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)Whorfian hypothesis

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of code switching, which refers to the phenomenon of a speaker switching between two or more languages or language varieties within the same conversation or interaction. In this case, the butler switches between a more formal English register when speaking to the lady of the house and a more informal Scots register when speaking to his wife.

A Scottish Butler in an English Mansion Says to the Lady