Do Only Balanced Bilinguals Code Switch? Examining Language Use in Urban Ghana
Do Only Balanced Bilinguals Code Switch? Examining Language Use in Urban Ghana

Summary/Abstract: It has often been argued that switching codes is a phenomenon among interactants who are fluent in two languages or interactants who share a common bilingual identity. The present study shows that Ghanaians who cannot speak English fluently also switch codes when they encounter people whom they do not share a common indigenous language with. They draw on the little English they have in their linguistic repertoire in order to communicate with interactants who speak English fluently but do not speak any Ghanaian language. It was realized that mainly, these non-fluent English speakers converge by switching to English to reduce the language barrier.

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