Code-switching: how often do you do it?

[tifonito]

I'm interested to see if this is a common habit among EAs. If you speak both your parents' languages, do you habitually put both languages in the same sentence? Or does one language tend to dominate?

For me I often switch between Cantonese and English - when I don't know the Cantonese expression or word for something I'll automatically use the English word instead. Sometimes my friends and I will directly translate Cantonese slang into English and Mandarin for a laugh.

[Ganbare!]

It's horrendous, I do it all the time. I don't know why I think in X language when I speak another therefore I often mix French, Spanish and English in the same sentence. When I'm in a Chinese context I often use Mandarin loan words, there are so many things you can solely express or that sounds better in a particular language.

Evolving in a multilingual environment I generally have no trouble making myself understood nevertheless I avoid code-switching in formal settings to be more intelligible and not to offend people.

[xandra]

My mom is the worst for this. Her first language is Italian and she teaches at a French school so she will often use a French or Italian word if she can't remember the word in English.

And growing up we had a handful of Vietnamese words that we would use instead of English, not sure why or how but those words just stuck.

[maow]

lol, brings back memories of listening to my mother "talking" (shouting) on the phone when I was in HK

[nealtse]

OMG why do HK mothers always have to yell on the phone?

[Ganbare!]

It's not limited to HK, most Chinese have to yell on the phone to make sure they are understood.

[conorsoccr23]

well since most full asians speak english in the west when ur only half asian u barley switch unless ur parents was a fob

[jefe]

^ There are Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents, etc.
And once you get to be a certain age (and your social contacts are more self-directed rather than directed by your parents), you can voluntarily do (or not do) all the switching you choose.