A postscript: code-switching and social identity

In this postscript, various ways to link conversational code-switching and code-mixing to questions of social identity are discussed. It is argued that bilingual speech is usually construed by members as an index of some extralinguistic social category. This category is not only ethnic but also social: bilingual speakers are portrayed and portray themselves in semiotic constellations such as local versus regional versus national, urban versus rural, autochthonous versus colonial, minority versus majority, etc. However, these constellations may be enacted under different circumstances in different ways. My postscript also warns of a rash equation of 'hybrid' language use with 'hybrid' social identity; such an equation may be as essentialist as that of nation and language which underlies traditional European language ideologies.