Code Switching and Paraphrasing

 

Paraphrasing a Language/Dialect

            Paraphrasing dialects and other languages to make them just like “regular” English should be highly discouraged. One day, I randomly watched this television show called Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern where some guy travels to different countries to try unique cuisines from various restaurants and street vendors around the world. In the show, the dialogue of a non-English speaker is repeatedly dubbed by the same two English speakers. The dubbed dialogue is aggravating, not only because their voices are more monotone than Siri, but also because it neglects the viewer from the unique fluctuations and inflections of a potentially foreign language. Instead of dubbing the speech, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern – and any other show that does this – should include the dialogue spoken by chefs and customers and simply add English subtitles. The same should apply to essays. When it comes to paraphrasing a foreign language/dialect, writers should take direct quotes or very cautiously paraphrase without erasing the culture and history that is embedded in the language.

In The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers it says, “Paraphrasing demands that you make your own sense of something,” (Ballenger 111). This idea is very important when you are paraphrasing from an unfamiliar dialect or language. It is important to make sense of what you read, based on prior knowledge and research, in the most courteous way possible. Besides opting for a direct quote, a method of paraphrasing could be to incorporate a blend of “regular” English and the other dialect/language. The writer should then verify that they are correctly interpreting the unfamiliar dialect/language they borrowed from. They could do this by utilizing several online resources or by having someone that speaks the dialect/language read over the material and approve it.

Code-Switching in the Classroom

Blending multiple dialects/languages is not only necessary in essay writing, but it should also be encouraged in classroom dialogue. “The Light Switch of Language: Code Switching” outlines that, “Teachers should teach code-switching to all students because it's already a part of our everyday lives, and it would be easier if students actually understood it,” (Johnson 2). Teachers should teach code-switching (incorporating words of another dialect or language) because as the author mentions it is already prevalent outside of the classroom, but also it will help students with writing their essays. Students understanding that code-switching exists and having knowledge of words/phrases from different dialects will make it easier for students to comprehend media featuring different dialects, such as African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or Patois (a Jamaican dialect) and languages like Spanish or French, and then properly apply them to their writing.

Final Thoughts

Even though teachers typically do not teach code-switching, I still believe it is vital for writers to expose themselves to media that incorporates dialects and non-English languages to become better-informed writers. Using words from a language that I cannot speak is something I might try in the current research essay I am working on or in future essays, so I must engage with other dialects and languages so that I can present other people's cultures vividly and respectfully.

Works Cited

Ballenger, Bruce. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers. Eighth ed., Pearson, 2015. 

Johnson, Cierra. “The Light Switch of Language: Code-Switching.” Emerging Writers, May 2021, https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/emergingwriters/vol4/iss1/6/.