Code-switching among Polish university students

Code-switching is an interesting linguistic phenomenon which is becoming increasingly common especially among young people. The following article is an introduction to a broader project, which aims to analyze the extent to which foreign words and expressions are being used by Polish students. The examples quoted in the text illustrate the most important kinds of code-switching and were collected by students themselves, which proves their authenticity. Most of the quoted examples support the thesis that currently English is the most popular source of lexical items used in code-switching, though there are also cases in which other languages are involved. A further and deeper analysis of the mentioned phenomenon may provide us with a better understanding of the motivations behind why people so often use and adopt words of foreign origin; this may also help to find some explanations as to how the process of borrowing works.