Code Switching as a Means and a Message in Algerian Rap Songs

Abstract

Algeria is a linguistically diverse country where the alternate use of multiple languages in conversations and different discourses is an everyday phenomenon. The overlapping of these codes often leads to the occurrence of code switching phenomenon, which may be defined as the alternation between two or more languages in a speaker’s speech. However, CS in the popular music industry has been rare, a situation that is changing, with the emergence of multilingual rap songs. Unlike CS in spontaneous speech which is largely unconscious, the CS in Algerian rap music is usually premeditated, designed to elicit certain audience reactions. Based on this assumption, this paper investigates how code-switching is used as a strategy to achieve the communicative intents and serve certain functions in three Algerian rap songs: Soolking’s liberté, L’Algerino’s Algerie mi amor, and Raja’s allo le systeme. To achieve these objectives, the authors relied on a mixed research method. The analysis was made based on Poplack typology of cod switching and the combination of Gumperz’s conversational functions of CS (1982) with Appel & Muysken’s functions of language (1987). The findings revealed that the singers use three dominant types of code switching known as intra-sentential, inter-sentential, and tag switching. Additionally, they show that these artistes do more with CS in their songs than to merely use it to reach out to clients in their multilingual country and beyond. They use it as a means to achieve aesthetic effects, which make their songs memorable and appreciable; and as a message on various social, economic, and political issues. It is argued that in using CS for these purposes the artistes are simply reflecting what has long been a widespread communicative praxis, especially among fellow (urban) youths.