Exploring Cognates in Relation to Arabic-english Codeswitching Among Undergraduates in Jordan

Arabic-English codeswitching has been an issue for many scholars. Scholars considered this phenomenon threatening Arabic language and identity among codeswitching users. However, exploring cognates in relation to codeswitching in this context justifying codeswitching as a natural positive phenomenon representing creativity of bilingual brain. For exploring cognates in relation to Arabic-English codeswitching among undergraduates in Jordan, the study raised five questions. The study used a mixed method research design. The study involved three qualitative research questions to investigate types of cognates, positions of codeswitching and the scope of cognate facilitation. The quantitative study involved two questions measuring frequency of cognates in Arabic-English codeswitching and response time of cognates and non-cognates in codeswitching among undergraduates in Jordan. Different versions of the Triggering Theory were adopted as theoretical framework. The target
population in the current study were undergraduates who studied English language and literature at the University of Jordan. Furthermore, the study followed the nonprobability snowball method and purposive method of sampling. The data were collected from the Focus group and self-paced reading experiment. Data were analysed using content analysis, AntConc Software, and Microsoft Excel calculations. The findings revealed that cognates involving overwhelmingly bilingual homophones facilitate neighboring preceding, following, or combining codeswitching. Moreover, the results showed that cognates have efficient frequency in codeswitching. Also, cognates were processed faster than non-cognates in ArabicEnglish codeswitching by undergraduates in Jordan. These findings made codeswitching as a subconscious phenomenon where no blame on its users. As well, the findings served language learning supporting the role of L1 vocabulary in FL and L2.