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Code switching

Black American
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The shifting between different languages, dialects, registers, or cultural speech styles.

Detailed Definition
Code switching reflects the need to move between Black community language and dominant public speech. In poetry, it dramatises identity, pressure, performance, survival, and belonging. It can reveal how language changes according to audience, safety, pride, or resistance.
Example
Example in poetry:
A speaker shifts from formal English at work to Black vernacular at home; A poem uses code switching to show pressure, survival, and double consciousness; The change in language reveals audience, danger, or intimacy; A poet moves between sermon, street talk, and academic language
Additional Notes
Code switching in African American poetry reflects the strategic movement between linguistic or cultural registers depending on audience, context, power, or emotional intimacy. It may involve shifts between Black vernacular and formal English, or between private and public voice. Students should pay attention to where shifts occur and why, as code switching often reveals pressures of identity negotiation, social performance, assimilation, resistance, or divided consciousness.
Also Known As
Code-switching Linguistic switching
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