Reading Comprehension

PT116 · S1 · P2 · Q12 Code-Switching

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In many bilingual communities of Puerto Rican Americans living in the mainland United States, people use both English and Spanish in a single conversation, alternating between them smoothly and frequently even within the same sentence.

Topic

The practice and underlying reasons for code-switching between English and Spanish among Puerto Rican Americans in the mainland United States.

Framework

Answer / Explain

Main Point

Most code-switching among Puerto Rican Americans can be explained by situational and rhetorical factors, even though there are some exceptions; the language mix typically depends on the context of the conversation, but sometimes people switch for subtle, expressive reasons. ( - end of P1, and the final paragraph gives examples of exceptions and rhetorical reasons.)

P1: Introduction to Code-Switching

Puerto Rican Americans in the US often switch between English and Spanish during conversations—even in the same sentence. This common practice is called code-switching, and for the most part, it's explained by subtle situational or rhetorical factors.

P2: How Social Context (Domains) Influences Code-Switching

Linguists say code-switching mostly depends on the social context—where you are, who you're with, and what's being discussed (called "domains" like family, friendship, etc.). A study had students decide which language they'd use in various social situations, and generally, when the situation was straightforward or “congruent,” students were consistent and agreed; when the factors didn’t naturally fit together, there was less agreement about language choice.

P3: Exceptions—Rhetorical Code-Switching and Subtle Use

Not all code-switching fits these situational patterns; sometimes people switch languages for expressive or rhetorical reasons, even if the context suggests otherwise. For example, a family thought they only used English at home, but recordings showed brief Spanish usage—mainly to express attitudes like intimacy or humor more strongly.

12.

Which one of the following does the passage offer as evidence that code-switching cannot be entirely explained by situational factors?

  1. Linguists have observed that bilingual

    Unrelated to Goal

    This doesn't have anything to do with the Puerto Rican family, which is our answer to this question. This is talking about high school students.

    3% picked this

  2. Correct

    Code-switching sometimes occurs in conversations

    Why this is right

    This is a very aloof reference to the Puerto Rican family, but we can match up this answer with the final paragraph better than we can any other answer. The first sentence of that last paragraph says that code-switching occurs even when the domain would lead one not to expect it. The Puerto Rican family who occasionally peppered some Spanish into their predominantly English conversations had "no change in situational factors". Since the domain was family and the setting was home and there were no changes in situational factors, we would not expect code-switching. We would expect a single language. In fact the family was actually convinced they were only using a single language.

    Skill tested: Locate Detail · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    44% picked this

  3. Bilingual people often switch smoothly

    Too Strong: often

    This is very similar to (B). In fact, if (C) is true, then isn't (B) still true? If bilingual people often code-switch even when there's no change in situational context, then "code-switching sometimes occurs in conversations whose situational factors would make you expect one language" is also true. Any time one answer implies another, the first one can't be correct because then it would mean that two answers are correct. We only have one example cited in the final paragraph as evidence, so we can support sometimes better than we can support often. This seems like an unsatisfying technicality on which to base eliminating this answer but the rest of this answer does seem to match up with the Puerto Rican family. They are bilingual people who occasionally switch smoothly between two languages even when there's been no change in situational context. If I say, "I occasionally go to that frozen yogurt place in Martinsburg", is that the same as saying, "I often go to that fro-yo place in Martinsburg"? No, occasionally and often connote different things, even though they don't have an exact numerical definition. Meanwhile occasionally and sometimes are a closer match.

    28% picked this

  4. Puerto Rican Americans sometimes use

    Out of Scope: expecting Spanish

    In the Puerto Rican family example, there isn't any text suggesting that we would expect Spanish to be the primary language.

    19% picked this

  5. Speakers who engage in code-switching

    Bad Match

    The example of the Puerto Rican family wasn't saying that, "they code-switched because situational factors had changed, even though they didn't realize that factors had changed." The example was saying, "they code-switched, despite the fact that situational factors had not changed."

    6% picked this

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