Abstract

Code-switching between Arabic and English marks a significant linguistic change in the history and use of Arabic in Saudi Arabia. Any kind of language change, which is an inevitable process in almost every world language, has always been resisted in Saudi Arabia mostly due to a national identity and religious factors. The current study investigated the attitude of the Saudi academia comprising English language instructors and English major students towards code-switching between Arabic and English. The study examined the perceptions of the academia towards the use of varying languages and the attitude that resulted from a perception. A sample size of 10 instructors and 40 students from four universities in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia was taken for the purpose of carrying out this qualitative study. Focus Group and interview methods were used to collect data and a content analysis technique was adopted to analyze their transcripts. Findings and Results indicated that there was a close relationship between education and age on one side and the acceptability of code-switching on the other. Positive attitudes towards code-switching were found among the younger participants in their tertiary level of education. The results also revealed that such an attitude affected learners' academic performance since the learners attitude towards each language contributed to their learning and knowledge acquisition.

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