Embarrassment As a Trigger Factor of Code-Switching From Arabic to English in Egypt: A Case Study in Sociolinguistic | ||
| مجلة بحوث کلية الآداب . جامعة المنوفية | ||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 20 July 2024 | ||
| Document Type: المقالة الأصلية | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/sjam.2024.303328.2362 | ||
| Author | ||
| Samar Magdy* | ||
| Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Abstract | ||
| This study attempts to investigate the phenomenon of code-switching between Arabic and English in social discourse among high, well-educated, and young people in Egypt. The study aims to dig deeper to extract the trigger factors of such occurrences, namely when people encounter embarrassing situations in their daily conversations. Nowadays, most young Egyptians use English words in certain situations that might embarrass them. To disguise their feelings and soften the impact of these words in the context, they code-switch (CS) from Arabic into English. To obtain accurate results, the study relied on a qualitative analysis approach that combines personal observations and a questionnaire to examine the phenomenon appropriately. The questionnaire was designed to categorize different types of embarrassing topics to be evaluated by participants. These topics include certain parts of the human body, types of clothes, taboo words, and specific medical conditions. Many studies have examined the use of CS as a prestigious way of communicating and expressing solidarity between Arabic and English. Other studies have dealt with switches that take place in classrooms. However, only a few studies have paid attention to this angle of CS, especially in Egypt. The results conclude that gender and the circumstances surrounding the conversation are essential factors in CS since females tend to switch codes more than males in embarrassing situations. According to the study, CS serves the socio-pragmatic function in terms of helping young, well-educated bilinguals express themselves in a second language that would be distressing in the first. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Code-switching; Embarrassment; Sociolinguistic | ||
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