Over the course of seven days, I observed myself code-switch as I adjusted my communication methods to different situations and circumstances.
When coming at work on the first day, I felt the urge to transition from a state of tiredness to one of enthusiasm and energy.
On the second day, while making new friends at Baruch, I noticed a dramatic change in my manner and vocal tone.
On the third day, when going to the gym, my dialogue centered around exercises and routines, which was noticeably different from my chats with friends in other situations.
On the fourth day, I engaged in a discussion with a stranger about New York City’s attractions, adapting my communication style to direct them to recommended areas to visit.
Day five led to a change in my communication style as I engaged with kindergarten kids at work, requiring a more child-friendly approach, followed by a professional conversation with my employer later in the day.
On day six, in Manhattan, I had a chat about shoes and basketball, tailoring my communication to the situation.
On day seven, while watching a UFC fight with friends, we started to communicate in two different language which were English and Russian.
All in all, we as individuals code switch daily and adapt to our environment as we go along with our days. Whether it has to do with our voices, behavior, and characteristics changing.
I really feel identified with the first day of code switching because I do that every day I come out of working as well.
The ufc fight code switch was interesting and cool to hear.
I like how you mentioned the idea of how code-switching isn’t just linguistic. You mentioned how you code-switched your emotions and I feel that people do that maybe even more often than in the way they talk, sometimes we feel our emotions are too much or invalid for an environment so we suppress and change them to match the accepted ones at the time.