and topic(s) of conversation.

1.3.3. Research Questions

The research questions are:

What are the types of code-switching used by bilingual Kuwaiti speakers in the UK?

What is their attitude towards code-switching?

What is their motivation behind code-switching?

What are the factors that affect code-switching in these circumstances?

1.4 Significance of the Study

The bilingual and multilingual cultures often practice the use of code-switching in spoken or written language. The Kuwaiti community demonstrates the linguistic combination evidence by using Arabic and English languages. The instance of code-switching can be observed in everyday social interaction. It occurs more often in a spoken language during a conversation where a person switches between languages. Code-switching amongst Kuwaiti speakers is common amongst students studying or have studied in English, bilingual or multilingual learning institutions. However, students who have studied in a monolingual learning institution have also been found to code-switch. Mostly, people frequently switch between languages to clarify issues or to stress on essential matters. Since code-switching plays a crucial role in communication, it is vital to investigate Kuwaiti speakers’ reasons and attitude towards code-switching. This will lead to greater understanding as to how Kuwaiti speakers use language and how codes may change dependent on the purpose of the interaction. It is also significant that this study focuses on code-switching amongst Kuwaiti speakers living in the UK instead of Kuwaiti speakers living in Kuwait, as has been the subject of previous studies. Whilst Kuwait is a multilingual country, the UK is not so Kuwaiti speakers are likely to receive a different reaction if they switch between two or more languages in everyday conversation.

1.5 Limitations

There are some limitations to this study. The main problem with this study is that it is likely to involve a small sample size. According to data gathered in 2013, there were 1,692 Kuwaiti students living in the UK, out of a total 14,049 Kuwaiti migrants to the country (UNICEF, 2013). This suggests that the researcher has a limited sample size to work with, a fraction of which they will be able to contact and will agree to take part in the study. Whilst small sample sizes have the advantage of being quick to undertake and are useful for testing new research hypotheses, it is difficult to interpret the results they yield with confidence (Hackshaw, 2008). This is because a small sample size decreases the statistical power of the study, skewing its results and potentially leading to inaccurate or even false conclusions (Deziel, 2018). To address this limitation, it will be important to compare the results of the primary research to those of similar studies to assess whether they are accurate or not.

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The problem of utilising the code-switching practices in Kuwait necessitates the analysis and exploration of the theoretical background of code-switching itself. Gardner-Chloros (2009) points out that few systematic academic studies into code-switching have taken place. Furthermore, the majority of existing research into code-switching has taken place in contexts where language alternation is either forbidden or severely restricted, such as in language classrooms (Moodley, 2007). Furthermore, Abalhassan and Alshalawi (2000) found that one challenge to studying code-switching between Arabic and English is a lack of information and academic studies about it. This review will attempt to explore the truth of this assertion. In order to present a broad analysis of the academic literature and what it has to say about code-switching the following paragraphs will look at definitions of code-switching and bilingualism, attitudes toward code-switching, various types and functions of code-switching and code-switching in Arabic and English contexts.

2.2 Definitions of Code-Switching and Bilingualism

Duality or bilingualism in language function is an ability possessed by all human beings which enable them to express themselves differently and put forward their diverse needs (Bassiouney, 2009). The aspect of bilingualism that this research focuses on is code-switching, which is when a conversation takes place in more than one language (Gardner-Chloros, 2009). Myers-Scotton (1993) considers code-switching to be part of the ‘communicative competence’ of the speaker, which is acquired from the community they belong to and can be used to communicate effectively with others from that community. Code-switching may be defined differently due to the variety of the discourse within it is studied. Many linguists also draw a parallel between the terms of code-mixing and code-switching. Nonetheless, the theoretical determination of this concept is quite similar amongst the sociolinguistic studies. Whilst code-mixing appears as a hybrid form of language combination, code-switching is observed as the speaker’s movement from one grammatical system to another. In this way, Akeel (2016) designates this term simply as ‘changing from and to languages’, mainly Arabic and English. Mahsain (2014) defines this term as the alternation of language within a conversation’ in the form of a word, a phrase or a whole utterance. What is more, Mahsain (2014) links the growing tendency of code-switching with the popularity of English-speaking media amongst Kuwaiti teenagers. Al Aqad (2018) understands the phenomenon of code-switching as the speaker’s transfer from one language frame to another, noting the variety of language norms for this process. Alghasab (2017) names code-switching as a ‘characteristics feature of bilingual speech, rather than a sign of deficiency in one or other of the languages in use’. Therefore, the Kuwaiti linguistic space is a favourable field for code-switching research due to the prevalence of similar language practices. Similarly, Rauf (2017) identifies code-switching as a phenomenon that occurs within bilingual speech and that is mainly witnessed in bilingual communities. Rauf (2017) further notes that code-switching can be considered to have taken place with two languages, varieties or styles of language are used in the speech of second or foreign language speakers. This broader understanding of code-switching is endorsed by Bassiouney (2009), Myers-Scotton (1998) and Gumperz (1982). For example, Myers-Scotton (1998) believes that code-switching can involve either switching between two different languages or two variants of the same language during conversation. This understanding of code-switching therefore includes diaglossic language alternation in understandings of code-switching (Bassiouney, 2009). Myers-Scotton explains that: Varieties is a cover term for selections at all linguistic levels so that choices between varieties include, for example, choices of one language rather than another, one dialect over another, one style or register over another, and one form of a directive or refusal over another’ (Myers-Scotton 1998, p.18). Similarly, Gumperz (1982) observes that code-switching can take place during conversations when two different grammatical systems or sub-systems are used by the conversationalists. Therefore, these understandings of code-switching indicate that language alternation can take place in circumstances involving two separate languages or two different dialects belonging to the same language.

