CODE-MIXING AND CODE-SWITCHING AMONG SELECTED IGBO ENGLISH UNDERGRADUATE BILINGUALS IN EBONYI STATE UNIVERSITY, ABAKALIKI

Abstract

This study examines the effects of code mixing and code switching among selected Igbo-English Undergraduate Bilinguals in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. The work adopted descriptive research design, and a sample of 30 code-mixed and 76 code switched words were used for the study. Findings of the study show that Igbo English bilinguals in Ebonyi State University have recourse to both code mixing and code switching due to lack of lexicon-semantic coverage, mother tongue interference, overgeneralization of words among others. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Government should continue to make good policies that could involve not only for the development, modernization and standardization of indigenous language but also for the development of lexicon of the language to meet the needs of language users. This will help us to give every language an equal status since no natural language is inferior to another in the linguistic sense.