A SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF CODE-SWITCHING AND CODE-MIXING IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: A STUDY OF BS ENGLISH STUDENTS IN DISTRICT BUNER

Abstract

This study examined code-switching and code-mixing practices among BS English students in higher education institutions in District Buner, Pakistan. The aim of the study was to investigate how multilingual language alternation operates within academic interaction and how students interpret these practices in relation to learning, identity, institutional ideology, and linguistic legitimacy. The major objectives were to identify patterned forms of code-switching and code-mixing, to analyse the socio-educational and ideological forces influencing language choice, and to examine students’ perceptions regarding the academic and identity implications of multilingual discourse. The study adopted a qualitative multiple-case research design grounded in Interactional Sociolinguistics and Identity and Investment Theory. Purposeful sampling was employed to select 26 BS English students from different semester levels across four institutions within the district. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and non-participant classroom observations. The data collection procedure included institutional permission, informed consent, audio-recorded interviews, systematic observation protocols, and verbatim transcription preserving instances of language alternation. Data were analysed using thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework, allowing systematic coding, cross-case comparison, and interpretive theme development. The findings revealed that code-switching functioned as a structured interactional strategy for managing meaning, facilitating participation, negotiating symbolic power, and balancing academic aspiration with cultural belonging. Students perceived multilingual practices as cognitive scaffolding that enhanced comprehension and confidence; however, they simultaneously expressed ambivalence shaped by internalized English-only ideologies. The study challenges deficit interpretations of multilingual academic discourse and argues for a context-sensitive understanding of language alternation as socially embedded academic practice.