2.3 Attitudes toward Code-Switching

Bassiouney (2009) explains that, until recently, code-switching has been looked down on in both the Arab and western worlds. This is because opinions on code-switching are heavily influenced by the idea that linguistic pluralism is central to the standardisation of language (Liu, 2019). For example, one Arab writer recently described switching between Arabic and a foreign language as ‘linguistic prostitution’ (Suleiman, 2004, p.227). One reason for such negative perceptions of code-switching is that is associated with the colonial past (Bassiouney, 2009). In such contexts, code-switching is, therefore, seen as a threat to maintaining ethnolinguistic identity (Karimzad and Catedral, 2018). Another reason why code-switching is sometimes perceived in a negative light is that it is associated with the speech of imperfect bilingual speakers who are incapable of carrying on a conversation in one language in different situations (Myers-Scotton, 1993). Therefore, code-switching is seen as evidence that the speaker lacks intellectual or linguistic ability or language proficiency. For example, the terms ‘Spanglish’ and ‘Tex-Mex’ are used in the Spanish context and the term ‘tuti-futi’ (meaning ‘broken-up’) is used in Panjabi to indicate that code-switching proves that the speaker lacks intellect or communication skills (Liu, 2019, p.2). On the other end of the scale, Gibbons (1987) found that Hong Kong students expressed hostility toward English-Cantonese speakers code-switching as they considered it to be irritating and to mean that they were trying to show off. Thus, in some instances, code-switching is seen as an attempt to hint at a higher status or as indicative of a lack of solidary with the wider group (Liu, 2019). However, other evidence indicates that code-switching is perceived positively in some lights. For example, code-switching can be seen as a positive expression of a bilingual identity (Liu, 2019). Code-switching can be used to increase understanding and enable speakers to widen and broaden conversations with others. To this end, Bouy and Nicoladis (2018) found that code-switching was perceived as a polite behaviour if it facilitated communication. Furthermore, Al-Qaysi (2016) observes that code-switching is viewed as useful in educational settings as it can be used to transfer and clarify ideas and meaning between teachers and bilingual students. Al-Qaysi (2016) came to this conclusion after studying code-switching in higher education settings in Oman. Hence, Liu (2019) concludes that code-switching is viewed in a positive light when it is seen to benefit the context in which it occurs.

2.4 Types of Code-Switching

Three main types of code-switching are of interest in the context of this research: tag-switching, intra-sentential, and inter-sentential. Tag-switching was first discovered by Shana Poplack during a study of Spanish-English code-switching in New York (Poplack, 1980). It is when a bilingual speaker mixes an utterance with an interjection (or tag) (Cantone, 2007). Examples of tags include the German weisst du (‘you know’) or the Italian capisci (‘do you understand’) (Cantone, 2007, p.57). Thus, this type of code-switching occurs on the tag of a sentence (Bell, 2014). Other types of code-switching refer to how code-switching occurs; that is, whether it takes place from sentence to sentence (inter-sentential code-switching) or occurs within a sentence (intra-sentential code-switching) (Cantone, 2007). In inter-sentential code-switching, there is no switching within the sentence or the clause, but in intra-sentential code-switching the code-switching occurs within the sentence (Chin and Wigglesworth, 2007). Because with intra-sentential code-switching the switch between languages occurs within the sentence, some researchers consider it to be code-mixing rather than code-switching (Kachru, 1978; Bokamba, 1988). However, others, such as Chin and Wigglesworth (2007) still consider intra-sentential instances in bilingual speech to be indicative of code-switching.

