The Pros And Cons Of Code Switching

Have you ever had an intense argument with your friends or your family and suddenly that Southern drawl, or second language, or that strong Bostonian accent comes out? Well that is code switching. Code switching is shifting your communication by changing your language use or the way you express yourself in a conversation. People often code switch when placed in different situations such as an argument, or a professional environment. Between chapter one of Code of the Street Decency, violence, and the Moral of the Inner City Life and a few videos, the readers will be able to understand the prevalence of code switching in the African American community.
The author of Code of the Street believes code switching is how a person behaves based on the situation he or she is in. She gives the example of Marge a forty- three year old, who lives in a “tough” neighborhood. Her daughter Annette, never got into any fights until her freshman year of high school. One day a girl at her school began picking on her, Annette pointed the girl out to her mother. The girl brought her family to Marge and Annette’s house to fight them. Marge code switched
The author explains that although there is a difference between living street and living decent, many of the residents live in the same neighborhood. When people label themselves or others as decent or street it becomes a social contest of the “hood” or “ghetto”. The author believes that decent people code switch more often than street people. This is due to the similar values of white society. Many are able to code switch because once they come in contact with street people, those values do not hold as much weight. Those seen as “street”, often do not have as much exposure to mainstream white society and can have a difficult time code switching. They follow the code of the street, and for the most part do not have an understanding of the rules for decent