Influence of Social media on Code-Switching and Code-Mixing Behaviour Among the Young Generation of Bangladesh

Codes refer to the different language varieties or dialects used for meaningful communication.Code-switching and mixing behaviours that refer to blending of two or more languages or codes are common among bilingual and multilingual individuals.Communication practices in recent times have changed significantly due to the diversified technological advancements.Social media have made communication around the world quick and convenient.The youth who acquire various foreign languages and engage in social interactions become accustomed to codeswitching and code-mixing behaviour.The research reported in this paper followed a qualitative approach to identify any possible influence of social media on code-switching and code-mixing behaviour among the Bangladeshi youth.It examined if the mother tongue is endangered due to the over-switching and over-mixing of codes in regular communication.The findings indicate that social media served to mould their language varieties and influenced them to switch and mix their language codes.Moreover, it was evident from the findings that the switching and mixing of codes have significant consequences for the vitality of their mother tongue.The findings have implications for multilingual practices involving social media and language use among the youth.