Resumen de Code-switching and the sociolinguistic gender pattern
Jenny Cheshire, Penelope Gardner-Chloros
In this paper we test the widely reported finding that women use more Standard and fewer nonstandard forms than men in relation to bilingual code-switched data. First we review the principal explanations that have been offeredfor this pattern within monolingual data setst concluding that the sex ofthe Speaker is not in itself determinant, but that numerous other factors that tie in with gender roles must be considered. We then review a few studies of code-switching where gender differences are apparent and present the results of a small-scale study of gender differences in codeswitching in Punjabi and Greek-Cypriot communities in Britain. Although code-switching is generally considered a nonstandard form of speech, there is no consistent pattern of sex differentiation emerging from the bilingual data. This reinforces our contention that für ther factors, including the r öle of nonstandard varieties in particular subgroups and types of discourse, need to be considered inpreference to blanket explanations basedon gender.
