Patterns and predictors of code-switching in Singapore preschoolers: a corpus-based study

This study explored the patterns and predictors of code-switching (CS) in Singapore preschoolers by analyzing the data elicited from an existing early childhood corpus. Altogether 943 cases of CS produced by 111 children aged 2;6, 3;6, 4;6, 5;6, respectively, were analyzed. The results indicated that: (1) ‘insertion’, ‘intersentential’, and ‘backflagging’ were identified as the most common types of CS, whereas ‘alternation’ was rarely found; (2) there was a significant age-related increase in the production repertoire, the occurrence rate, the number of children producing CS, the frequency, and the type of CS, and age was confirmed the significant predictor; (3) children from the families with at least one bilingual parent produced the most CS, whereas those from the families without any bilingual parents produced the least; (4) parental bilingualism attitude, storytelling, and singing activities negatively predicted the CS frequency and type, whereas parental language input patterns positively predicted the frequency; and (5) children from the families with parents believing that bilingual education should start from kindergarten years (Ages 3-6) had the highest frequency of CS. These findings have added empirical evidence about CS in a multilingual Asian society and highlighted the impact of parent bilingual input patterns on CS in early childhood.