Code-switching in Arabic plays: aI-farafeer and awladuna fi London

Abstract

The paper is an attempt to study the code-switching patterns (the alternating use of two recognizably different language variants, Arabic- the Egyptian dialect and English within the same text, the play) in the dialogue of characters in two Egyptian plays: AI-Farafeer (1964)- Flipflap and his Master - by Yusef Idris and Awladuna fi London (1986) - Our Children in London- by Ali Salem. The dialogue in these two plays is the linguistic corpus of the paper. The characters code-switch from Arabic into English for certain conscious or unconscious goals. These aims may be for clarity and accuracy - to be better understood, enhancement - to enrich the listeners' comprehension , sarcasm- to sound ironical, or humour- to offer comic relief. For example in AI-Farafeer, the character- author- uses the word 'original' in English to describe to the viewers his clothes, and the other character-the Master- uses' modern' in English to describe the job he searches for. In Awaladuna fi London, Mahfuz says to Asmat about his job using English words such as • Transportation Section, Assistant porter, and porter'. Another example, Asmat says to Amal to solve the problem is to play the role of a 'girl friend' which is said in English. In short, bilingualism and mastery of a foreign language, a well- educated character, or the friendly relationship with the listener are all decisive factors in analyses of code- switching in this paper.