Bilingual Code-Switching in Urban Interviews: A Sociolinguistic Field Study

Thesis Abstract

Bilingual code-switching operates at the intersection of language choice, social identity, and communicative efficiency in urban conversational contexts, yet empirical accounts in interview settings remain underexplored, particularly regarding how situational factors shape language alternation strategies and perceived speaker credibility. This study aims to investigate the patterns, motivations, and social meaning of bilingual code-switching in urban interview discourse, with objectives to (1) document the frequency and-triggering conditions of code-switching across interviewer-respondent turns, (2) identify the communicative functions coded as discourse markers, topic shifts, emphasis, or stance-taking, (3) examine the relationship between speaker socio-demographic variables (age, education, immigration background) and code-switching propensity, and (4) assess respondents’ and interviewers’ perceptions of bilingual alternation in terms of rapport, authenticity, and power dynamics. Grounded in the sociolinguistic theories of Polanyi’s code-switching typology and Gumperz’s conversational code-switching functions, as well as the social identity approach to language and stance theory, the study hypothesizes that code-switching frequency correlates with interview direction (informational vs. exploratory), topic domain (professional vs. everyday talk), and interlocutor status, and that perception of switching varies with listener familiarity and perceived language legitimacy. The methodology adopts a mixed-methods design combining quantitative corpus analysis with qualitative interpretive coding. The population comprises 250 urban residents aged 18–60 and 20 professional interviewers recruited from three metropolitan districts with high bilingual prevalence. A stratified random sample yields 200 interview transcripts and 60 hours of audio-recorded semi-structured interviews. Data collection instruments include a standardized interview guide in two dominant languages, high-quality audio recorders, and a coding schema for code-switching instances aligned with explicit functional categories (topic management, stance signaling, solidarity marking, and indexical meaning). Instrument validity is established through expert triangulation and inter-coder reliability checks (Cohen’s kappa ? 0.80). Data analysis employs (i) computational ethnography with turn-by-turn annotation to quantify code-switching frequency, duration, and position within discourse, (ii) logistic regression to model the probability of code-switching as a function of topic, role of speaker, and demographic variables, and (iii) thematic analysis to interpret the functional motives and social meanings attached to switching instances. A nested model will be specified to examine interaction effects between interview type and language pair, and a post-hoc sensitivity analysis will test the robustness of results across control variables. Expected findings include a higher incidence of code-switching in exploratory and rapport-building segments, with switches predominantly serving stance, emphasis, and audience design. It is anticipated that bilingual respondents with higher acculturation will exhibit greater switching for alignment and identity signaling, while less acculturated individuals may switch to manage perceived linguistic legitimacy. Interviewers are expected to mirror respondents’ switching patterns, reflecting reciprocal accommodation, but with asymmetries in authority that modulate perceived credibility. The study anticipates that code-switching correlates significantly with topic domain and interlocutor status, and marginally with age, education, and immigrant background, after controlling for language dominance and topic complexity. The contribution to knowledge lies in methodologically integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses to elucidate the bidirectional functions of code-switching in urban interview contexts, advancing theories on language choice, stance, and identity in sociolinguistics. Findings will inform best practices for interviewer training, particularly in culturally and linguistically diverse urban settings, by illustrating how deliberate or spontaneous switches influence rapport, data quality, and respondent engagement. The study concludes with practical recommendations for capturing and interpreting bilingual data in fieldwork, including standardized transcription protocols, culturally sensitive interviewing techniques, and analytic frameworks that accommodate the social semiotics of language alternation.