2.5 Factors of Code-Switching

According to Gafaranga (2010), the social and contextual factors, which are, connected to the methods of code switching as well as code mixing utilised by children. Slavkov (2015) has claimed that the most significant factors which precipitate the processes of code mixing and switching in children are three in number, such as Power, Identity and Transactions. The selection of languages is performed through such specific factors. This point of view has been supported by Gardner-Chloros (2009) through the Markedness Model. As per the specifics of this particular model, the element of being marked by others could be experienced by the speakers on a consistent basis whenever the linguistic choice under differential situations and types of verbal discourses could be involved. Furthermore, Bista (2010) has also drawn attention to the fact that in accordance to the relationships to the existing situation, the participants would select the languages which could seem to be suitable to them. As per the observations of Inuwa, Christopher and Bakrin (2014), a particularly significant factor has to be taken into consideration so as to determine the fundamental aspect of all of the code switching and mixing processes undertaken by children. This principle could be identified as the Negotiation Principle which could be illustrated as the selection of the most effective type of conversation input through which the set of obligations and entitlements which are coveted by the speaker to be applied in force while addressing the person of interest involving the verbal exchange(Nurtazina et al. 2019). According to Van Hell, Cohen and Grey (2016), this fundamental aspect is reflective of the notion that social relationships are formulated on the basis of choices associated with languages within the scope of conversations by people. The mainstream languages influence bilingual children when they come in contact with such languages at their formative years, especially during their academic educational phases at their schools (O'Shannessy, 2017). The parent languages could be characterised by the internal or home languages. According to Cenoz (2003), the formal languages taught at the schools or other academic institutions come in conflict with the internal language and thus, such taught languages are considered, from the perspectives of the learners, outside linguistic influences(Matras, 2010). This process has been illustrated by Gafaranga (2011) to be similar to that of the propositions of Gumperz (1982) involving the We-code and They-code. According to Matras et al (2010), the logical step of the children, after these initial variability management, could be understood to be the development of a balance in between such languages on the basis of speech situations. Such situations are required to be evaluated on individual case basis. Furthermore, the factor of language negotiation could be considered as one of the most significant influents on the process of code mixing and switching, especially between two speakers (Liu, 2018). However, Anastassiou and Andreou (2017) have considered this process to be unfair since it ascribes the linguistic choice completely to the speaker and does not consider the significant impact which gets emanated from the various other interlocutors such as the numbers of mixes and switches which could be required so as to formulate a norm within the circle of active listeners or people. According to Nurtazina et al (2019), the feedback acquired from the interlocutors, the overall significance and value proportion attributed to the individual languages and the quality attached to the linguistic group specifics within which the conversation could occur, cumulatively, impart an impact on the various produced switches and mixes as well as on the types associated with the same.

According to Slavkov (2015), situational factors often influence code switching through enabling the speakers to share certain features. This could be illustrated as that speakers could not only speak in the differential forms in their public engagements from their private discourses, but, they, could, be influenced through situational factors such as class, social status, education and age related experiences as well. Al-Rowais (2012) has provided the example that in various Arabic speaking countries, including Kuwait, where, switching from the low variety based dialect to the standard, high variety based dialect through the formal educational discourses and through the influence of the media, could occur quite frequently. Such switch, according to Alkhresheh (2015), could be identified to be related to the variations of the same language which is called the Diglossia. It does not involve the switch to any separate language. Such a process is further related to the message intrinsic considerations which highlight the pragmatic and linguistic elements through which code switching could become necessary so as to convey any specific message. Such instances could be identified as Quotations, Idioms, paraphrasing functionalities, repetition, provisioning of clarifications, hedging, emphasising and Interjections. The emphasis of such code switching process is firmly posited on the intention of the speaker to convey politeness, dampening or humour oriented effects of the speech. Roxas (2019) has observed that language negotiation has been a concept which could find sufficient ground regarding child speech from the earliest of stages. According to Toribio (2017), Vygotsky had emphasised on the fact that notwithstanding the position of the children within or outside the bilingual situation, the impact on such children is equal in terms of the elements which have been discussed earlier. In terms of the comprehensive measures of such impact, as it has been observed, according to Parafita Couto and Gullberg (2019) , that there exists extensive measure of similarity in between the children and adults in similar circumstances and this observation extends to the generation of responses in identical manner in between the adults and the children involving the process of social speech. In this context, Wang et al (2016) have confirmed that the process of Situational Code Switching could be a usual process for children with bilingual orientation on the basis of three aspects. These are the efficiency of separation, the measure of awareness of the children pertaining to their interlocutors and the existing circumstance for such children. The studies of Smolak et al (2019) have outlined the production data which have been derived from the evaluated bilingual children to support such observations. In this context, Al-Qaysi (2018) has determined that the vernacular of the children could be assessed as the emblem of a comparatively less potent social identity such as that of the Albanians within Greece. There is another perspective to it which has been observed by Muthiasari, Lio and Tambunan (2017), as a minority group which could have gained an elevated and comparatively significant status in comparison to the statistical representation measure it possesses. Such observations bring into effect the realisation that children, from an early age, are prone to the prestige and social status of their respective native languages. Thus, such measure of prestige and status are utilised by children in their social interactions with their peers from multiple perspectives. Furthermore, children are often considered to be extensively sensitive in terms of their power relationships pertaining to the social status of their languages. According to Edwards (2013), the children could also be considered to be pervasively sensitive towards the amount of frequency which mixing and switching could occur from the social interlocutors and through such interactions with their peers, children often come to modify the their speeches through variation and fluctuation of the rate of switching and mixing of codes pertaining to their preschool admission age (Wei,2013). From a literal perspective, the socio-linguistic proficiency of such children is probable to be initiated to be established, as per the development matrixes which are available to research, simultaneously with the initiation of their grammatical proficiency. Thus, such developments signify the emergence of actual production of languages which could be inculcated by the children to achieve bilingual conversing abilities (Butler, 2013). The social roles experienced by children could play the most significant part, cumulatively, the switching and mixing of language codes. However, it is required to be also taken into consideration that the individual characteristics demonstrated by the speakers could also be considered to be of extensive influence and significance. According to Baker (2011), the various longitudinal studies involving multilingualism previously performed by Serratrice (2012) through emphasis on the speech data derived from the siblings, have outlined that in cases of reception of linguistic experiences by children residing within the same family could acquire the similar bilingual characteristics. In such cases, when conditions could appear to have diverging of patterns of utilisation of languages, the style of communication and the personalities of the individual speakers could become the determinant on the basis of which code mixing and switching could be developed. To this effect, it is always necessary to specifically take into consideration the personal and social factors of the speakers while undertaking any examination of the bilingual or trilingual situation based presence of individual languages.

