Documentation and Description of Code Switching in Oromiffa and Harari Language

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2015-05

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

In a multi lingual community like Ethiopia, people often switch from one language to another in their daily conversations and code-switching often reflects the social or cultural identities of the speakers. The switch to a particular language in the bilingual dialogue can also be employed as an effective medium to indication ethnic identity. The aim of this paper is concerned to document and to give description of code-switching in Oromo and Harari speech community. This study has deployed the sociolinguistic approach, as Gumperz, (1982) states which raise the question why it is practiced and the driving force towards code switching at the very beginning. Focus group discussion and Semi structured interview was also used as the main instruments of the research data collection. Digital tape recorders were also the instruments used for audio data collection. iv Since Dire Dawa is one of the cities of Ethiopia, a place where from different nations and nationalities living in it, which makes it a multilingual city, code switching is a widespread phenomenon among speakers of different indigenous languages. As a result, it is very common to hear the alternation of codes, especially from Oromo to Harari language. In this paper, some of the major sociolinguistic issues in Oromo-Harari code-switching are raised and discussed

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Ethiopia, people often switch from one, language to another in their daily conversations

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