Code Switching

Some educators and public figures think code-switching is using different languages and/or dialects depending on where you are and/or who you're with, but (select ALL correct answers):

• They wrong

• Code-switching is actually using different languages and/or dialects in the same conversation, or even the same sentence

Code meshing (select ALL correct answers):

• Means switching between languages and/or dialects in the same conversation and/or sentence

• Is a term invented by Dr. Vershawn Young because many educators and public figures were confused about what code-switching is

• Is the same thing as the linguistic definition of code-switching

• Means switching between languages and/or dialects in different spaces and/or with different people - for instance, speaking one way at home and a different way at school and/or work

Examples of code-switching/code meshing include (select ALL correct answers)

• "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan

• "Should Writer's Use They Own English?" by Dr. Vershawn Young

• "To Live in the Borderlands Means You" by Gloria Anzaldúa

• "I Have a Dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

• "The World on the Turtle's Back"

In "Should Writer's Use They Own English?", Dr. Vershawn Young argues that (select ALL correct answers):

• Language prejudice is a form of racism

• People should be able to speak and write their own language/dialect wherever they are, not just at home

• People should code-switch to fit in and be successful

• Teachers should teach writing DEscriptively, not PREscriptively, meaning they should learn other dialects and teach writing in a variety of ways instead of just one

Which of the following provides the best summary of paragraph 5?

• Deggan Describes the disgust others felt by his use of language.

• Deggan describes the mistrust his friends felt when he spoke.

• Deggan describes the impact of code-switching amongst peers.

• Deggan describes his feelings of being an outcast.

Which of the following best supports Deggans’ claim that code switching is important?

• “For linguists, code-switching describes the simple act of switching between two languages in a conversation.” (Para. 7)

• “I watched as too many others from my hometown and other predominantly black cities struggled in a university setting where suddenly they really were a minority.” (Para. 20)

• “As more cultures join America’s melting pot, that’s why code-switching remains so valuable.” (Para. 26)

• “It’s a reminder to be fully who you are at all times, while making sure you’re understood well enough to be valued, respected and considered.” (Para. 27)

Which of the following claims does Eric Deggans develop in the text?

• Code-switching keeps people from expressing themselves by promoting one correct style of communication.

• It is important to recognize that code-switching can help a person succeed and celebrate all aspects of their identity.

• The United States consists of great cultural variety and no one should be discriminated against for speaking a certain way.

• Many successful people have used code-switching, but it is unfair to expect minorities to have multiple communication styles.

Which sentence supports the idea that code switching is something that is necessary?

• “That word — “guys” — might earn smiles and nods of understanding in that world, but it brought the ultimate insult in my neighborhood.” (Para. 5)

• “ But in today’s increasingly multicultural, multiethnic society, the term’s deeper meaning involves shifting between different cultures as you move through life’s conversations — choosing your communication style based on the people you’re dealing with.” (Para. 7)

• “Equal parts fitting in and making sure you’re understood, code-switching comes as naturally to me as breathing 38 years later — a transition I’m sure our first black president has also mastered.” (Para. 13 )

• “For these kids, being members of a minority group was an abstraction,5 because everywhere they turned in their own lives — from school to the corner store and their own street corners — they were surrounded by others who looked and acted like them.” (Para. 21)

What evidence does the author primarily use to support his message?

• Facts about the importance of code switching

• Examples of a code switching experience

• Statistics about successful code switching

• Scientific evidence of the effects of code switching

What is code-switching in the context of linguistics?

• A) The practice of alternating between two or more languages or dialects in conversation.

• B) The process of learning a new language from scratch.

• C) The ability to write code in multiple programming languages.

• D) The act of translating a text from one language to another.