Intra-Sentential and Inter-Sentential Code-Switching in Turkish-English Bilinguals in New York City, U.S

Abstract

This study explores patterns of intra-sentential and inter-sentential code-switching (CS) that are manifest in the speech of Turkish-English bilinguals in New York City, U.S. and investigates the influence of language proficiency on intra-sentential CS. The data were collected via a sociolinguistic survey and face-to-face interviews conducted with 20 bilingual speakers who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years. The results indicate that intra-sentential CS occurred at a higher rate than inter-sentential CS and speakers dominant in both Turkish and English used more intra-sentential code switching than inter-sentential CS. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ALSC 2012