Conversational Code-Switching between Arabic and Kurdish in Duhok City

Idrees Ali Zebari

Abstract: In Kurdistan of Iraq, the phenomena of code-switching (henceforth CS), the use of two more than two languages with the same conversation, happens most often between the two languages Arabic and Kurdish in the region of Kurdish inhabitant area. The present paper provides a sociolinguistics analysis of the CS phenomenon between Arabic and Kurdish in the northern city of Iraq Duhok as it is employed by Kurds speakers from a functional perspective. Data of the present study were gathered by using audio-recording of participant`s conversation. The conversations of fifty-six bilinguals native speakers of the Kurdish language have been recorded and used for analyzing their speech for the purposes of this study. Realizing the implications of this study for future research and recognizing the effect of these results, it is crucial to have a basic understanding of the phenomenon of CS in general. Furthermore, this study provides a closer look at the functions of conversational CS that occurred between Arabic and Kurdish among Kurds bilingual speakers in specific.

Keywords: code-switching, Kurds speakers, conversational CS, bilingual,