Norms, Contexts and Functions of Arabic–English Code-Switching in Egyptian Computer-Mediated Communication

This paper investigates the linguistic characteristics of English in the Instant Messaging (IM) discourse as one of the most common computer-mediated communication modes in Egypt, where English is considerably used. It also aims to explore the reasons for the preference of English to Arabic in certain contexts, types of English errors, contexts of English and Arabic use, age of users, addressees, and purposes/functions of code-switching in English–Arabic discourse. Two sources of data were used: a corpus of 30 IM conversations by 60 interlocutors and responses to a survey by a group of 49 participants (including some of the conversation providers). Findings of both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis indicate that English in Egypt is used as an interactive medium of communication among Egyptian professionals, students, and younger generations in general, regardless of their English proficiency levels, in both formal and informal contexts for various purposes. Moreover, IM English used by Egyptians is generally mixed with Arabic, and this codeswitching between English and varieties of the Arabic language occurs in many contexts to fulfill different functions.