The Role of Metaphors in Code-Switching: A Qualitative Analysis of Italian-Arabic Bilingual Speakers.

The use of figurative language is a pervasive aspect of daily communication across languages and cultures. This study investigates the use of metaphors by bilingual speakers who alternate between two languages on a daily basis and the potential role of these expressions in bilingual utterances. Specifically, we examine the spoken language of Italian-Arabic bilinguals and explore how metaphorical expressions in a bilingual context interact with code-switching, a prevalent linguistic phenomenon in bilingual contexts. Qualitative methods were employed, including interviews with Arabic-Italian bilinguals and a cor- pus of colloquial language. Our analysis focuses on identifying and analysing code-switching involving metaphorical expressions from both the perspectives of code-switching and metaphor. Our results reveal a higher frequency of intra-sentential forms of code-switching when metaphors are expressed. The majority of metaphors are expressed in Arabic, despite the prevalence of Ital- ian in the statements. These findings aim at shedding light on the complex interplay between figurative language and bilingualism and contribute to our understanding of cross-linguistic communication.