(no subject)

[randomness]

I'm reposting this post from the Economist's Johnson blog for bloodstones, who explained code-switching to me a while back, and digitalemur, who more recently asked me to translate Gemütlichkeit.

Mixing languages: Que es ese code-switching?

An excerpt:

"There is no reason to say Weltanschauung for "worldview", unless you just don't get enough chances to type two u's in succession and have tired of writing about vacuums."

The comments are worth a glance, too.

Comments

[bloodstones.livejournal.com]

How many people does your father regularly interact with who are fluent in polish? My understanding is that code switching happens a lot more frequently if there's a community. I saw a talk at a conference a few months ago that suggested code switching was often deeply rooted in community identity, at least in latino communities in the US. As part of a given subculture (there's regional variation) it's expected that everyone will code switch - it's a way of identifying other members of the community, and confirming your own membership.

Also, thanks r_ness, I do love thinking about code switching, and this was funny.

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

For most of my life, Dad hasn't been around many other Polish speakers. His parents had died by the time I was a toddler, and we moved from northern NJ to southeastern CT, and thus away from a sizeable Polish speaking community, when I was four.