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Footing in bilingual play[Note 1. We owe thanks to Claes Nilholm, Karin Osvaldsson, the ...]
Author(s) -
Cromdal Jakob,
Aronsson Karin
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of sociolinguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9841
pISSN - 1360-6441
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9481.00123
Subject(s) - code switching , code (set theory) , rhetorical question , linguistics , frame (networking) , sociology , work (physics) , computer science , contrast (vision) , psychology , programming language , telecommunications , artificial intelligence , physics , philosophy , set (abstract data type) , thermodynamics
In Goffman's classic paper (1979), bilingual code‐switching was seen as a prototypical device for accomplishing shifts in footing. Yet his work has not informed research on code‐switching to any great extent. The present study of primary school children's play interaction in an English‐Swedish school setting combines a sequential approach to code‐switching with an analysis of footing (cf. Auer 1984), extending prior work in showing that code‐switches often involve subtle shifts of footing, both in terms of production formats and participation frameworks. Code‐switches were employed as important rhetorical and dramaturgic play devices, e.g. when contextualizing changes of addressee and shifts of frame (e.g. serious, nonserious). In contrast to earlier, often speaker‐centered work, reception is discussed in‐depth in the present analyses, and it is shown that footings are truly interactional achievements.