Code-switching in Bilingual Discourse: The Example of French-speaking Lebanese Adults

Layana Awada; Barbara Köpke

Article Details

Code-switching in Bilingual Discourse: The Example of French-speaking Lebanese Adults

Authors:

Layana Awada | Barbara Köpke

Publisher:

المجلة الدولية للسانيات العربية

Journal:

International Journal of Arabic Linguistics Vol.12, pp.27-52

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

7/2026

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001840927

pISSN:

2421-9835

Keywords:

Abstract:

 In multilingual countries like Lebanon, widespread bilingualism entails frequent code-switching and speakers are rarely in a completely monolingual mode, following Grosjean’s (2008) Language Mode Hypothesis. In line with this framework, this exploratory study investigates spontaneous discourse of ten French-speaking Lebanese adults in a narrative task in their L2, focusing on the frequency, types and functions of code-switching. Their linguistic background was documented with the LEAP-Q questionnaire, and language entropy scores (Gullifer and Titone, 2020) were computed to capture the diversity of language use. Results indicated that code-switching from French occurred mainly intoArabic (L1), but also into English (L3), and was predominantly realized through insertions rather than alternations. It was primarily used for gap fillers and hesitations. Educational level significantly predicted multiple dimensions of code-switching, including language choice, type, functions, and grammatical categories, whereas language entropy predicted code-switching type.

Article Details

Code-switching in Bilingual Discourse: The Example of French-speaking Lebanese Adults

Authors:

Layana Awada | Barbara Köpke

Publisher:

المجلة الدولية للسانيات العربية

Journal:

International Journal of Arabic Linguistics Vol.12, pp.27-52

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

7/2026

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001840927

pISSN:

2421-9835

code-switching

bilingualism

discourse analysis

French

Lebanese Arabic

Issues

Article Details

Code-switching in Bilingual Discourse: The Example of French-speaking Lebanese Adults

Authors: Layana Awada | Barbara Köpke

Publisher: المجلة الدولية للسانيات العربية

Journal: International Journal of Arabic Linguistics Vol.12, pp.27-52

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 7/2026

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001840927

pISSN: 2421-9835

code-switching

bilingualism

discourse analysis

French

Lebanese Arabic

Issues

Authors:

Layana Awada | Barbara Köpke

Publisher:

المجلة الدولية للسانيات العربية

Journal:

International Journal of Arabic Linguistics Vol.12, pp.27-52

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

7/2026

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001840927

pISSN:

2421-9835