Introduction

Abstract EVERYDAY conversations in two languages are the subject-matter of this volume. All over the world bilinguals carry on such conversations, from Hispanics in Texas, who may alternate between Spanish and English in informal in-group conversations, to West Africans, who may use both Wolof and French in the same conversation on the streets of Dakar, Senegal, to residents in the Swiss capital of Berne, who may change back and forth between Swiss German and French in a service exchange. Contrary to some popular beliefs, such conversations are not mainly a transitional stage in a language shift from dominance in one language to another. It is true that many immigrants who are in the process of language shift do engage in codeswitching, but this form of conversation is also part of the daily lives of many ‘stable’ bilingual populations as well. Neither is codeswitching only the vehicle of social groups on the socio-economic ‘margins’ of society; for example, in every nation, successful business people and professionals who happen to have a different home language from the language dominant in the society where they live frequently engage in codeswitching (between these two languages) with friends and business associates who share their linguistic repertoires. Consider Punjabi-origin physicians in Birmingham, England, Lebanese-origin businessmen in Dearborn, Michigan, or Chineseorigin corporate executives in Singapore.