Journal 1: Code-Switching

 Idiomatic Expressions

The story "There is one correct way of writing and speaking" from the author Patanayak was very interesting and it made me think, as I searched the web I came across the word Code Switching. I have never seen or heard the word before and it surprised me that I searched the word online and the definition of it was "The practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation". This was all so new to me that I watched the video that defined 'code-switching' and upon finishing it, I was surprised by the number of people that used code-switching in their daily lives, it honestly baffled me, because I do it all the time and I switch languages to talk to family or friends I just never knew that there was such a word. In my own opinion, code-switching is something that people do all the time, you might even notice it sometimes from people who aren't as close to you. I believe that it helps people fit in the crowd that they are in or when someone goes into an interview they might change the way they talk with their friends to sound more professional in front of the interviewer. In the video, it showed many people code-switching but the one I liked and saw on all social media was when Former President Barack Obama was finishing his speech and said "Obama out" during the 2016 White House correspondence dinner, it was humorous to the audience and people have also noticed how distinctive his voice could be depending on where he is and who he was speaking to, as well in the video it showed comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele doing a parody as president Obama who was finishing his speech and saying hi to different people and showing how he changed his voice when he spoke to a white male and shaking his hand to showing more emotion and hugging the African American family. These examples showed how President Obama was using code-switching and how he was depicted in the episode of Key&Peele. Code-switching can be used in many different ways it doesn't separate you from your true yourself, it just shows how it can be used to be professional and most of all fit in with certain groups.