Furthermore, the social roles and responsibilities such as prestige, formality and solidarity could influence code switching and mixing. Monolingual speakers generally speak in different manner at their residential environments since the variations are extensive and this applied to Bilinguals since they utilise one language with their family and another within their professional domains. Furthermore, the professional setting could outline utilisation of different languages amongst the peers and while having to converse with superiors. On the other hand, the element of solidarity could be acknowledged within immigrant Kuwaiti communities at the UK since they could address each other in their native language and could perform code switching if any other participant to the conversation could commence to speak any different language. According to Cantone (2007), mismatching of language could be another factor which could influence the factor of code switching since the bilingual person could remain in ambiguity regarding the preference of the speaker. In cases where peers are required to be addressed in formal manners only, this format of code switching could take place. Furthermore, when the superiors demonstrate dual identities and such identities could require differential choices of language, the selection of language becomes vital since improper selection of language could culminate in multiple problems and this could be an especially significant aspect when the speaker and the listeners are from the same community or group and one could be the superior of the other.

2.6 Arabic-English Code-Switching

Arabic-English code-switching is commonplace amongst Arab speakers. For example, when studying code-switching behaviour of Arabic speakers with English as a second language living in the United States, Abalhassan and Alshalawi (2000, p.183) found that ‘without exception, all respondents switched into English to some degree.’ The majority of studies into code-switching in Arabic have focused on diaglossia or bilingualism in MSA or Classical Arabic and regional variants of the language (Eid 1988; Shaaban, 1978). For example, researchers such as Abdel-Jawad (1981) have looked at the relationship between code-switching between various vernacular forms of Arabic and the social prestige associated with different forms of the language. Therefore, Arabic-English code-switching is an interesting variant within an already-established area of code-switching scholarship. Thus, the following paragraphs will look at studies into Arabic-English Code-Switching and then specifically focus on Kuwaiti Arabic to English Code-Switching. In regard to Arabic-English code-switching, Al Hayek (2016) identified three key purposes of code-switching in an Arabic context. These were: (1) social in the sense that Al Hayek (2016) found that English was used to deliver a social message or, alternatively, to avoid using socially unacceptable phrases or expression in Arabic. (2) Al Hayek (2016) found that English was used when there was no Arabic word, phrase or equivalent existed and (3) to express scientific terms in an educational context. Al Hayek (2016) made these findings when examining code-switching amongst students studying at three public universities in North Jordan. These were the Al alBayt University, University of Jordan and Yarmouk University. The goal of Al Hayek’s study was to explore what Jordanian university students felt about code-switching between Arabic and English. The results of this study showed that male students were more likely to code-switch between Arabic and English for linguistic reasons than their female counterparts, who used English for social purposes more often than male students (Al Hayek, 2016). A similar observation was made by Akeel (2016), who looked at the functions and occurrences of code-switching in Arabic and English bilingual speech between two female Arabic participants. She found that switching is used primarily in life speech and mostly in elaboration. Additionally, Al Hayek (2016) found that Jordanian students living in urban areas tended to use English for linguistic or scientific purposes more often than those from rural areas. These additional functions of code-switching were also identified by Akeel (2016), who noted that the functions of code-switching in an Arabic context include attracting attention, highlighting points and demonstrating comprehension of subject-related terminology. Thus, Al-Hayek (2016) concluded that students attending university in the capital of Jordan felt they had a greater competence of English than those in cities outside the capital. This finding echoes Gibbons (1987) research into code-switching in Hong Kong which found that it was more common amongst students’ with higher levels of confidence in their bilingual language abilities. Another reason why code-switching between English and other languages takes place amongst Arab students is lack of comprehension. Alkhresheh (2015) explored by 100 Arab students studying at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in India code-switch. The study undertaken in January 2015 found that Arab students do codes-switch, mixing between Urdu and English in conversation. Alkhresheh (2015) found that the main reason Arab students did this was because they lacked knowledge of English. Alkhresheh’s (2015) conclusions are in line with research into code-switching that suggests that it occurs due to the lack of comprehension or poor linguistic skills (Myers-Scotton, 1993). Furthermore, Liu (2019) has identified a similar view of the purpose of code-switching in Spanish and Panjabi contexts. However, it is important to note that Alkhresheh’s study took place in India, which has an entirely separate primary language to Arabic so that whether speaking in Urdu or English, the students studied were speaking a second language, which would explain their difficulties in understanding everyday conversation or what they were being taught.

