Mix and match karamuda?
 At a certain point, we all feel more comfortable in a certain
language as compared to another. I experience this on a daily basis at
my Australian home with my two kids. The strict 'Sinhala only' policy at
home always clashes with their outside English atmosphere. As a parent I
feel proud and sad at the same time on their terrific effort to speak in
Sinhala and as a linguist observe an authentic linguistic phenomenon
code switching.
We often use English words to describe a certain thing, when we
realize that particular object does not have a word in our mother
language, or more we don't know whether that word exits or not. Well, I
repeatedly code-switch as it is an essential communication aide in my
family. And at the same time I code mix too. Code is a language, a
variety, or style of language.
What the hell is code switching and code mixing? Code-switching is a
term in linguistics referring to using more than one language or variety
of language in a conversation. Bilinguals, who can speak at least two
languages, have the ability to use elements of both languages when
conversing with another bilingual.
The sentence and phonological structures of two languages allow
occurring this code switching phenomenon. Or, I would rather say it only
happens when the two languages allow it to happen. Code-switching can
occur between sentences or within a single sentence. On the other hand
code-mixing is the process of using two languages at the same time or
constant switching between two languages during speaking.
Code-switching relates to, and sometimes indexes social-group
membership in bilingual and multilingual communities. Some
sociolinguists describe the relationships between code-switching
behaviors and class, ethnicity, and other social positions. In addition,
scholars in interactional linguistics and conversation analysis have
studied code-switching as a means of structuring talk in interaction.
Some analysts suggest that code-switching does not simply reflect social
situations, but that it is a means to create social situations.
 At my home, my kids often switch to English though they are asked to
speak in Sinhala at home simply because they lack full conversational
skills in Sinhala as they are raised in an English background. They
often make funny statements like 'ethakota people la mata laugh karayi',
'mama nice and kind unaata this silly head (referring a sibling) doesn't
listen to me amma'.
But, in certain contexts, code switching and code mixing are done
intentionally. As I mentioned above, it is mostly done with the purpose
of maintaining social status. As long as English is concerned as a
lethal weapon (Kaduwa) or a crucial indicator, no one can prevent it is
being used everywhere whether it is relevant or not. Everybody in our
society openly or secretly wishes to be fluent in English or at least
demonstrate they are.
In advertisements, TV commercials, and day-to-day conversations we
can get numerous examples of code-mixing. The growing popularity of
English as a social indicator makes them to code-mix most of the time. I
am not aware of most recent Sri Lankan commercials, but I can certainly
remember some from some years back such as 'mood mix karanna maru
inguru' and 'I know the place sana, mama hamadaama yanne ethenta' etc.
Code-switching depends a lot on how formal or informal you are with a
certain person, whether it's appropriate to code-mix with a certain
individual or not. Code-mixing has given rise to new languages in our
region like Hinglish (Hindi + English), Benglish (Bengali + English),
Tanglish (Tamil + English) and so on. I am not sure what we would call
our Sinhala - English rendezvous, may be Sinenglish, I wonder.
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