Linguistic Alternation and its Role in Adapting to Society

My grandmother, Cesira Falbo, I call her Nona. In 1960, Nona immigrated from Italy to Canada.

Her little knowledge of English helped her to communicate, but she feels comfortable speaking Italian, and by virtue of the years since her emigration, we have acquired from her Italian, which we speak but not fluently, yet we both know enough of each language to communicate with one another.

What is language alternation?

Conversations with Nona mix with words from Italian and English, as she calls me tesora, which literally means "treasure," but the intended meaning is “my dear” or “my beloved.” Our conversations usually revolve around daily practices and personal news in Italian and English, and we alternate languages throughout our conversations.

In practice, this phenomenon is primarily studied in linguistics. It relates to how speakers switch between different languages, dialects, or accents during a single conversation, or even during a single sentence. Language alternation is particularly common among bilingual and multilingual communities.

I want to point out to you that language switching is not just switching between different languages and dialects or several ways of speaking; Rather, it is a widespread and deeper social behavior than linguistic alternation as a linguistic phenomenon.

It is socially known as linguistic-cultural alternation, and it relates to how we modify our general style of speech, behavior, and appearance, in response to changes in our social environment. When we do language rotation, we change the way we present ourselves to the world to fit specific expectations and standards.

Philosopher Jennifer Morton notes how linguistic-cultural switching involves "manifest shifts that are much more profound than simply switching between language or dialects" and says that this type of

linguistic switching "derives from psychological motives." Similarly, the two philosophers discuss Robin Dembroff and Cat Saint-Croix and explore how linguistic-cultural shifting serves as an effective means of circulation between whole community identities and, in some cases, the transition between real identities and only apparent or superficial social identities.

Linguistic exchange reinforces one's belonging within a group and often helps others feel at ease in the community.

We do linguistic-cultural rotation all the time out of habit without even realizing it. We practice language alternation when we move within different societies from the workplace to the classroom and our first encounters. We also take turns when we put on a smart jacket for a job interview or when we go to meet a boyfriend or a good friend.

Since we use expressions that we would not normally use in other contexts, it is unlikely that you would call a stranger "honey" or your employer "Abu Hamid" because the context would not fit these informal words.

What is the reason for language switching?

Personally, I do this when I visit "Nona." I take language turns as a way of ensuring mutual understanding, and I know often that she will understand the same expression if I say it in English, so it's not so much a question of linguistic competence as a way of bonding with her.

I use the Italian language in our conversation according to an accent spoken by Calabria in Southern Italy - to strengthen our relationship and show an essential part of our identity, that is, our common Italian culture.

So, one of the important positive aspects of verbal alternation is building a deep sense of belonging to the community and others. Linguistic alternation also works to enhance the individual's belonging within the group and often helps to make others feel comfortable in society.

However, other uses of verbal alternation are radically different. Consider the case of hairdresser Destiny Tompkins. When she was a 19-year-old girl from the African community, she was working in 2017 at the Banana Republic store in New York and was stopped by her manager, who had white skin” and asked her to report to another manager, a “white man,” about violating the dress code.

The Tompkins manager said that braids are not recommended in the workplace, and her uncivilized appearance violates the rules of work and distorts the image of the store, and she ordered her to remove her braids. Otherwise, she would be fired.

Numerous empirical studies and countless first-hand reports reveal that "black" women with natural hairdos—for example, afro-curly hair—have less access to job opportunities, job offers, or promotions, so let's not be surprised then by the linguistic-cultural alternation in the way of doing hair to make the female employee look more "professional" and non-threatening in elite work environments and predominantly white-skinned people.

Switching languages is a vital skill required to deal with highly sensitive social situations, such as courtroom speeches, classrooms, job interviews, etc. In some cases, language switching is necessary to obtain economic advancements - such as employment and education - or in emergency situations to avoid dangerous situations that will cause the occurrence of punishment or the use of violence, which can result from non-compliance with prevailing norms.

Social pressures that lead to language switching

We note that the social pressures that lead to language switching in this way do not occur uniformly. Rather, it is often borne by members of marginalized groups and minorities who must conform to prevailing cultural norms to integrate and survive socially.

But while language switching is an effective way to integrate into an unfamiliar society, where the inequality of social classes appears, it often comes after paying a high price: “accommodation”, which is far from true belonging.

When one is forced to take turns linguistically to hide or suppress important aspects of one's cultural identity and sense of it, the result is a form of self-suppression, and this resonates with Kristie Dotson's analysis of the earlier example of what she calls "word filtering". (testimonial smothering) A type of silence occurs when a speaker interrupts or censors their flow of words, knowing that their listeners lack the competence to understand what they are saying.

Christie Dotson focuses on word alternations, but we can extend her analysis to forced alternations of language. Being a member of a marginalized social group makes one use alternation as a means of self-protection, which is necessary to avoid unfair judgments and to ensure that they are not mistreated by those in power.

So, language switching under these circumstances involves more than just changing aspects of discourse or "filtering words" but it does involve a broader form of verbal self-repression and self-censorship that we might call cultural stifling.

The pressures to practice shifting under these circumstances put one in sharp focus and force one to pick words and weigh where they come from, where they cling to their basic values and traditions and build their family in them, and their general sense of their future self within a different society.

This tension often appears as a "double bond". American philosopher Marilyn Frye describes double constraints in her essay collection In The Politics of Reality, published in 1983 as: “Cases in which choices are reduced to a very few, all of which expose one to punishment or blame or denial.

On the one hand, one can choose linguistic alternation. In this way, they conform to prevailing standards of harmony and social elevation or to protect themselves from possible harm. This is by silencing themselves and suppressing aspects of their cultural identity from appearing.

Linguistic alternation and community standards

On the other hand, one can reject linguistic alternation and refuse to conform to prevailing norms. In doing so, they risk social exclusion and rejection, says the philosopher Sukaina Hirji, and risks appearing “unserious,” “unprofessional,” or worse, being labeled as a “risk” or “threat” agent.

This kills the chances of improving the physical conditions of the speaker and in emergency cases, can lead to serious damage and violent threat to life. Standing alone against an entire community is a losing war.

Language switching is a very flexible social skill that serves many purposes and can be a real positive resource. As a catalyst for strengthening group belonging and building cohesion in society with others, the dark side of linguistic exchange appears as a form of cultural suffocation.

When members of minorities silence themselves and hide aspects of their cultural identity to blend in with prevailing norms, this supports and reinforces the mechanisms of oppression of the dominant groups.

Let's not forget the exhaustion caused by persecution, forced language switching, and a high tax that is taken at the expense of mental health, while members of the elite society do not need to pay it.

In conclusion

Resisting the oppressive mechanisms that stifle cultural identity requires society to look carefully in conjunction with humility and honest reflection on prevailing assumptions of what a “good student” or “professional” or “criminal” looks like, which requires that we think again and again before reaching conclusions about one's intelligence based on their accent or the clothes they wear.

This means working to create a society where citizens are not “adapted” to ready-made stereotypes by the elite classes and those in power. We have to build a society that grows and develops through cultural differences, in which our cultural differences are respected and not persecuted, so that individuals seek to live their lives and strengthen their belonging to their mother country as they are.