Al Hayek (2016), Akeel (2016) and Alkhresheh (2015) all studied Arabic-English code-switching or use of code-switching in conversations amongst Arabic students in an educational context. These studies are useful but do not shine much light on code-switching in other contexts. However, Al-Rowais (2012) looked at codes-switching between Arabic and English amongst a family group living in the United States. The family consisted of five individuals, an American mother, a Saudi Arabian father and their three children (two daughters, one son) aged between 31 and 21 years. The parents had both grown up in Saudi Arabia and moved to the United States as adults (Al-Rowais, 2012). The three siblings had grown up in the United States and learnt English as their first language, learning Arabic at preschool between the ages of four and five years (Al-Rowais, 2012). In adulthood, the siblings used Arabic to communicate with their father and their paternal grandparents (Al-Rowais, 2012). The siblings were more proficient in English and Arabic, therefore, less competent in Arabic than the average Arabic speaker (Al-Rowais, 2012). However, it was not clear if the siblings, their father and grandparents communicated in MSA or a dialectical form of Arabic. Al-Rowais (2012) found that the family engaged in both bilingual and monolingual conversations. In some instances, Arabic was chosen without prior discussion, but it was observed that it was either used on its own or switched with English for specific reasons, i.e. to enrich the meaning of the conversation or increase the effect of the expression being made (Al-Rowais, 2012). Nafa (2013) also looked at code-switching amongst five bilingual young adult Arabs living in the UK outside an academic context. The data for this study was extracted from informal, tape-recorded conversations lasting between five and six hours. Nafa (2013) found that code-switching occurred for functional reasons and participants used the two codes (Arabic and English) in a complementary fashion. This indicates that code-switching amongst young Arab adults living in the UK occurs for functional reasons. Significantly, Gafaraga (2001) concluded that code-switching is usually undertaken for practical reasons. Furthermore, Nafa (2013) found that code-switching strategies amongst the sample were dependent on their individual competence in the languages they were switching between. Similarly, Auer (1998) found that there is a relationship between code-switching and language competence. Therefore, Al-Rowais (2012) study suggests that code-switching between Arabic and English occurred for social motivations in a familial environment. Code-switching occurred for similar reasons between Arab students in a social context. On the other hand, Nafa (2013) indicates code-switching has a more functional purpose, another motivation also identified by the studies which occurred in schools, colleges and universities.

2.6.1 Kuwaiti Arabic-English Code-Switching

Elsayed (2014) investigated code-switching amongst bilingual Kuwaiti speakers and established that students frequently switch between English and Arabic when talking with their colleagues. Kuwaiti students switched between Arabic and English whilst chatting over WhatsApp to promote cultural diversity and to unite the two cultures (Elsayed, 2014). Agreeably, speaking Arabic all the time encourages the notion of belonging to the Arabic community. On the contrary, English is more common amongst foreigners. Thus, code-switching eliminates the concept of one’s origin to promote unity and diversity. Alternatively, Mahsain (2014) investigated code-switching amongst Kuwaiti speakers to identify reasons for code-switching and how communicators switch. The author found out that many youths in Kuwait switch between English and Arabic at all times to the extent that some find it challenging to stick to one language when conversing with peers (Mahsain, 2014). The researcher adds that people usually associate code-switching with immigration and colonisation. However, Kuwaiti speakers’ case emanates from globalisation, prestige, economic power, and prosperity (Mahsain, 2014). Consequently, students switch between Arabic and English to accommodate their colleagues practising a different culture to promote unity and to learn from each other. Globalisation promotes sharing culture, and language is one of the ways of life that can promote unity when emulated. Akbar (2007) investigated both students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards Arabic-English code-switching. Her research aimed at examining the way in which people from different age groups and schools evaluate the major spoken varieties in the Kuwait community. The students were recorded sharing personal experiences to members of the same age, gender and school type (government, English or bilingual schools). Akbar then selected three main spoken language varieties and presented the audios to teenagers from the various investigated school settings and teachers to rate them. The study revealed highly different attitudes by the various respondent groups. However, different results could have been obtained if the research had not been limited to a specific age group namely, teenagers. Alenezi (2010) looked at code-switching in the Kuwaiti school system in a more formal setting, considering the use of code-switching in the classroom. His study took place at the Allied Health Science College at Kuwait University and involved 17 students (14 female and 3 male). Alenezi (2010) found that when comparing students’ attitude toward using one language (English or Arabic) or alternating between both languages during teaching, the findings of this study indicated that students preferred it when teachers’ used code-switching during instruction. However, most students surveyed also agreed with the observation that using one language during teaching is beneficial to them (Alenezi, 2010). The observation that instruction in one language is desirable or preferable harks back to the idea that linguistic pluralism is crucial to the standardisation of language (Liu, 2019). In this sense, instruction in more than one language is often viewed as confusing or corrupting. On the other hand, Alenezi (2010) also found that code-switching was also useful in Kuwaiti education settings as it can be used to clarify ideas and meaning between teachers and students. This is because the students surveyed felt that code-switching is preferable as it makes instruction easier to understanding (Alenezi, 2010). A similar finding was made by Al-Qaysi (2016) when studying code-switching in higher education settings in Oman.

