Mechanisms of language maintenance in Ewe-English Codeswitching
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Date
2009
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Journal of West African Languages (1-2), pp. 221-243
Abstract
In Ghana, the pervasive use of codeswitching (CS) involving each indigenous language and English, the official language and sole medium of instruction in school from primary four, has brought about intensive contact between English and each of these languages. The paper focuses on Ewe-English CS (and occasionally Akan-English CS) and demonstrates that the code-switchers are using certain mother tongue (MT) maintenance mechanisms to preserve not only the grammar but also parts of the lexicon of their MT from interference from English. It is suggested that Ewe-English CS illustrates the kind of CS produced by bilinguals who live in speech communities alongside monolingual MT speakers (as is the case in most post-colonial settings). It is also suggested that this CS contrasts with that which is produced by second or later generation immigrants (e.g. immigrants in Europe and North America) whose MTs are becoming weaker because of their exposure to dominant host languages. The analyses provide some insights about the bilingual language competence of codeswitchers.
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Keywords
Codeswitching, bilingualism, language contact, language maintenance, Ewe