I.

Introduction
Socilinguistics is the study of how language serves and is shaped by the social nature of
human beings. In sociolinguistics, we know about bilingual or multilingual and code
switching or code mixing. Code switching or code mixing will happen if the person use
bilingual or multilingual. Bilingual or multilingual is person who has ability to use two
languages. In sociolinguistics, code is defined as a system of communication spoken or
written, such as language, dialect, or variety.
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II. Bili(Multi)lingualism
Monolingualism is the ability to use only one language, while bilimuliti!lingualism is the
ability to speak more than one language. "sually people who bili or mulitilingualism such as
are immigrants, visitors, or children of #mixed$ marriages. In many parts of the world it is %ust
a normal re&uirement of daily living that people speak several languages' perhaps one or
more at home, another in the village, still another for purposes of trade, and yet another for
contact with the outside world of wider social or political organi(ation. )hese various
languages are usually ac&uired naturally and unselfconsciously, and the shifts from one to
another are made without hesitation.
Bidialectal
)hey are only different varieties of the same language.
Example: a Chinese who speaks both Mandarin and Cantonese will almost certainly insist
that he or she speaks only two dialects of Chinese, %ust as an *rab who knows both a
collo&uial variety and the classical.
*n interesting example of multilingualism exists among the )ukano of the northwest
*ma(on, on the border between Colombia and Bra(il. )he )ukano are a multilingual people
because men must marry outside their language group+ that is, no man may have a wife who
speaks his language, for that kind of marriage relationship is not permitted and would be
viewed as a kind of incest. Children are born into this multilingual environment' the child$s
father speaks one language, the child$s mother another, and other women with whom the
child has daily contact perhaps still others. ,owever, everyone in the community is interested
in language learning so most people can speak most of the languages.
Stable and unstable bilingualism
Stable bilingualism refers to situations where speakers in a single community
maintain two or more languages, unstable bilingualism refers to contact situations that are
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short-lived and lead to language shift. Stable bilingualism occurs where the languages
involved are, in ,ock.s words /more or less e&ual in strength, especially if they are more or
less e&ual in prestige..
Example: In the countries around the Mediterranean in the centuries before and after the
expansion of 0oman power, the use of the 1atin and 2reek languages provides a textbook
example of stable bilingualism, and the contact situations between these two languages and
local varieties seem to show unstable bilingualism.
III. Code Switching or Code Mixing
3eople sometimes switch code within domain or social situation. 4hen there is some
obvious change in the situation. *ctually, the meaning of code switching or code mixing is
witching from one language to another language by some reasons. * speaker may similarly
switch to another language as a signal of group membership and shared ethnicity with an
address. 5ven speakers who are not very proficient in a second language may use brief
phrases and words for this purpose.
* ' oke class, let open your book page 67. 8ou should read it first, then I.ll explain it
to you. 9alau nggak baca, nanti susah memahaminya. switch in English and
Bahasa Indonesia).
B' oke
)his kind of code switching is sometimes called emblematic switching or tag
switching. )he switch is simply an inter%ection, a tag, or a sentence filler in the other
language which serves as an ethnic identity marker.
Switches motivated by the identity and relationship between participants often express
a move along the solidarity : social distance. * switch may also reflect a change in the other
dimensions, such as the status relations between people or the formality of their interaction.
More formal relationship, which sometimes involve status differences too. Such as doctor -
patient or administrator - client are often expressed in the , variety or code.
In code switching or code mixing, we know '
Situational code switching
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Metaphorical code switching
Conversational code switching
Situational Code Switching
Situational code switching is switching from one code to another for reasons which
can be identified. If we knew the relevant situational or social factors in advance in such
cases, we would predict the switches.
Metaphorical Code Switching
Metaphorical code switching also called as code mixing. )his term, is switching can
be identified with reasonable confidence. )hough it would not be possible to predict when
a switch will occur without knowing what a speaker intended to say next. It is often
possible to account for switches after they have occurred.
*ctually, code mixing is mixing up codes indiscriminately or perhaps because of
incompetence, whereas the switches are very well-motivated in relation to the symbolic or
social meanings of two codes. )his kind of rapid switching is itself a specific
sociolinguistics variety.
Conversational Code Switching
Conversational code ; switching occurs when a conversant uses both languages
together to the extent that they change from one language to another in a single situation or
single topic in one conversation. It used among bilinguals and multilinguals - a rich
additional linguistic resource available to them. By switching between two or more codes,
the speakers convey affective meaning as well as information.
)he <unction of Code Switching or Code Mixing
- )o express affective rather than referential meaning
- )o achieve a range of interesting rhetorical effects
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IV.Conclusion
<rom our discussion above, we can conclude that however, in the situation of
bilimultilingualim! is that bilingual, or multilingual, situation can produce still other effects
on one or more of the languages involved. *s we have %ust seen, it can lead to language loss,
example among immigrants. Bilingualism is actually sometimes regarded as a problem in
that many bilingual individuals tend to occupy rather low positions in society and knowledge
of another language becomes associated with #inferiority.$ Bilingualism is sometimes seen as
a personal and social problem, not something that has strong positive connotations.
Code-switching can be a very useful social skill. )he converse of this, of course, is
that we will be %udged by the code we choose to employ on a particular occasion. 3eople have
distinct feelings about various codes' they find some accents #unpleasant,$ others #beautiful$+
some registers #stuffy$+ some styles #pedantic$+ some languages or kinds of language
#unacceptable$ or their speakers #less desirable$+ and so on. 4e cannot discount such
reactions by simply labeling them as instances of linguistic prejudice.
e!erences
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,olmes, =anet. >??@. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 3earson 5ducation
4ardaugh, 0onald. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 5ngland' 4iley-Blackwell
Clackson, =ames. Stable and Unstable Multilingualism.
http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/faculty/seminars_conferences/multilingualism/abstracts/
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