Day 1 (Monday, 9/12)
Today, I went to see my grandparents after not seeing them for a couple of weeks. We went out for my grandfather’s birthday and since my grandparents’ primary language is Russian, I had to code switch and speak to them in Russian. My tone also changed because I have respect for them and don’t speak to them as my friend. We were talking about the transition from high school to college at the restaurant. Sometimes, my grandparents will even try to code switch and speak in English to communicate with us.
Day 2 (Tuesday, 9/13)
Today, I went to work after school. I was sitting at the front desk and someone came so I had to put him into a conference room. After a little while, he asked me why it was taking so long for my colleague to come to the meeting. Since I was in a work environment, I had to speak in a professional manner. I simply replied that my colleague was on the phone and would come right after. I had to code switch and speak in a professional tone because that was what my job entails.
Day 3 (Wednesday, 9/14)
This morning, I had my theatre arts online class. During the middle of the session, my name was called and I noticed that when I asked the question I spoke in a formal way. Two minutes later, I texted my friend and asked if she wanted to go shopping in a casual way. I realized I code switched when talking to my friend and would never have spoken like that to my professor.
Day 4 (Thursday, 9/15)
Today, I went to get my eyebrows done after school. I noticed that when I was talking to the lady, I had this gracious voice coming out of me, and asked her how she was doing. When speaking to my siblings, I usually get straight to the point and don’t ask how they are doing.
Day 5 (Friday, 9/16)
I had no classes today so I didn’t really find myself code-switching. Although, when my parents came home, I was speaking to them in Russian and wasn’t so formal as I would’ve been if they were my grandparents. I don’t speak to them like they are my friends but there is less of a code-switch when speaking to my parents.
Day 6 (Saturday, 9/17)
Today, I went to the synagogue in the morning for some prayer. I was sitting next to my friend on one side and next to an elderly lady on the other side. I was joking around with my friend but when the lady asked me a question about what was going on, I quickly code-switched and was able to help her with what she needed. I didn’t know her so well and she was older than me, which is why I felt the need to code-switch.
Day 7 (Sunday, 9/18)
On Sunday morning, we went out for breakfast as a family. We were all goofing around and having a good time as we were figuring out what to order on the menu. When the waiter arrived, we code-switched and were more formal. I realized that we code-switched because of the environment we were in; other people were sitting next to us and were able to hear our conversations.
I totally agree with you in the point where we often code switch when we are in front of our friends versus in front of strangers. We don’t mind showing off the goofy sides of ourselves to our friends but to strangers, but it is a different story when there are strangers around.
I feel as though when we are in a professional setting we get straight to the point but also try to be nice and ask them about their day.
I agree with how you talked about getting straight to the point with siblings but be polite to strangers. I feel like we tend to do this to give a good representation of ourselves to other people. On the other hand, we talk how ever we want when speaking to people close to us like our siblings, cousins, close friends, etc.
I also code switch a lot at work, sometimes even with co-workers that I am friends with. The professional environment really makes us change out tone without us sometimes even noticing.
I also code switch when speaking to my grandparents. They only speak Romanian so i have to adjust the way i speak in a more polite manner.