How to Choose Language in Multilingual Communities?

In multilingual communities, more than one language is used.  It means that people living in this situation may speak more than one language. Thus, they can have linguistic repertoire. When interacting with others, they can choose a code or a variety which is appropriate with participants, topic and location. These factors are known as domains of language use.

These complexities of language choice form unique sociolinguistic situations. A speech community use two varieties (H variety and L variety) to cover all communities domains. This is called diglossia. Whereas poliglossia is described as situations where more than two distinct codes or varieties are used for distinguishable situations. Language choice is also determined by social distance, status, formality and function. The process of switching back and forth between one language or dialect and another within the same conversation is called code switching. It is a conversational strategy used to establish, cross, or break group boundaries; to create, evoke, or change interpersonal reaction. Situational code switching happens because of the situation changes while metaphorical code switching happens because of the topic changes.

In our daily life, we will be faced with different society who has the different language. It makes possible to us facing the problem of communication in different situation. And it also takes effect in the class when we taught foreign language for students.

Code-switching and code-mixing are well-known traits in the speech pattern of the average bilingual in any human society the world over, where both of them are the most obvious and widespread which used at different language.

Code Switching

Code-switching is a term in linguistics refering to using more than one language or variety in conversation. Sometimes the bilingual speakers getting problem when they having a conversation with another bilingual, so they switches their language from code to another in the construction of sentence to make the interlocutor understand, sometimes they do it with the same language background and it may do so many times. 

For example:

“good morning class….” , ok students, today we will study about part of body….

“selamat pagi anak-anak…”, hari ini kita akan belajar tentang bagian-bagian tubuh….. “now, listen your name! dengar namanya!!(when teacher absentees)

“Present sir!hadir pak!”(student answer) “good!! Bagus!!”(when student has answer the question well)

Code Mixing

Code-mixing is the other phenomenon closely related to code-switching. It usually occurs when conversant use both languages together, switch between two language to the extent that they change from one tongue to the other in the course of a single utterance. Code mixing takes place without a change of topic and can involve various levels of language such as phonology, morphology, grammatical structures or lexical items. We could not avoid that the first language is a big effect in second language. Interaction and mixing between languages result in various languages. Most of the people in the society mix their language with other language by borrowing or using pieces of foreign languages even sometimes they are still influenced by first language. 

Kachru in Nusjam defines code mixing as the term refers to the use of one or more languages for consistent transfer of linguistic units from one language into another, and by such a language mixture developing a new restricted or not so restricted code of linguistic interaction.  

Related to Kachru defines, we can see the reality in the class, when students saying something in English, they mix some language in the sentence that they don’t know how to say in English its mean combine the language between Indonesia and English. For example: 

“have you done your homework hasan? Yes sir, saya sudah kerja my homework.”

Maaf sir, kemarin I was sick.