I never used the term 'codeswitching' when talking with my kids about language, but I have taught them that there are different forms of English that we need to use at certain times. The most obvious to me today is that of texting compared to essay writing. One is certainly more appropriate for a given circumstance than the other, but is is dependent on the society and the situation.
For instance, I love to fall into a southern , twang, dialect. When I return from visiting my friends in the South, I would always carry certain aspects of the dialect home with me and use it here in the North -- even while teaching class. I love the way it feels rolling off my tongue and the way that it sounds. My kids get a kick out it too.... But, that is not the best dialect to use in a job interview in the north or even during parent-teacher conferences.
So what is best -- I have asked my kids to think about the situation and evaluate the proper language for the circumstance at hand. I don't expect anyone to speak perfect, formal SAE in the hallway during passing time, but I do expect that they chance their word choice when I am present and they enter the classroom -- social courtesies still weigh heavily for me even though a swear word is only designated as so because of a social norm.
This is the beginning of what I feel LITERACY is -- the ability to interpret a social situation and communicate in the language most acceptable for the moment. And yes, that definition can make me 'funtionally' illierate since I don't not know AAVE and wouldn't pretend to try it -- although there is a very funny story about that if you really wish to hear it. Equally so, I do not have a 'working vocabulary' to master TextSpeech either.
So, I just need to say, "Thank Y'a;ll for readin my blog for today...."
--wabe
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