Code-switching as a compensatory strategy in the discourse of Galician-Spanish bilinguals diagnosed with dementia

Abstract

This study analyzes code-switching (henceforth CS) as a discursive strategy in the natural speech of Spanish-Galician bilinguals with dementia. The objectives of this work are to: (i) examine whether code-switching is present in the discourse of Spanish-Galician bilingual people diagnosed with dementia; (ii) determine the pragmatic function of CS at the different stages of the disease in order to assess whether code-switching is used as a reparation strategy when people with dementia are faced with problematic utterances; (iii) analyze how cognitive decline affects the ability to code-switch. The study includes a sample of 27 participants diagnosed with different types of dementia (13 in the mild stage, 8 in the moderate stage, and 6 in the severe stage). Participants were videotaped discussing their life history, daily routines, and hobbies in their first language (L1). The recorded data were transcribed and annotated using ELAN 6.7. Results indicate that people with dementia retain the ability to use CS until the severe stage of dementia, where CS may serve as a compensatory strategy. Additionally, differences were observed in the discursive functions of CS between Spanish and Galician speakers, suggesting that language background influences how bilingual individuals with dementia employ CS in communication.