In a multilingual setting, speakers of more than one language use alternately the linguistic items of languages available to them while interacting with each other. A situation of language amalgam provides a conducive atmosphere for language alternation. Cod-switching is a dominant and striking feature of a language contact situation. Code alternation, a cover term for the phenomena of code-switching and code-mixing occurs in a language contact situation whereby more than one language play a significant role in the speech of an individual or their group. The present paper takes into account as how the expatiate employees from the Indian subcontinent working in Saudi Arabia sharing Hindi/Urdu as their tongue switch over to Arabic and incorporate linguistic items from Arabic into their native language. The paper begins with a brief introduction about the phenomenon of code-switching and code-mixing. It also presents some definitions of the terms code-switching and code-mixing and throws light on social motivation and functions of code-switching. The paper reviews a considerable portion of literature on linguistic alternation in terms of ‘code-switching and code-mixing’. An overview of the research methodology adopted in carrying out the study along with the results of the investigation are also documented. In the present paper an effort has made to prepare, present and analyze an exhaustive list of Arabic linguistic items and expressions used in the process of exchange and alternation by Hindi/Urdu mother tongue speakers working in Saudi Arabia.
Keywords: Code Switching, Code-Alternation, Code-Mixing, Embedded Language, Language Contact, Matrix Language, Multilingualism
