Motivation and Patterns of Code Switching among Sistani Dialect Users according to Giles' Theory

This research seeks the motivations and patterns of code switching among Sistani dialect users living in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, who speak two dialects: local and standard Persian. The reasons behind code switching among Sistani dialect users have been considered in terms of social factors and within the framework of Giles' accommodation theory (1979). Giles mentions four parameters as the motivations for code switching: mood, emotion, belief, and commitment to communal interaction. He later on elaborated the issue and added other factors (1982). Social class and gender have been studied to see how they can motivate code switching among Sistani dialect users. Having investigated the speech of B.A. students of Zabol University, the researcher reached the conclusion that as far as gender is concerned, women turn to code switching less often than men; and as far as social class is concerned, lower classes use code switching more often. This can be justified in terms of Giles's theory according to which, lower class people have a stronger tendency to maintain class congruity. The other point has to do with the use of standard Persian by men and women and by members of upper and lower classes: compared to women, men are less apt to use standard Persian and compared to the upper class, the lower class is more apt to use Sistani dialect; these differences echo the various patterns and motivations related to code switching as far as social factors are concerned.