A code is a neutral term which can be used to denote a language or a variety of language. Code-switching is a linguistic phenomenon which occurs in multilingual speech communities. In example (1), the speaker switches between two codes (Malay and English) within a single sentence.

Individuals who study sociolects are called sociolinguists. For example, a sociolinguist would examine the use of the second person pronoun “you” for its use within the population. If one distinct social group used ‘yous’ as the plural form of the pronoun then this could indicate the existence of a sociolect.

Code-mixing is the mixing of two or more languages or language varieties in speech. Some scholars use the terms “code-mixing” and “code-switching” interchangeably, especially in studies of syntax, morphology, and other formal aspects of language.

Code-switching is seen as the process of changing two languages, whereas translanguaging is about “the speakers’ construction that creates the complete language repertoire” ( p.

Translanguaging is when a multilingual person’s full linguistic repertoire is used and honored, instead of trying to keep narrowly focused on a single language. Drs. Carla España and Luz Yadira Herrera’s explore the concept of translanguaging and more in their new book, En Comunidad.

Phonology is typically defined as “the study of speech sounds of a language or languages, and the laws governing them,”11Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

Phonology is defined as the study of sound patterns and their meanings, both within and across languages. An example of phonology is the study of different sounds and the way they come together to form speech and words – such as the comparison of the sounds of the two “p” sounds in “pop-up.”

the same environment in the senses of position in the word and the identity of adjacent phonemes). If two sounds are phonetically similar and they are in C.D. then they can be assumed to be allophones of the same phoneme.

Minimal pair

[p] and [pH] are allophones of the phoneme /p/. [t] and [tH] are allophones of the phoneme /t/.

near-minimal pair (plural near-minimal pairs) (phonology) A pair of words differing by a few (but more than one) phonetic segments or suprasegments, used to suggest a proposed phoneme, toneme, or chroneme may be valid.

In the case of a minimal pair, the two words differ by a single phoneme and by one or two features across place and manner of articulation and voicing. In both approaches, the paired words would contain a sound a child is familiar with and a target (unfamiliar) sound.

Minimal pairs and minimal sets in Phonology. Minimal set. A set of distinct words in a language which differ in only one or a limited number of phonological elements. Minimal pairs are a group of words that differ in only one part of their spelling or pronunciation.

Minimal pairs are useful to linguists because they provide insight into how sound and meaning coexist in language.