Alenezi (2010) also found that the majority of students he surveyed rejected the idea that code-switching in teaching might lead to confusion. Whilst students valued instruction in English, they also indicated that code-switching was useful in the classroom as it made it easier for them to understand the science subjects. For example, one student commented that: “When [the] teacher teaches in English and explains in Arabic, [then] I can understand very easily and this improves my language” (Alenezi, 2010, p.14). Significantly, Bouy and Nicoladis (2018) found that code-switching is viewed positively if it facilitates communication, it appears that code-switching in Arabic schools and higher education facilitates where most instruction is in English is viewed in a positive light for its use in clarifying ideas and meaning.

2.7 Triggering Hypothesis

Truscott and Smith (2017) have suggested that, apart from the various social discourse mechanisms which could impart sufficient influence on the code mixing and switching process, various theoretical constructs could become the sources of similar influences and the most critical of such theoretical constructs could be identified as the Triggering Hypothesis. Van Hell et al (2018) have suggested that this theoretical construct suggests that cognates could trigger code switching within the close environment not-withstanding the position of such cognates with the framework of the languages. According to Cahyani, Courcy and Barnett (2018), the various trigger words could be identified through the following groups:

1: Lexical transfers: These involve the lexical terms which could have their lineage to any particular language and could as well formulate certain sections of the lexicon of the speakers pertaining to other languages. Prominent examples are names of various foods.

2:Bilingual homophones.

3: Proper Nouns.

In this context, according to Hofweber, Marinis and Treffers-Daller (2019), such kinds of identified words could enabled the speakers to identify with the languages which they could talk in terms of familiarisation with the linguistic systems while having to converse in a sustained manner. Apart from this, various transversions (occasions of mixing of languages) could be also observed while one could characteristically refer to the process which is constituted by the syntactic and prosodic factors (Kumar, Mehta and Rasiwasia, 2019). Leshchenko and Ostapenko (2019) have argued that classification of triggers as Consequentials and Anticipational could be performed on the basis of the position of the lexical switch. Another specific category could be devised in the form of combining the previously mentioned categories. At the first one, the trigger word has to be followed by the switch, at the second category, the trigger word has to be preceded by the switch code and at the third category, the switch has to be put in between the two trigger words (Długosz, 2016). However, Hyams (2018) has signified that it is not possible to consider that such hypothesis could be utilised to effectively predict the alterations in codes which might occur at the vicinity of the trigger word. To this effect, it would not be entirely inaccurate to assume that the existence of such trigger words could increase the possibility of switching and mixing of codes simultaneously involving the position of the trigger within a particular sentence as well as the aspects associated with the pronunciation (Schotter, von der Malsburg and Leinenger, 2019). The structural relationship does not require the accreditation of any influence of either the trigger word or the elements of the adjacent sentences. Thus, it could be considered as a rigid surface phenomenon. Broersma et al (2020) have also considered that triggering could take place during the overlaps of meaning in between the various words within two divergent languages. For this reason, falsified cognates could not be expected to operate as triggers. The morphological and phonological differences exemplify the true triggers. Two specific examples could be Mpota (Greek) and Boot in English. This triggering hypothesis has been also studied and tested by various other researchers including (Witek, 2019). They have broadly agreed to the fact that, triggers, linguistically, could lead towards various code mixing. However, the elements such as situations and personal characteristics of individuals could influence such a process (White, 2020).

