College Essay On Code Switching

I walk into the club feeling like P. Diddy, grab my glasses, I 'm out the door; I 'm gonna hit this city. Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack- and then my grandmother walks in. I am about to experience the painful yet exciting effects of code-switching. A term used to describe the different personas we create in different settings. Code-switching happens in most settings, although it may be more noticeable in one setting than another. In my Ke$ha experience, I was about to leave for the night and not come back. I was caught up in the party code. This code describes me when I am hyped and looking to have a good night. When I am in this code, I tend to use less formal language such as, “ Yo” and “What’s cookin’ good lookin?” The tone of my voice usually gets relatively high-pitched and I sometimes experiment with different accents (and fail completely). These are personality traits that I would not be caught dead sharing around people like my grandma. This brings me to the “grandma and elder” code. When I surround myself with elderly people like my grandmother, for some reason I get the urge to talk to them in a calming, relaxed voice somewhat like a yoga instructor. I like to appear as a friendly person that the girl-scouts would be begging to have in

To many, code-switching seems like a bad thing, and I guarantee some that are guilty of it will deny it at first chance. However, I have uncovered many benefits of being a code-switching fanatic. To begin, code-switching sets the proper appropriate tone when talking with a certain group of people. For example, it helps you gain status in the workplace to speak in a formal fashion. Similarly, code-switching might the the very tool needed to fit in with a specific friend group at school. It is a great tool to use when networking for a job because the employer will most likely hire the student with the most impressive range of interests, which such range is most commonly acquired through several