LINGUISTIC FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF CODE SWITCHING AMONG SELECTED AJAYI CROWTHER UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Code switching is an important form of communication among student of territory institutions, several studies have interrogated code switching from different perspectives focusing on public and private schools without giving a close attention to the linguistic forms and functions of this code switching among selected of Ajayi Crowther University undergraduate students, with the intention of identifying the linguistic forms and contextual variables, the discourse functions of the use of this code switching to student phatic communication on campuses. Gumperz’s (1982) sociolinguistic approach to code switching and Searle’s (1969) Speech act theory were adopted as the theoretical framework. Qualitative approach to sociolinguistic theory of data collection was done through observation, audio recording and note taking among multilingual undergraduate students of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo. These were subjected to sociolinguistic analysis. This study identifies five linguistic forms and twenty-eight contextual variables which include main clause construction, adverbial construction, adjectival construction, compound construction, and complex construction. Also the contextual variables are phatic communion (friendship conversational context), boredom, class assignment, lecture attendance, disagreement, compartment, dilemma, invitation, debunking, pollution, resources distribution, vacate from the room or leave the room, regret, indecision, teaching or learning context, rendering help, economic context, travelling, hunger, absent mindedness, lateness, campus theft or property loss, cold (weather condition), class assignment submission, sadness, insult, resources distribution, Sunday service. This study identifies fourteen discourse functions such as informing, pleading, advising, lamenting, requesting, threatening, and questioning, concealing, jibing, stating, condemning, complaining, warning, contesting. This teaching helps other people to know about certain bilingual phenomena naturally, so that they could see how much social and cultural aspect affect bilinguals’ language and learn how bilinguals and their monolingual interlocutors should lead to smooth conversation. As a result, it would help monolinguals to understand bilinguals’ utterances and help bilinguals to relieve their difficulty in communicating with other people in both of the culture. Further studies will also look at the stylistics features of code switching among ACU undergraduate students.