Code-Switching and Its Relationship to Other Language Contact Phenomena

During the last three decades, code-switching has been one of the most interesting issues in the field of sociolinguistics. Code-switching is a language contact phenomenon which can be seen in many bi/multilingual societies. Various definitions are suggested for code-switching that one cannot easily find a common point among them. Therefore, it is necessary to try to find a practical and comprehensive definition or a systematic classification of the existing definitions. The relationship between code-switching and other language contact phenomena is important as well. In the present study, we deal with the issue of code-switching and its various definitions, its previous studies, its relationship to other language contact phenomena (such as bi/multilingualism, linguistic borrowing, code-mixing, interference and mixed language), its functions as well as the advantages of studying it. This research is a part of a wider research project dealing with various aspects of code-switching which its other parts will be presented in the near future.