To Switch or Not to Switch: A Deep Dive Into Code-Switching
Picture a scenario where you are out with your friends, laughing and making inside jokes that no one else would understand. Now, picture that you go into office hours with your professor about a paper you have due soon, and you use the same tone and language that you had just used with your friends. For most people, this is a nightmare scenario that would have left you in your professor’s bad graces and questioning your competence and professionalism as a student. But why is this an issue, and why can we not speak to everyone in the manner that feels most authentic to who we really are?
Whether people want to be perceived as more polished or want to fit in better with a crowd, it is normal to adapt how one speaks and acts to fit the situation one is in. This is where the term “code-switching” comes into play. Nirupika Sharma, a Ph.D. candidate in social personality psychology at UC Berkeley, defines code-switching as “a strategy that people use to alter their self-presentation in different contexts and situations.”
The term was first coined in the 1950s by linguist Elinar Hauger, who described the phenomenon in the context of bilingual speakers who switch between two identities.
“Except in abnormal cases, speakers have not been observed to draw freely from two languages at once,” Hauger wrote. “They may switch rapidly from one to the other, but at any given moment they are speaking only one ... not a mixture of the two.”
Hauger’s description comes with its own historical biases, deeply rooted in the sociopolitical idea that bilingual speakers were “cognitively deficient.” This idea is long since outdated, and writers like Gloria Anzaldúa have reclaimed the idea to portray the rich expression that comes from being bilingual and of a mixed heritage culture. Now, the term has expanded to include presentations beyond language, such as style and body language.
While code-switching is something that everyone may adopt subconsciously, it is also found to be rooted in societal expectations that go beyond the issue of professionalism versus friendly banter. Because it requires people to adjust their communication style to fit in with the “norm,” it can lead to the erasure of one’s authentic self and limit free expression. This is especially true for those who are part of racial and ethnic minorities or members of the LGBTQ+ community; all individuals whose ways of speaking or self-expression can be considered “incorrect” or unprofessional by the greater majority.
The standards of professionalism are heavily associated with “whiteness” and embedded with ideals from white supremacy culture. American grassroots organizer scholars Tema Okun and Keith Jones describe how this ambient culture trickles down into the behavior of society as a whole.
“White supremacy culture at an organizational level is apparent in: the belief that traditional standards and values are objective and unbiased; the emphasis on a sense of urgency and quantity over quality, which can be summarized by the phrase ‘the ends justify the means’; perfectionism that leaves little room for mistakes; and binary thinking,” they wrote.
Such biases also affect the hiring process, changing how minorities approach the workplace as they prepare to be perceived in a certain way. A study conducted in 2023 by the state of California’s “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair” Act found that “Black women’s hair is 2.5x more likely to be perceived as unprofessional” by employers. Due to this bias, two-thirds of Black women who feel that they have to change their hair for a job interview are “54% more likely (or over 1.5x more likely) to feel like they have to wear their hair straight to a job interview to be successful.”
For Black women, their natural hair is an important part of their cultural identity that holds strong significance in the greater community as a symbol of authentic expression. Due to the pressure of a white standard, Black women are made to feel that their natural hair is a hindrance to their success in what should be a merit-based system. In this way, the hair bias becomes a classic example of how code-switching indicates deeper societal prejudices that prevent the celebration of diverse peoples and backgrounds.
These tensions that code-switching creates also contribute to inner conflict within individuals who find themselves forced to code-switch more often. People of the same racial or ethnic group might accuse others of “acting white” simply because they are more pressured into fitting in with the majority.
The switch between what feels like two different selves can create dissonance that prevents people from feeling connected with their identity. Instead, they feel as though they are always performing, a betrayal of themselves. Clinical Psychologist Dr Kia-Rai Prewitt explained that code-switching affects self-confidence in the long term.
“If you feel like you always have to put on this other identity or if you’re afraid that just being yourself would not be considered acceptable, then I think that code-switching can lead to feelings of low confidence,” Prewitt said.
Prewitt also touched on how outside perceptions are affected by obvious code-switching.
“[People might] notice that you behave differently with them than you do with people outside the office [and see you as] disingenuous or untrustworthy,” she said.
Indeed, the added pressure of having to be aware of how certain words one says might be perceived can make professional settings far more stress-inducing. Research Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina, Dr Darin Johnson, who studied the effects of code-switching on Black people in America, wrote about its long-term harm on one’s health and career trajectory.
“Black people and people of color may experience greater emotional exhaustion and career burnout through the added burden of decisions related to code-switching to avoid discrimination,” Johnson wrote.
While code-switching does raise issues regarding erasure of expression from racial minorities, ethnic minorities, and those who are deemed as outside the preferred norm, it can also encourage a sense of togetherness and open up conversations that might not otherwise happen.
Those who code-switch are able to communicate with others outside of their typical circle and hear from a variety of groups with different backgrounds and interests. It signals flexibility and adaptability, and, in some cases, a respect for the culture in which the code-switching is occurring. This can also be especially helpful for people who are multilingual or part of diaspora communities, as switching allows them to connect with the different parts of their identities more effectively.
Some studies have been done on how bilingual code-switching individuals demonstrate higher levels of cognitive function, especially when it comes to adaptability and problem-solving skills. In Dr Souad Kheder and Dr Edith Kaan’s 2021 study on cognitive control in bilinguals at the Brain Language and Bilingualism Lab at the University of Florida, they investigated how dense code-switching for proficient speakers would affect cognitive abilities. Their study reinforced previous findings that “dense code-switching correlates with enhanced cognitive control” by showing that “frequent practice with dense code-switching enhances cognitive control.”
Further, they found that “code-switching plays an important role in determining the scope of conflict adaptation.” These results work in direct contradiction to the historical belief that those who were bilingual were cognitively deficient in comparison to their monolingual peers. This false belief gained widespread belief across the United States and the globe due to high nativist and anti-immigrant sentiment in the 20th century, especially targeting people from countries that had non-white majorities.
With both the benefits and drawbacks of code-switching laid out, the question of whether code-switching is fundamentally good or bad yields a more complicated answer. On an individual level, it makes sense that adapting the way one presents themselves is necessary to appropriately communicate in different environments, such as when it comes to professional settings and speaking with people from different generations who do not share the same colloquialisms.
However, it is also crucial to remain cognizant of the toll that code-switching can have on one’s mental health. Once it crosses the line of just being a point of connection or a way to socialize and instead becomes a stressor that causes dread while interacting with different groups, it is imperative to take a step back and reassess the environments in which people find themselves. Of course, it is important to acknowledge that for many, especially in professional settings, code-switching is born out of necessity, and that simply taking a break is not an accessible option.
Of even greater importance is that education on code-switching and workplace biases becomes widespread so that people can gain awareness of their own prejudices and the microaggressions they might unintentionally display. For people who fit into the societal “norm” when it comes to communication, whether because of the way they speak, dress, and present because of their socioeconomic status, it is important for people to be aware of their inherent privileges so that minority voices do not continue to be disregarded.