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CHAPTER 4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK function. It sets the interpersonal relations of the participants of the recalled episode (complying with Power), as well as serving as a discourse-related function of taking different conversational roles (complying with Perspective). 3 The principle of social concurrence [SOLIDARITY] Solidarity is another principle (in addition to Power and Face) which is used to define interpersonal social relations between the participants in a given situation. Such instances of code-switching can be classified under this principle which enable “[social actors] to maximize social affiliation and solidarity in relational practice, i. e., [social] actors switch to the language that is best positioned to index or create solidarity, affiliation, connection, intimacy and/or similarity between self and other(s).”'??. Under the principle of Solidarity, linguistic resources, more particularly instances of code-switching, serve as means of expressing either a perceived lower position in an unequal situation or as means of expressing solidarity with or a sense of belonging to a group. As the default language of communication in a given speech community varies, the language of solidarity and the actual meaning of the switch has to be interpreted in light of the particular community’s language use patterns. In the Optimality Theoretical framework, numerous instances of codeswitches cited by other theorists have been subsumed under the principle of Solidarity. These instances express the disposition of the participants, acting as social actors in an interaction where the roles are hierarchical, based on affiliation, equality or solidarity rather than on domination, power, or authority. Twenty-three (23) such entries have been detected, such as the “wecode”!**, code-switches expressing “intimacy”'?, “inclusion”'?, the “default language”!?”, and “decreasing social distance”!**. Three examples listed below illustrate how the principle of Solidarity functions. Example [6] involves Hungarian-English code-switching in an e-mail written by a mother to her son. The extract shows how the switch to 13: a Bhatt — Bolonyai, Ibid., 530 Gumperz, Discourse Strategies Bhatt — Bolonyai, Code-switching and the optimal grammar of bilingual use, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 530 Suresh A. Canagarajah, Functions of code-switching in ESL classrooms; socializing bilingualism in Jaffna, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 16 (3) (1995), 173-195 Michael Meeuwis — Jan Blommaert, A monolectal view of code-switching. Layered codeswitching among Zairians in Belgium, in Peter Auer (ed.), Code-switching in Conversation. Language Interaction and Identity, London, New York, Routledge, 1998, 76-98 Myers-Scotton, Social Motivations for Code-switching; Canagarajah, Functions of codeswitching in ESL classrooms, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 173195 134 13. a 13 a 13 SI 138
