Strategic Code-Switching as Algorithmic Practice: TikTok and the Reconfiguration of Bilingual Markedness in Canadian Francophone Youth

This study examines French-English code-switching among francophone adolescents on TikTok in Quebec (majority context) and Ontario (minority context). Analyzing 1,200 video captions, we reveal how TikTok’s affordances (brevity, multimodality, algorithms) reconfigure code-switching from a context-bound practice into a dynamic techno-cultural strategy for identity negotiation, audience engagement, and cultural positioning. Findings demonstrate distinct regional patterns: Quebec fosters intra-sentential switching to reconcile local pride with global youth culture, while Ontario utilizes inter-sentential alternation for bilingual inclusivity. Crucially, regional ideologies and platform algorithms co-construct new markedness hierarchies, challenging static notions of context and markedness in traditional code-switching theories. The study advances bilingualism theory by theorizing digital platforms as transformative sites that transcend structural constraints. It also offers implications for bilingual education by validating youth code-switching as sophisticated communicative competence worthy of pedagogical integration.