Ogutu, Emily AtienoKanana, Fridah Erastus2016-04-152016-04-152003http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/14581Paper presented at the Disparities in developing countries types, challenges and the way forward fourth international conference proceedings of the association of third world studies, inc. Kenya Chapter, held at Kenyatta University Nairobi, Kenya, September 17th to 19th, 2003In a multilingual situation where individuals have command of more than one language in which to communicate, people tend to engage in the simultaneous or alternate use of two or more languages during conversation. This results in a Sociolinguistic phenomenon known as Code Switching. Opposing views have been expressed regarding the use of Code Switching: Some language users view Code Switching negatively saying that it is impolite, especially where there is a mixed audience, and that it not only reflects the speaker S lack of competence in one or all of the languages involved, but that it also hinders the attainment of competence in the target language for those learning a second or third language. On the other hand, there are those who view Code Switching positively saying that it is a creative aspect of language use, a reflection of complex bilingual skills used for effective communication in multilingual situations. This paper explores the opposing views regarding the use of code switching and considers some data that support the positive view of Code Switching in relation to the Kenyan language situation. The paper proceeds to suggest that, if the view that Code Switching is a positively creative aspect of language use is adopted, then Code Switching can be used for the promotion of all the languages at play in a multilingual societyenArticle