Conclusion

Analysis of the literature relating to Arabic-English and Kuwaiti Arabic-English code-switching suggests that code-switching in an Arab context occurs for the same variety of reasons it does in other language contexts. However, it is significant that most of the available literature into Arabic-English or Kuwaiti Arabic-English code-switching takes the form of academic papers, rather than academic books or journal articles, indicating that there is a lack of research into this fascinating phenomenon. Furthermore, whilst studies have been undertaken into code-switching between Arabic and English in general in the UK and code-switching between Arabic and English in Kuwait, no study into code-switching between English and Arabic amongst Kuwaitis in the UK has yet to be undertaken, making it a new and interesting area of research.

References

Abalhassan, K.M., and Alshalawi, H.G., (2000), ‘Code-Switching Behaviour of Arab Speakers of English as a Second Language in the United States,’ Intercultural Communication Studies, X (1), pp.179-188.

Ajtony, Z., (2012), Britain and Britishness in G.B. Shaw’s Plays: A Linguistic Perspective, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Akbar, R., (2007), ‘Students’ and Teachers’ Attitudes towards Kuwaiti/English Code-Switching,’ Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Cardiff University.

Akeel, E.S., (2016), ‘Investigating Code Switching between Arabic/English Bilingual Speakers,’ English Linguistics Research, 5 (2), pp.57-84.

Alenezi, A.A., (2010), ‘Students’ Language attitude toward using Code-Switching as a Medium of Instruction in the College of Health Sciences: An Exploratory Study,’ ARCLS, 7, pp.1-22.

Al Hayek, R.S., (2016), ‘Arabic-English Code-Mixing by Jordanian University Students,’ Dissertation presented to the School of Humanities and Communication Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Western Sydney University, Australia.

Alkhresheh, M.M.A., (2015), ‘Code-Switching and Mixing of English and Arabic amongst Arab Students at Aligarh Muslim University in India,’ International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 5 (2), pp.1-4

Al-Qaysi, N.J.M., (2016), ‘Examining Students’ and Educators’ Attitudes towards the use of Code-Switching within Higher Educational Environments in Oman,’ Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of Master of Education (Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages), Faculty of Education the British University in Dubai.

Amayreh, M.M., and Dyson, A.T., (1998), ‘The Acquisition of Arabic Consonants,’ Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 41 (3), pp.642-653.

Auer, P., (1998), ‘Introduction: Bilingual Conversation Revisited,’ in Auer, P., ed., Code-Switching in Conversation: Language, Interaction and Identity, London: Routledge.

Bernhardt, B.M., Stemberger, J., Ayyad, H., Ullrich, A., and Zhao. J., (2011), ‘Nonlinear Phonology: Clinical Applications for Kuwaiti Arabic, German and Standard Mandarin,’ in Guendouzi, J., Loncke, F., and Williams, M.J., eds., The Handbook of Psycholinguistic and Cognitive Processes: Perspectives in Communication Disorders, London: Psychology Press.

Bokamba, E.G., (1988), ‘Code-Mixing, Language Variation and Linguistic Theory,’ Lingua, 76, pp.21-62.

Bouy, T., and Nicoladis, E., (2018), ‘The Considerateness of Codeswitching: A Comparison of two Groups of Canadian French-English Bilinguals,’ Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 47, pp.361-373.

Dashti, A., (2015), ‘The Role and Status of the English Language in Kuwait: How is English used as an Additional Language in the Middle East?’ English Today, 31 (3), pp.28-33.

Elsayed, A.S.A., (2014), ‘Code Switching in WhatsApp Messages among Kuwaiti High School Students,’ A dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master Degree of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Department of Humanities & Languages and Social Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Gafaranga, J., (2001), ‘Linguistic Identities in Talk-in-Interaction: Order in Bilingual Conversation,’ Journal of Pragmatics, 33(12), pp.1901-1925.

Gibbons, J., (1987), Code-Mixing and Code-Choice: A Hong Kong Case Study, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Hackshaw, A., (2008), ‘Editorial: Small Studies: Strengths and Limitations,’ European Respiratory Journal, 32, pp.1141-1143.

Kachru, B., (1978), ‘Toward Structuring Code-Mixing: An Indian Perspective,’ International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 16, pp.27-46.

Karimzad, F., and Catedral, L., (2018), ‘“No, we don’t Mix Languages”: Ideological Power and the Chronotropic Organisation of Ethnolinguistical Identities,’ Language in Society, 47, pp.89-113.

Liebscher, G. and Dailey-O’Cain, J., (2009), ‘Language Attitudes in Interaction,’ Journal of Sociolinguistics, 13(2), pp.195-222.

Mahsain, F.H.M.H.A., (2014), ‘Motivations Behind Code-Switching among Kuwaiti Biligual Schools’ Students,’ Thesis Submitted to the University of Manchester for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities.

Nafa, H.B., (2013), ‘Code-Switching among Arabic-English Adult Bilinguals in the UK: Syntactic Structures, and Pragmatic Functions,’ A dissertation submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Master of Arts in the faculty of Humanities.

