The Bilingualism of Material Culture? Thoughts from a Linguistic Perspective

Abstract

This paper contains preliminary thoughts on the viability of the concept of code-switching beyond its linguistic context. It begins with a brief discussion of some recent linguistic and archaeological interactions and suggests that, in some respects, the two disciplines are converging.An introduction to code-switching as a phenomenon of both bilingual speech and writing is then proffered, including information about sub-categorization and interpretations, and addressing some problems associated with applying this concept to ancient linguistic remains. Finally the possibilityof applying the concept of code-switching to material culture is explored. I discuss recent examples of other scholars' non-linguistic use of code-switching and expose some major issues which should be confronted. If we can overcome these obstacles, code-switching might present a useful wayto conceptualize multiple identities. This might allow us to break away from the inadequate 'either/or' of bounded ethnicities associated with other cultural concepts, which do not fit complex realities.