Language mixing and code-switching in writing brings together analyses of multilingual texts, from Old English charters to fan fiction. In the introductory chapter, editor Mark Sebba identifies several issues with prior research on written code-switching, namely that no independent theoretical framework exists and that few stand-alone papers on the topic are available. He proposes a new approach that situates itself in a broader examination of the semiotics of mixed-language texts, draws on insights from work on literacies, and pays attention to the visual/spatial elements of written work. Subsequent chapters take up various aspects of this approach.
Chs. 2 and 3 take a historical approach: Herbert Schendl examines code-switching in Old English charters and Middle English sermons, arguing that the fact of code-switching can be more important than its content, while Arja Nurmi & Päivi Pahta analyze women's written correspondence between 1400 and 1800, observing the ways that different types of code-switches signaled different levels of fluency. Ch. 4, by Cecilia Montes-Alcalá, examines code-switching in US/Latino novels and concludes that oral code-switching frameworks can apply to written discourse. In Ch. 5, Mark Sebba analyzes written code-switches between English and British Creole and argues that orthographic choice can depend on whether writers aim to imitate speech or establish creole as an independent language.
The next two chapters turn to language mixing on the internet, with Samu Kytölä (Ch. 6) advocating for using “triangulation-based methods” to study web forums and Carmen Lee & David Barton (Ch. 7) examining how users of a photo-sharing site mix languages to translate for imagined audiences and promote their profiles. Chs. 8 and 9 take up multilingual texts in West Africa. Kristin Vold Lexander examines the ways that language mixing in Senegalese SMS messages can help to manage relationships and construct identities, while Aïssatou Mbodj-Pouye & Cécile van den Avenne demonstrate how Malian writers use graphic devices to emphasize or obscure code-switches.
Ch. 10, by Shahrzad Mahootian, examines code-switching in US novels and magazines, promoting a view of languages as resources used to indicate shifts in speakers' social status. In Ch. 11, Carla Jonsson argues that code-switching in Swedish publications legitimates silenced (non-Swedish) voices. In Ch. 12, Sirpa Leppänen asserts that code-switching in fan fiction is better understood as part of a broader heteroglossic style characteristic of fan fiction writers, who create meaning in the interplay of various styles, languages, and genres. Ch. 13, by Philipp Sebastian Angermeyer, examines bilingual Russian/English advertisements and license plates, argues that script choice depends on whether text is intended for one bilingual audience or parallel, monolingual audiences, and illustrates the ways in which the overlap between English and Cyrillic scripts is exploited for bilingual in-jokes.
The book illustrates the range of multilingual texts available for study, raises interesting theoretical and methodological questions (e.g. to what extent can we apply oral code-switching frameworks to the study of written discourse?), and provides a thorough review of existing work on written code-switching.
