In her talk, bridging geography, psychology, and sociology, Sixth Former Chloe (PP) spoke about how the once-stigmatised notion of alternating between two or more languages, in the context of a single conversation or a speech, has now become a much sought-after skillset, known as code-switching. A fluent Mandarin and English speaker herself, Chloe affirmed that today a signification proportion of the world’s population speaks more than one language, and often those who fall into this category use multiple languages to help express themselves better and to build stronger rapports.

Drawing on the historic example of Queen Elizabeth II’s speech at the Irish State Banquet in 2011, Chloe explained that by choosing to address the room in Irish, the Queen used code-switching as a means to inspire trust in her audience, to show solidarity, and to help appease the political situation and improve diplomatic relationships. In contrast, many events, both past and present, have indicated that a refusal to acknowledge cultural identity and the diversity of language can lead to hostility and conflict; perhaps, therefore, we should aim to embrace the progressive properties of multilingualism.

Chloe concluded that there are great benefits to draw from the phenomenon of code-switching and a bilingual education. As an ever-growing field of study, the focus on code-switching continues to provide valuable data for geographers, linguists, sociologists alike.

She said: “As someone who speaks both Chinese and English on a native level, I often find myself using the two languages interchangeably. After learning about cultural assimilation during geography class and discussing with friends who had similar ethnolinguistic backgrounds, I decided to conduct further research and do a talk on this familiar phenomenon – code-switching. The result was gratifying, and I was especially surprised by the number of thought-provoking questions I received at the end on bilingual education and cultural identity, covering new extensive territory.”