Code Choice between Standard Arabic and the Saudi Dialect by Saudi Twitter Users

This study investigated code switching (CS) in its written form between Standard Arabic (SA) and the Saudi dialect (SD) by Saudi Twitter users. It examined 7,850 tweets and compared CS use in the written form with those identified in face-to-face interactions. In addition, it investigated whether CS patterns change by topic and whether they differ by gender and education. The study found that CS occurs in different contexts that vary in their formality and informality and CS to the SA correlated with prestige, importance, sophistication, and seriousness, whereas CS to the SD is associated with sarcasm, informality, low prestige, and everyday topics. The study also revealed that men use SA more than women, confirming previous findings in the Arabic sociolinguistic literature (e.g., Badawi 1973; Schmidt 1974; Ibrahim 1986; Abd-El-Jawad 1987; Haeri 1996; Walters 1996), and that educated Saudis use SA more than their less educated counterparts.