Reframing Code-Switching in Anglo-French Humour: A Genre-Based Comparative Study

Abstract

Code-switching plays a central role in bilingual humour, generating comedic effects through language alternation. Anglo-French bilingual humour remains an under-researched field compared to other language pairs that have gained worldwide recognition. This research investigates how code-switching functions differ across three genres of Anglo-French bilingual humour: a comedy film, a stand-up performance, and a collection of bilingual jokes. A two-phase analytical approach was employed to explore how genre-specific conventions shape the use and purpose of code-switching. Each instance of code-switching was first assigned a single primary communicative function. Then, the frequency and distribution of these functions across the three genres were determined. The findings showed that code-switching in the comedy film appeared most frequently for expressive purposes along with referential and directive uses. The stand-up performance displayed a more balanced distribution with a notably high percentage of metalinguistic and phatic functions compared to the film. In contrast, the jokes overwhelmingly featured the poetic function of code-switching. These results demonstrate that communicative functions of code-switching are shaped by genre-specific goals and constraints. The study argues that functional models of code-switching, while useful for categorisation, should be extended to include genre as a predictive and explanatory component.