Which statement best defines code-mixing?

Which statement best defines code-mixing?

• A. A switch between two languages at the sentence level
• B. Mixing of two languages at the word level in a sentence
• C. A strategy to memorize vocabulary
• D. A type of fossilization

Answer: (B)

Code-mixing is when a speaker blends elements from two languages inside a single sentence, mixing words and phrases from both languages rather than keeping them separate. This shows how bilingual speakers can draw on vocabulary from more than one language in the same utterance. For example, a sentence like I need to comprar pan mixes English with Spanish, using comprar pan for “to buy bread.” Another example is She is muy talented, where the word muy from Spanish sits inside an English sentence to mean “very.” This blending is common in bilingual communities and reflects the speaker’s flexible language knowledge in real conversation. If language shifts happen only at sentence boundaries, that’s switching between languages across sentences, which is related but not the same as mixing inside a sentence. The other options describe ideas that aren’t about blending languages in the same utterance.

Code-mixing is when a speaker blends elements from two languages inside a single sentence, mixing words and phrases from both languages rather than keeping them separate. This shows how bilingual speakers can draw on vocabulary from more than one language in the same utterance. For example, a sentence like I need to comprar pan mixes English with Spanish, using comprar pan for “to buy bread.” Another example is She is muy talented, where the word muy from Spanish sits inside an English sentence to mean “very.” This blending is common in bilingual communities and reflects the speaker’s flexible language knowledge in real conversation.

If language shifts happen only at sentence boundaries, that’s switching between languages across sentences, which is related but not the same as mixing inside a sentence. The other options describe ideas that aren’t about blending languages in the same utterance.