Attitudes towards code-switching among adult mono- and multilingual language users

Abstract

The present study investigates inter-individual variation (linked to personality traits, multilingualism and sociobiographical variables) in attitudes towards code-switching (CS) among 2070 multilinguals. Data were collected through an online questionnaire. We found that high levels of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TA) and Cognitive Empathy (CE), and low levels of Neuroticism are linked with significantly more positive attitudes towards CS. Knowing many languages had a marginally positive effect. A more fine-grained analysis revealed that participants with mid-range global proficiency values were less positive towards CS than those at the lower and higher end of the scale. Participants who grew up in a bilingual family and in an ethnically diverse environment, and currently worked in an ethnically diverse environment had significantly more positive attitudes towards CS. Female participants and those with the lowest and highest levels of education appreciated CS most, and participants in their teens and twenties appreciated CS less than older participants. The findings thus show that the attitudes towards CS are linked to personality, language learning history and current linguistic practices, as well as some sociobiographical variables.

Attitudes towards foreign accents among adult multilingual language users

“…On the other hand, people with lower Tolerance of Ambiguity are more likely to be annoyed by this deviation from the standard accent and more inclined to feel that they should not be expected to adjust to understand the accented interlocutor. Dewaele & Li Wei (2013b) -using the same database as the present study -found similar patterns in attitudes towards code-switching: participants who scored high on Tolerance of Ambiguity and low on Neuroticism reported significantly more positive attitudes towards code-switching. However, these two variables were not linked with self-reported frequency of CS, but Extraversion was linked with higher self-reported CS (Dewaele & Li Wei, 2014).…”

“…Kalin and Ryoko's study (1978), in which participants matched foreign and standard-accented job applicants to either high or lower status vacancies, suggested that high degrees of ethnocentricity corresponded to greater discrimination. In terms of the "Big Five" personality traits (Costa & McCrae, 1992), research has linked extraversion and neuroticism to general cultural competence (Wilson, Ward & Fischer, 2013), and to code-switching (Dewaele & Li Wei, 2013b, 2014. However, no research has linked such variables specifically to attitudes towards FAs.…”

Phonological Changes in Cantonese-English Code-Mixing for ESL Learners in Hong Kong and Their Attitudes Toward Code-Mixing

“…A majority of studies on attitudes toward code-mixing lies in purely education contexts and language acquisition (Dewaele& Wei, 2014), and do not stemfrom aspecific phonologicalperspective as in this study. For ESL learners' attitudes toward code-mixing in Hong Kong, Lai (2010) concludedthat the participants who were ESL learners tended to attribute speaking a mixed-code to the ethnolinguistic identity of being a 'Hongkonger'.…”

“…Speakers with different proficiency levels in the embedded language (L2) might hold different attitudes toward codemixing.It was also found that bilinguals who actually practise code-mixing perceived it as an indication of poor linguistic proficiency (Chana and Romaine, 1984). Dewaele and Wei (2014) identified various independent variables such as personality traits and the degree of multilingualism that were linked to attitudes toward code-mixing, again not considering speakers' level of mastery of the embedded language. Regarding their attitudes toward the effects of code-mixing on both pronunciation and language learning, the authors recognized an absence of studies that compare the aforementioned trends inattitudes by English proficiency levels, the exception being Chen's research, which compareddifferences in their first language backgrounds (Hong Kong Cantonese and Taiwan Mandarin).…”

English-Medium Instruction in European Higher Education

“…This university sector often complains about their being disregarded in the internationalisation process and the dearth of studies which include them as active participants bears this out. According to Dewaele and Wei (2013), the changes observed in language attitudes vary depending on the changes in society at large and on the individual's environment in particular, which affects how different individuals view the same linguistic phenomenon. The dimension and fast implementation of English-medium instruction has outpaced empirical research (Dafouz, Camacho, and Urquia 2013), which is why there are still many questions that need to be answered.…”