Code-switching, to be understood here as alternating languages within discourse, has been shown to be a critical component in indexing identity (Myers-Scotton 1993, 1998), particularly within the Chicano context (Peñalosa 1980, Lipski 1982). While code-switching often occurs below the level of consciousness, this paper focuses on exploring code-switching in pre-planned texts, which is the result of a rational choice on behalf of an author. This paper explores the use of code-switching in the lyrics of Chicano hip-hop artist Kemo the Blaxican, positing that the artist establishes code-switching as an unmarked code and uses single-language lyrics to achieve a specific rhetorical purpose. That is, the linguistic choices in Kemo the Blaxican’s hip-hop lyrics serve to index aspects of the artist’s identity.
Myers-Scotton’s markedness model establishes a conceptual model for understanding code-switching as the result of rational choices based on evaluations of markedness (1993, 1998). Her analysis of code-switching as a result of rational choices lends itself well to the analysis of literary texts. I explore various previous works which apply Myers-Scotton’s model to analyzing linguistic choices in several contexts, including novels, poems, and short stories before transitioning to an analysis of Kemo the Blaxican’s lyrics.
This paper, by analyzing language code choices in literary texts, exists at the intersection of linguistics and literary analysis and explores aspects of identity creation and negotiation in popular culture mediums. In addition, this work contributes to a growing body of recent scholarship which seeks to analyze hip-hop lyrics as a literary product, such as Sarkar and Winer (2006), Agbo (2009), and Alim, Ibrahim, and Pennycook (2009). This paper demonstrates that code choices in literary texts index identity and can be applied to achieve specific rhetorical purposes. Hip-hop lyrics are seen as powerful tools for creating, negotiating, and indexing aspects of identity.
About the presenterTom Lewis
Tom Lewis is a graduate student in Linguistics at Ball State University. His research is primarily sociolinguistic, and focuses on aspects of identity within language contact contexts. He is particularly interested in the contact between American English and various varieties of Spanish.