Linguistics ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-29-2025

Abstract

This study investigates the applicability of Poplack's (1980) syntactic constraints, the free morpheme constraint and the equivalence constraint, to Arabic-English code-switching among Saudi Arabian women. Based on 886 intra-sentential code-switching utterances drawn from naturalistic podcast speech, the analysis reveals substantial violations of both constraints: 306 utterances (34.5%) violated the free morpheme constraint, and 601 utterances (67.8%) violated the equivalence constraint, occurring across a wide range of syntactic categories. While violations of the free morpheme constraint were exclusively unidirectional, involving Arabic bound morphemes attached to English free morphemes, equivalence constraint violations were bidirectional, though predominantly shaped by Arabic grammar. Crucially, many speakers alternated between producing constraint-abiding and constraint-violating utterances, indicating that these violations were not due to limited bilingual competence. These results challenge the universality of Poplack’s (1980) model and highlight the need for usage-based frameworks that better capture the structural dynamics of bilingual speech in typologically distinct language pairs.

Language

English

Keywords

Code-switching, Arabic-English code-switching, Bilingualism, Bilingual Saudi Arabian Women, Poplack’s Syntactic Constraints

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Linguistics

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Department of Linguistics

First Committee Member (Chair)

Jill P. Morford

Second Committee Member

Rosa Vallejos-Yopán

Third Committee Member

Emma Trentman

Fourth Committee Member

Doaa Omran

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