Spanish-English Code Switching in Slam Poetry

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2014
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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en_US
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Abstract
Slam poetry is a type of poetry that sprang up in the last 20 years in which poets perform their poems for a non-academic audience, often in competitions, rather than seeking to be published for the academic community. As a result, slam poets represent a more diverse group than typical academic poets (Somers-Willett 2009). One of the main goals in writing and performing slam poetry is the creation and performance of an "authentic" identity, both as a matter of self-expression (by trying to portray one's everyday identity accurately) and as a tactic in competition, since "authentic" identities (often equated with marginalized identities) are typically rewarded in competition (Somers-Willett 2009). Because code switching is a part of the linguistic identity of many bilingual speakers, it is natural to expect that bilingual slam poets would incorporate code switching into their poems. However, due to the nature of slam poetry, it is impossible for a speaker to code switch in the unconscious way that he or she would in casual speech: slam poems are almost always written, revised, and rehearsed before performance, so any code switching during performance must necessarily be the result of conscious intention by the poet. This paper seeks to answer the question of how Spanish-English code switching in slam poetry differs from that in casual speech by analyzing a corpus of data pulled from recorded performances posted on YouTube. In particular, this paper examines code switches into Spanish in otherwise English poems, performed in the United States in the last 5 to 10 years. The revision and rehearsal process preceding a slam performance eliminates the need for crutch-like code switching, in which the speaker doesn't know or has momentarily forgotten the desired lexical item in one language. Clarification switching, in which the speaker feels that one language is somehow insufficient to get the point across, is less prevalent than in casual speech, likely due to the lack of conversational interaction that would normally let the speaker know that the addressee is confused. Instead, clarification switching is a compromise that allows poets to perform their code-switching identity without alienating audience members who don't speak Spanish. The conscious construction of cultural and linguistic identity through code switching also favors the insertion of single lexical items (most frequently nouns and noun phrases), as well as the use of Spanish phonology for names (especially the poet's own name).
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