A case study: Bilingual children's code-switching mechanisms

The present study is a case study that discussed the code-switching mechanisms of four Libyan bilingual children. It attempted to figure out the reasons that lie behind this linguistic behavior, in addition to highlighting the techniques and mechanisms that the children applied during code-switching. It is a case study that lasted for two years through which the researcher observed the daily conversations of the four children under study. The children were divided into two groups: simultaneous and successive, depending on the stage of their exposure to both languages. Discourse analysis and Hymes' functions of code-switching were used to analyze the children's switched utterances. The results showed that the bilingual children after a considerable time of exposure to both languages, form spontaneous bond with the two languages and they switch languages for various reasons following certain techniques to make the utmost utilization of the two languages in their daily communication with others.