Codeswitching, convergence and compliance: The development of micro‐community speech norms

Abstract

In conversations between bilinguals, each of whom is a learner of the other's language, two different local patterns of code‐switching may emerge. In the pattern of mutual convergence or complementary schismogenesis, each speaker attempts to speak the interlocutor's native language. Conversations characterised by this pattern reveal that the interlocutors are having difficulty agreeing on a shared norm for conversational code choice. On the other hand, in conversations characterised by compliance, each speaker agrees with and complies with the interlocutor's code choice, even if the interlocutor chooses to change the code during the conversation. In conversations which exhibit compliance, the speakers are successful in establishing a shared code or a mode of code choice for future conversations. It is argued that a pattern of compliance is ultimately more accommodating than convergence, contrary to the claims of Speech Accommodation Theory.

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