grammatical constraints and motivations for - University of the ...

particularly on the ways in which codeswitching relates to speaker-addressee
relationships.
5.1 Grammatical Constraints on Codeswitching
In analyzing the discourse, I first evaluated the constraints proposed by previous
researchers, checking for evidence of the application of these constraints in
English/Afrikaans codeswitching, as well as counter-examples. Next, I analyzed
the differences and evaluated these counter-examples in relation to possible social
motivations for switching.
In my analysis, I have discussed the constraint on the switching of conjunctions,
proposed by Gumperz (1976). I have also focussed on word order equivalence
(Poplack, 1980 & Muysken, 1995), Joshi’s (1985) constraint on closed class items
such as determiners and possessives, nonce loans and the insertion of minimal
constituents, as well as codeswitching after homophonous diamorphs. Lastly, I
have discussed the switching of verbs in relation to Poplack’s (1980) free
morpheme constraint.
5.1.1 Conjunctions
Gumperz (1976) argued that the conjunction should always come from the
language of the switched phrase. Therefore, the conjunction should form a part of
the switch, rather than exist as a preceding grammatical element in a language
other than that of the switched phrase.
However, this is not the case as the discourse provides many counter-examples.
The table below provides examples from the discourse in which conjunctions are
switched.
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