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Danielle Boyington-Warmack Prof. C Ludlow Mattson First Year Composition October 18, 2013 Why Code-Switching? Code-Switching is the act of self-customizing a persons style of speech in order to accurately address in an appropriate mannerism the audience they are speaking to. The concept was formed in the 1970s by a group of parents of African American students at Martin Luther King Elementary School in Ann Arbor who believed their children were being undermined in that they were not being taught standard English in the school system (Heather Coffey, History of Code-Switching, LearnNc.org). Although It is a recently formed concept, as it was identified in the 1970s by , but is a valid and a habitually applicable one at that, as it truly does explain the way that humanity operates. How Code Switching Explains The World by Gene Demby, explains the idea that Code-Switching is a daily application of language and communication that influences outward appearance and is draws from elements of culture, ethnicity and family, a notion that is also exemplified by the personal experiences of Amy Tan in her essay Mother Tongue. Code-Switching as a method of communication is something that is unarguable and can be shown throughout everyday life. It is a method used throughout the world and is not limited but is subjective to every culture. The distinct differences within the way people live- a Wikipedia simplified definition of culture can greatly affect the way in which people speak,

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and the certain activities for appropriate forms of speech. Take Gene Dembys example, where Barack Obama addresses the assistant coach of the American Olympic basketball team, a Caucasian man, in a formal manner. He offers the coach a conventional handshake; very professional. Moments after, he congratulates an African American basketball player with an informal, but lightly intimate My man! Although you could dismiss the sentimentality of Obamas greetings, it is very easy to distinguish the kinship between Barack Obama and said player; they are both of the same ethnicity and therefore feel comfortable articulating in a manner which theyve undoubtedly picked up from similar cultured backgrounds. Family is one of the most influential interpersonal aspects of peoples lives. They are the foundation of raising a child; they are the educators of mannerisms, attitude, habits, and language. It is not a surprise that Code-Switching is greatly predisposed by the way a family raises a child. Tan serves as a prime citation for which family effects your idiosyncrasy of language. She personally regards that her mother, a native Mandarin speaker, might have had an effect on limiting [her] possibilities in life (page 278, Amy Tan). Evidently this is not the case, as by turning away from familial and societal factors, she has acclaimed herself as an award winning and successful author. Sh refused to see her mother as a boundary for her success, and instead appreciates that her mother simply expresses herself in a language not native to her surroundings in America. Similarly, Demby cites two mothers who run SpanglishBaby a website devoted to teaching children to become fluent in both Spanish and English. Family prominently affects the language of a child, and in knowing that, many people from different backgrounds and ethnicities are preparing their children to Code-Switch, before they are even aware of what the term means. This is significant in raising a child, and will evidently influence many future parents to deeply consider the languages they teach their children. Amy Tans life

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would have been significantly different, if not better, had her mother decided to learn English and teach Tan to be fluent in both languages. Besides Code-Switching being influenced by the antecedent ideas, it can also alter a persons outward appearance and persona. The way a person speaks and acts is going to determine the way the world identifies that person. For example, Demby refers to celebrities, specifically the Queen B, also known as Beyonce Knowles. He cites her mannerisms from a video of Beyonce playing billiards in a pool hall, where she comes off as silly, unrehearsed, a little mischievous; a way in which we wouldnt be able to view her on the red-carpet, or a Beyonc concert. As a celebrity who makes her living by appearing to the world as a beautiful and almost flawless singer/actress, she must speak and act in ways which resemble a well puttogether woman. This is a contribution to the way celebrities make their living- they must appeal to the public as influential and exceptional human beings. On a smaller scale, the average person often attempts to do this in public or professional settings. Similarly, it can be assumed that because Amy Tan managed to succeed in the American business of literature, she must have adopted the same appeal to the public as an influential and exceptional human being. This is why Tan felt that her mother could have served as a set-back when it came to her choices in the way she wanted to pursue her life. Had her mother received limelight, readers might have assumed that Amy Tan, as well, was uneducated or too foreign to consider opening her books. Vocal language is humanitys sole, go-to method of expression. Language is what we use, as Tan states to evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth, and there is no doubt to that statement. This is why reading and writing in any form, whether it is novels, signs, newspapers, and magazines are so prominent in the way the humans live. Art

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forms like music, painting, dancing, are too subjective to the interpreter to apply as a basic form of communication. As humanitys most utmost and ideal form of communication and expression, we rely on language to function as a more intelligent and communicative species. This is ultimately why Code-Switching explains the way our species works. It is family, ethnicity and culture which affect our language and use of it, while we rely on Code-Switching to serve as a distinguisher of identity. Evidently, it is important to understand how Code-Switching works and the influences behind code-switching mannerisms.