Code Mixing in Contemporary Arab-American Poetry

The paper argues that code mixing which is a key concept of sociolinguistics is highly implemented in contemporary Arab-American poetry as a mechanism of representing identity. It focuses on the innovative use of original codes within the dominant one and examining the poetic expressions that produce mixing in the poetry of contemporary poets with dual identities namely, Suhier Hammad, Safia Elhillo, and Ziad Shlah. This qualitative paper uses textual and analytical methods and is based on concepts such as heteroglossia and hybrid identity. It tackles identity through analysis of selected poems in the collections entitled as Breaking Poems (2008), The January Children (2022) and Taqsim (2006). It contends that, despite the diverse backgrounds and poetic styles such as rap, narrative, and metaphor besides, the poets achieve the similar target which is the negotiation of identities in order to accept the difference and integration with other cultures.