The syntax of Arabic-French code-switching

This paper examines the syntax of the intra-sentential code-switching between Arabic and French which is a common feature of the speech of Moroccan bilinguals. Previous work on code-switching has suggested a variety of constraints prohibiting switching in specific structural and language environments. However, the present study concludes that Arabic-French code-switching is possible at all syntactic boundaries above the word level, though it is not generally permitted between word-internal morpheme boundaries. Moreover, contrary to claims made by others about other types of code- switching, there is for Arabic-French code-switching no constraint that the structure exhibiting a switch must conform to the surface structure patterns of both languages. Instead, it is shown that the possibilities are limited by the requirement that, in structures exhibiting switching as elsewhere, all items must be used in accordance with their own language-particular subcategorisation restrictions. Finally, it is noted that certain types of switch, though not prohibited by any syntactic constraint, occur much more rarely than certain others; this is seen to reflect contrasts between the roles the two languages typically assume in structures involving switching.