Code-switching: the origins, purpose and pitfalls

Balancing your identity and respectability politics sometimes means taking on a different tone or behavior to fit in

Photo montage of African American and Caucasian faces blended with speech bubbles and hand gestures
Code-switching is a term used in linguistics to describe tailoring your language to your present social context
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris ruffled some feathers when she appeared to adopt a different tone or accent with a crowd than she had previously during her recent campaign trip to Detroit to talk about labor unions. As videos circulated of the speech, her critics accused her of using linguistic pandering and being inauthentic. However, many rushed to her defense, noting there is a name for what Harris was doing: code-switching.

What is code-switching, and why do people do it?

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Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.