Code-switching is on a very controversial issue. On the one hand, it is seen as the most creative aspect of bilingual speech and as a sign of linguistic decay on the other, in the sense that it has been argued that bilinguals code-switch because they are neither able to acquire two languages properly nor maintain them separately. The purpose of this research was to observe the instances of code-switching that occurred in the conversations of the researcher's stepdaughter, a native speaker of English and fluent in Brazilian Portuguese. In addition, the research also tried to observe some grammatical aspects of code-switching. Many single-item switches were observed, as well as switches at the phrase and clause levels. Although the informant switches for several purposes, it was noticed that most of the switches were used in order to take advantage of more readily available lexical items.
bilingualism; code-switching; second language; acquisition