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Code Switching in Singaporeans

Explore how English-Malay bilingual students in Singapore switch between languages, and what this reveals about identity and social context.

Last updated 8 September 2026

Azlin, J. (2007). Language choice and code-switching: A case study of four bilingual female students (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from http://libris.nie.edu.sg/

Background

The author noted that code-switching was a common linguistic behaviour among Singaporeans and was very often an unconscious act.

Aims

This case study explored the language choices and functions and motivations of code-switching in the conversations of English-Malay bilingual students.

Sample

Four 16-year-old female students from a Singapore secondary school participated in this study. They were all in the Express stream and had above average mastery of both the English and Malay languages, although the latter was the dominant home language.

Method

The conversations were collected through an audio recorder which was handled by one of the students. The researcher was not physically present during the recordings. Data were gathered in two different settings: (1) informal recess periods and (2) formal collaborative work in the English classroom.

Findings

The findings showed that in the informal canteen setting, Malay (37.8% of the conversational turns) and code-switching (35.6%) were the unmarked language choices. In the formal classroom setting, while English (89.5%) was the unmarked language choice during on-task talk, code-switching (54.5%) was preferred.

Code-switching performed several functions, the most popular of which was as interjections (72% in canteen; 56.7% in classroom), used to express emotions difficult to convey in the other language. Another popular function was as a way to make their messages sound either more personal (in Malay) or more objective (in English).

Implications

The preponderance of code-switching outside of formal settings suggested that it was a ‘we-code’ used to express their dual identities and was characteristic of the students’ in-group interactions. The dominance of code-switching in off-task classroom settings indicated awareness that the use of English was expected in the classroom.

Original article retrieved from NIE Digital Repository (opens in new tab).