Triggered codeswitching between cognate languages

Abstract

This study shows further evidence for triggered codeswitching. In natural speech from a Dutch–English bilingual, codeswitches occurred more often directly next to a cognate (or “trigger word”) than elsewhere. This evidence from typologically related, cognate languages extends previous evidence for triggering between typologically unrelated languages. With their large proportion of trigger words, the data provide insight into which words can trigger codeswitches; proper nouns, cognate content words with good and moderate form overlap, and cognate function words all induced codeswitching. Further, this study extends the evidence for triggered codeswitching from speech with relatively little codeswitching to speech with a high codeswitching density. In contrast with earlier work, not only words directly following a trigger word but also words directly preceding one were codeswitched more often than other words, suggesting that the scope of triggered codeswitching depends on the frequency of trigger words and of codeswitches in the speech.