CONVERSATIONAL FUNCTIONS OF ARABIC/FRENCH CODE SWITCHING AMONG WOMEN IN TLEMCEN

This paper tries to shed light on some discourse functions of Arabic/French code switching among women in Tlemcen Speech community. The aim of this work is to determine whether conversational functions, as described by Gumperz (1982), are found in their speech or not. The results of the analysis of natural occurring examples from daily conversations of women speech are given. In order to understand what French represents to women, and what CS serves, data are analysed in the light of theories explaining the social meaning of CS. The study has revealed that code switching among women has a specific function and social symbolism to each individual group in different contexts.