A Scottish butler in an English mansion says to the lady of the house,"You may wish to stay inside today,Madam;it's quite cold outside." But when he goes back to his own cottage he is likely to say to his wife in broad Scots,"Shut the door and get inside,Maggie,you'll freeze your buns off." In linguistics,this is an example of:
A)code switching.
B)class consciousness.
C)glottochronology.
D)phonological analysis.
E)linguistic nationalism.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of code switching, which is the switching between two or more languages or language varieties within a conversation or speech act. The Scottish butler is using two different language varieties, one for the lady of the house (an English variety) and one for his own wife (a Scottish variety).

A Scottish Butler in an English Mansion Says to the Lady