Code switching among Belhadj Bouchaib University students Case study of master one English linguistics students

Abstract

Algeria represents a great area for the sociolinguistic studies because of the multilingual society that it has. This multilingual society is considered as the reason behind the birth of such a phenomenon that is code switching. People always switch between varieties and languages that exist and take place in all parts of the Algerian society. This extended essay attempts to find the factors and the reasons that lead Belhadj Bouchaib English students to switch between languages during their daily interactions. It also aims to discuss the sociolinguistic situation in Algeria with all languages and varieties that are used by students (standard Arabic, Algerian Arabic, French, Berber and English). Master one English students have been chosen as a sample of using this phenomenon since they always tend to use more than one language in their conversations. Providing them by questionnaire where their responds were taken in consideration in order to finish this work. Results show that students switch between language when they are in interaction with different students from other departments or because of the lack of vocabulary at the target language they were using.