Ariel S L Chan

This dissertation examines code-switching, the use of two languages in the same sentence, in three groups of highly proficient Cantonese-English bilinguals through cross-disciplinary sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic approaches. It addresses how variations across language acquisition and sociocultural context affect speakers’ perception and production of code-switched words, what code-switching practices reveal about the impact of linguistic structure, and what differences in code-switching patterns across these bilingual speakers reveal about the interaction between sociocultural context, cultural identity, cognition, and language processing broadly. This project contributes to the documentation of the under-represented Cantonese-English bilingual community.