Code Switching in Algeria: Case of Master One English Students at Tlemcen University

Abstract

Algeria is considered as multilingual country where more than one language is used for communication . The languages used are Standard Arabic , Algerian Arabic , Berber and French . The bilingual community is characterized by some phenomena like code switching, code mixing and borrowing . Code switching has attracted the attention of many sociolinguists. In this study, the researcher tries to find out the different reasons behind bilinguals’ switching and mixing of codes within the same sentence . The present research paper attempts to raise the following research questions:  Why do bilingual people switch from one language to another?  Why do they mix languages within one sentence? Therefore, the following hypotheses have been formed:  Bilinguals switch between languages according to the person they are speaking with, the topic , the context and the formality of the situation .  Bilinguals mix languages within one sentence to express a word that does not have a direct equivalent in the other language , to include someone in the conversation or to exclude someone from the conversation . The fundamental aim of the study is to shed light on the phenomenon of code switching . The study will also discover the various reasons of code switching . In this research work , the population chosen is university students . The sample is fourty English students . They have been selected because they are in contact with more than one language . A questionnaire has been selected as a research tool to collect data .