# Shared Lexical Items as Triggers of Code Switching

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.15209 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.15209/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 3 of its 48 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 29 Aug 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [LinCE: A Centralized Benchmark for Linguistic Code-switching Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.04322/) (2020)
- [SemEval-2020 Task 9: Overview of Sentiment Analysis of Code-Mixed Tweets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.04277/) (2020)
- [Borrowing or Codeswitching? Annotating for Finer-Grained Distinctions in Language Mixing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.04973/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Loanword or Switch? The Annotation Boundary, Not the Model, Drives Kazakh-Russian Code-Switching Identification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.00581/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Why do bilingual speakers code-switch (mix their two languages)? Among the several theories that attempt to explain this natural and ubiquitous phenomenon, the Triggering Hypothesis relates code-switching to the presence of lexical triggers, specifically cognates and proper names, adjacent to the switch point. We provide a fuller, more nuanced and refined exploration of the triggering hypothesis, based on five large datasets in three language pairs, reflecting both spoken and written bilingual interactions. Our results show that words that are assumed to reside in a mental lexicon shared by both languages indeed trigger code-switching; that the tendency to switch depends on the distance of the trigger from the switch point; and on whether the trigger precedes or succeeds the switch; but not on the etymology of the trigger words. We thus provide strong, robust, evidence-based confirmation to several hypotheses on the relationships between lexical triggers and code-switching.