I tend to think of “code switching” as tailoring my communication method, but I’m definitely on the spectrum so that has to be taken with a grain of salt.
As I mentioned, I’m from Cajun Louisiana(and made a concerted effort to not sound it thanks in no small part to the Catholic nuns I had as teachers) but I went to grad school in Ohio and it used to startle my housemates when I would speak to my father on the phone. I used to fall into an exaggerated Cajun kind of accent as a way to have fun and in the late 80s/early 90s that wasn’t an accent widely known or heard by Ohioans.
To my mind the difference between sitting with coworkers and friends and family and cod switching would mean crossing some kind of barrier, race/class/ethnicity to the local paradigm.
A kid growing up very Cajun/poor but then going to college and becoming a politician who “speaks well” to their constituents but “Cajun” to his family is code switching.
I have to catch myself because I tend to mimic the speaking styles of people if I’m talking to them for extended periods of time and I don’t want them to think I’m making fun of them. It’s just a technique to be relatable. Otherwise, I’d just sit there quietly.
I have to catch myself because I tend to mimic the speaking styles of people if I’m talking to them for extended periods of time and I don’t want them to think I’m making fun of them.
My dad was a pastor who had lived all over the place growing up. He’s really gregarious, and when they lived in the DC area it was always fun to see him adopt the accent of whoever he’s talking to within a sentence or two!
People who are naturally social, and who need to connect with people as part of their career, mimic speaking styles as well. I think of it as similar to mirroring the body language of your conversational partner; you’d have to be really exaggerated with it to come across as mocking them.
I tend to think of “code switching” as tailoring my communication method, but I’m definitely on the spectrum so that has to be taken with a grain of salt.
As I mentioned, I’m from Cajun Louisiana(and made a concerted effort to not sound it thanks in no small part to the Catholic nuns I had as teachers) but I went to grad school in Ohio and it used to startle my housemates when I would speak to my father on the phone. I used to fall into an exaggerated Cajun kind of accent as a way to have fun and in the late 80s/early 90s that wasn’t an accent widely known or heard by Ohioans.
To my mind the difference between sitting with coworkers and friends and family and cod switching would mean crossing some kind of barrier, race/class/ethnicity to the local paradigm.
A kid growing up very Cajun/poor but then going to college and becoming a politician who “speaks well” to their constituents but “Cajun” to his family is code switching.
I have to catch myself because I tend to mimic the speaking styles of people if I’m talking to them for extended periods of time and I don’t want them to think I’m making fun of them. It’s just a technique to be relatable. Otherwise, I’d just sit there quietly.
My dad was a pastor who had lived all over the place growing up. He’s really gregarious, and when they lived in the DC area it was always fun to see him adopt the accent of whoever he’s talking to within a sentence or two!
People who are naturally social, and who need to connect with people as part of their career, mimic speaking styles as well. I think of it as similar to mirroring the body language of your conversational partner; you’d have to be really exaggerated with it to come across as mocking them.