Poplack, S., (1980), ‘“Sometimes I’ll start a Sentence in Spanish y termino en espanol”: Toward a Typology of Code-Switching,’ Linguistics, 18, pp.581-618.

Rauf, M.M., (2017), ‘The Motivations of Code-Switching of International Bilingual Students’ Conversations at the University Level,’ Journal of College of Basic Education for Education and Human Sciences, 35, pp.473-484.

Redinger, D., (2010), ‘Language Attitudes and Code-Switching Behaviour in a Multilingual Educational Context: The Case of Luxembourg,’ Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD, University of York Department of Language and Linguistic Science.

Suleiman, Y., (2004), A War of Words: Language and Conflict in the Middle East, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tryzna, M.M., and Al Sharoufi, H., (2017), ‘English Language Education Policy in Kuwait,’ in Kirkpatrick, R., ed., English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa, New York: Springer.

Slavkov, N., 2015. Language attrition and reactivation in the context of bilingual first language acquisition. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 18(6), pp.715-734.

Inuwa, Y.N., Christopher, A.A. and Bakrin, H.B., 2014. Factors motivating code switching within the social contact of hausa bilinguals. IOSR Journal of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume, 19, pp.43-49.

Nurtazina, M., Alefirenko, N., Kesner, J. and Shakhputova, Z., 2019, July. Linguistic and Extralinguistic Factors of Code-Switching as a Process of Contacting Languages. In 2nd International Conference on Education Science and Social Development (ESSD 2019). Atlantis Press.

Cenoz, J. (2003). The role of typology in the organization of the multilingual lexicon. In J. Cenoz, B. Hufeisen, and U. Jessner (Eds) The multilingual Lexicon (pp. 103-116). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.

Nurtazina, M., Alefirenko, N., Kesner, J. and Shakhputova, Z., 2019, July. Linguistic and Extralinguistic Factors of Code-Switching as a Process of Contacting Languages. In 2nd International Conference on Education Science and Social Development (ESSD 2019). Atlantis Press.

Roxas, M.J.D.G., 2019. Factors, Forms and Functions: An Analysis of Senior High School Students' Filipino-English Code Switching Behavior. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2(2).

Parafita Couto, M.C. and Gullberg, M., 2019. Code-switching within the noun phrase: Evidence from three corpora. International Journal of Bilingualism, 23(2), pp.695-714.

Wang, Z., Lee, S.Y.M., Li, S. and Zhou, G., 2016. Emotion analysis in code-switching text with joint factor graph model. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing, 25(3), pp.469-480.

Smolak, E., de Anda, S., Enriquez, B., Poulin-Dubois, D. and Friend, M., 2019. Code-switching in young bilingual toddlers: A longitudinal, cross-language investigation. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, pp.1-19.

Edwards, J., 2013. Bilingualism and multilingualism: Some central concepts. The handbook of bilingualism and multilingualism, pp.5-25.

Wei, L., 2013. Conceptual and methodological issues in bilingualism and multilingualism research. The handbook of bilingualism and multilingualism, 2, pp.26-53.

Serratrice, L., 2012. The bilingual child. The handbook of bilingualism and multilingualism, 2, pp.87-108.

Van Hell, J.G., Fernandez, C.B., Kootstra, G.J., Litcofsky, K.A. and Ting, C.Y., 2018. Electrophysiological and experimental-behavioral approaches to the study of intra-sentential code-switching. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 8(1), pp.134-161.

Cahyani, H., de Courcy, M. and Barnett, J., 2018. Teachers’ code-switching in bilingual classrooms: exploring pedagogical and sociocultural functions. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(4), pp.465-479.

Liu, H., 2018. A socio-cognitive approach to code-switching: from the perspective of a dynamic usage-based account of language. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, pp.1-30.

Hyams, N., 2018. Chapter Twelve Commentary: Null Subjects in Child Language and the Implications of Cross-Linguistic Variation. Syntactic Theory and First Language Acquisition: Cross-linguistic Perspectives--Volume 1: Heads, Projections, and Learnability--Volume 2: Binding, Dependencies, and Learnability.

Broersma, M., Carter, D., Donnelly, K. and Konopka, A., 2020. Triggered codeswitching: Lexical processing and conversational dynamics. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(2), pp.295-308.

Kumar, S., Mehta, K. and Rasiwasia, N., 2019, November. Improving Answer Selection and Answer Triggering using Hard Negatives. In Proceedings of the 2019 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing and the 9th International Joint Conference on Natural Language Processing (EMNLP-IJCNLP) (pp. 5913-5919).

Schotter, E.R., von der Malsburg, T. and Leinenger, M., 2019. Forced fixations, trans-saccadic integration, and word recognition: Evidence for a hybrid mechanism of saccade triggering in reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 45(4), p.677.

White, A.S., 2020. Lexically triggered veridicality inferences. Handbook of Pragmatics: 22nd Annual Installment, 22, p.115.