Language Choice and Code-Switching in the Azerbaijani Community in Tehran: A Conversation Analytic Approach to Bilingual Practices (Studia Iranica Upsaliensia, 9)

This is a Ph.D. dissertation. This study examines language choice and code-switching patterns found in the Azerbaijani speech community in Tehran, Iran. Two empirical studies have been combined. The first involves a macro-social quantitative analysis of language choice on a community level, based on questionnaires, and the second involves a micro-interactional qualitative analysis of language choice and code-switching practices, based on tape-recordings and participant observation.

The results show that there is an on-going language shift occurring on the community level, from Azerbaijain-Persian bilingualism to monolingualism in Persian. The rate of this process differs depending on a number of social factors. However, the strong demographic support within this speech community makes the possibility of a total language shift unlikely. In fact, in contrast to the ongoing language shift there is a parallel movement towards the revitalization of the Azerbaijani culture and language.

As far as language choice and code-switching practices on an individual level are concerned, a number of bilingual practices are found. Code-switching as a marked linguistic choice is used for a variety of purposes in argumentative and narrative opposition. It is at the same time demonstrated that a general preference for same language talk does not necessarily prevail among all bilingual speakers which allows for the use of a range other linguistic as well as paralinguistic resources to produce interactionally marked choices in bilingual converstation.