Code‐mixing and modernization

Current studies of code‐mixing (CM) have been limited to analyzing CM only in individual bilingual communities. This paper focuses on the neglected dimension of CM: the treatment of CM as a cross‐cultural phenomenon. Three points are presented which show that CM has characteristic features one can witness in every bilingual community. First it is shown that from a sociofunctional perspective, the bilingual may use CM for expressing modernization. The concept of modernization is viewed here with respect to how a bilingual code‐mixer perceives himself/herself, how he/she would like to be perceived, how he/she is actually perceived, and why he/she often resorts to CM when interacting with other bilinguals with whom he/she shares the same linguistic repertoire of codes. The second section contrasts such sociofunctional use of and attitudes toward CM. It is found that although people's attitudes toward CM have until recently generally been negative, CM has imposed itself as the norm of language use in most bilingual communities. The last section discusses briefly the impact of CM on language structure, with special reference to the vernaculars. A survey of the literature on CM in various bilingual communities reveals that the use of CM, whether for expressing modernization or any other function, is generally accompanied by changes and innovations in the structure of the languages involved. Some such innovations and changes are presented with particular reference to vernacular‐English CM across cultures.