On the issue of code switching in the speech of multilinguals on the Lithuanian-Belarusian borderland (based on field materials)

The article deals with cases of switching codes in the speech of the inhabitants of Lithuania, as well as the border Lithuanian-Belarusian territories, who speak Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian (Russian) languages. The analyzed texts were written down by Rita Balkute during ethnographic expeditions, which were not aimed at revealing the actual linguistic features of the speech of the informants. Analysis of the material shows that ethnolinguistic factors play an important role in code switching; for example, informants often switch to Polish when describing magical practices or when quoting spells. The article discusses the reasons for such transitions, as well as cases of mixing codes when hybrid texts are formed in Polish and Belarusian.