Hi Awq,

In general usage the term code-switching is used for any switch within a conversation regardless of the level of the switch (word level, sentential or extra-sentential. At one time single word switches were termed code-mixing or even the introduction of loan words (but this these have a more specific definition) but now, following the work of Myers-Scotton in the early 1990s code-mixing and even the use of loan words from another language is generally considered examples of code-switching as it exists along a continuum from mere word changes to switches of significant lengths of speech/language.  A real mark of code-switching involves why it occurs.  If the change is due to the conscious or subconscious desire to mark the relationship between the participants in the conversation to signal status, solidarity, situation, deference, or intimacy, then it is more clearly a manifestation of code switching.  See Myers-Scotton's two books from 1992 and 1993 (Duelling Languages and Social Motivations for Code-Switching: Evidence from Africa).

On code-switching I found the following book both interesting and readable. It offers a good overview of relevant literature.

Gardner-Chloros, P., 2009. Code-switching. Cambridge University Press.

I agree with Jack that the motivation for inserting loan words into a foreign language determines whether or not it can be considered code-switching. In Spanish companies, many English loan words and phrases are used nowadays in conversations between Spanish employees. When a speaker inserts English words and phrases because there is no accurate alternative in Spanish or because the Spanish term is not in current use and therefore might not be understood, (s)he is not code-switching. However, a speaker is clearly engaging in code-switching if (s)he uses loan words and phrases to establish status by showing that (s)he is in the know, or to show solidarity and/or develop intimacy with an interlocutor that uses the same terms.

Of course, the opacity of motivation makes it very difficult to determine whether instances of loan-word insertion constitute code-switching or not. However, if you were to record and observe the speech of several Arabic speakers, clues regarding the motivation behind loan-word use could be gathered from the immediate situational context, the purpose of the conversation, the relationship between the speakers etc. So don't be deterred by the difficulty of establishing motivations. This is a fascinating subject and I encourage you to research it.

I agree with Chris. As a matter of fact some loan words are inserted in speech and in writing as well to the extent that some Arabs, with limited education, might think of those words as Arabic. One of the morphological processes in coining new lexical items is though the process of "Arabization" which considers loan words as part of the Arabic lexicon after using them regularly in both writing and speaking. Sometimes the Arabization adds to the loan word extra linguistic properties, and at other times, the word is used as is. In this particular context, it is not a case of code switching.

Yes, some linguists describe the process of borrowing words as a symptom of code-switching. Apart from Myers-Scotton,  see also previous works like Hudson, "Sociolinguistics", Cambridge University Press, 1980.  

I agree with the previous answers, and I think as well that the type of common words plays a very significant role. For example, if there is a notion (mostly, from science or technologies, I guess, due to their international status) which has one and the same expression/word in different languages, it won't be a code-switching case to use it, as it is at the same time the part of several languages.

I would say that is code-mixing. Code-switching requires the listener shares the languages with the speaker when conversation occurs.

I agree with the previous answers. I also think that there could be a distinction on the level of conscious and subconscious foreign language use. In the case of conscious and intentional use, it could be probably called 'code-switching' and be regarded as a positive phenomenon whereas when it happens subconsciously and out of the speaker's intention, then we might call it 'code-mixing' which could be rather treated in a more negative way.

The problem is that it's difficult to distinguish single-word code-switches in particular from loanwords -- that is, words incorporated into the dominant language.  And it's impossible to know which phenomenon you're dealing with from looking just at a short stretch of speech.  Not all loanwords are nativized (= adapted to the receiving language's phonetics & phonology), for instance.  If you find monolinguals using a foreign-origin word, though, it's probably a loanword rather than a code-switch.

Jack, Brian, Chris, Zeinab, Anna, Alexandra, Zhenhua, Armine, and Sarah: Thank you all for your time and answers. I have learnt from you and from each of your answers. Viva Voce for the candidate has been conducted and your feedback was illuminating. 

My sense is that if  words from L2 are commonly known to speakers of L1, then these are instances of linguistic borrowing, not code-switching.  If use of the words from L2 in L1 requires knowledge of L2 which is not common to speakers of L1, that may be designated as code-switching.  What has been termed 'emblematic' C-S is insertion of single words, which may not be of the same level of interest as intra-sentential C-S, where two grammatical systems are genuinely interacting, a phenomenon still to be well understood.

I think it's Code mixing. Correct me if i"m wrong.

Well I think this is loaning or borrowing.

Codeswitching is the alternation between different languages by bilingual speakers. Codeswitching is incorporated momentarily and infrequently, while oanwords  are recurrent and always present in the target language.

Words integrated into Arabic can be identified as “borrowings” or “codeswitches” based on their structure. If the English loanword follows the Arabic inflection, it is considered as borrowed, but if it follows the English inflection, it should rather be considered as a

codeswitch.

Al-Saidat, Emad M. 2011. English loanwords in Jordanian Arabic: Gender and number assignment. Jordan: Al-Hussein Bin Talal University. Language Forum,Vol.37, No.1.

hi. certainly it is because code switching happens when interlocutors use common words to express solidarity with the addressee in order to establish Rapport .best