“You are struggling forwards, and you don’t know, and then you … you do code-switching…” – Code-switching in ELF Skype conversations

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes how code-switching (CS) is used as a key strategy in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) interaction. We use data from CASE, a corpus of ELF Skype conversations in an informal setting between students from nine European countries. CS in our data is commonly used as a communication strategy. A quantitative analysis shows that it occurs in the majority of conversations and across all nationalities. Participants mostly switch to their own L1, frequently also to their interlocutors’ L1, rarely to other languages. CS co-occurs with other discourse features, in particular other instances of CS and laughter. Based on a qualitative analysis, we distinguish three motivations and functions of CS: On an interpersonal level, CS can underline group membership or cultural identity and create rapport, often in combination with laughter. CS is used to improve communication at the discourse level by conveying concepts that are untranslatable and possibly unknown to the interlocutor, in metalinguistic commentary, or to close lexical gaps. CS can also be used for addressee specification. Through its combined qualitative and quantitative approach, the article aims at contributing to the analysis of the context as well as the motivations and functions of CS in ELF.