Codeswitching and Stance

Issues in Interpretation

Bibliographic Data

ID12762164
AuthorsAlexandra Jaffe (California State University System, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume6
Issue1
Pages53-77
Publication date2007-06-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language Identity & Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1532-7701 • E-ISSN: 1534-8458
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15348450701341006
OpenAlexW1482726609
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited19

This article explores the long-standing problem of ascribing meaning to individual acts of codeswitching. Drawing on ethnographic data from bilingual classrooms in Corsica, I situate the analysis of codeswitching within the more general question of the interpretation of speaker stance, which is defined as speakers' positioning with regard to both the content and the form of their utterances. Close analysis of recorded classroom interaction focuses on the teacher's codeswitches, and documents the way she distributes Corsican and French across different classroom discourse functions. This analysis reveals how the teacher simultaneously strives for balance and parity between the two languages, while privileging Corsican as a language of discovery and learning. In addition, the analysis reveals how this relates to the social and political context of Corsican language learning. Finally, this data is used to make an argument for the necessity of an ethnographically grounded analysis of speaker intentions and st

Argument (complex analysis · Context (archaeology · Corsican · Ethnography · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Sociology · History · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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