Code-Switching for Localization — Cheat Sheet
Quick reference · Updated 15 September 2025
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When to use code-switching (CS) - and when not to
Use CS when…
- It aligns with audience practice (e.g., bilingual feeds, mixed registers) theory.
- You need to signal identity, prestige, or belonging ads & identity.
- Global brand terms carry equity locally (keep the anchor, localize the frame) anglicisms.
Avoid CS when…
- Legal, safety, or accessibility requires full monolingual clarity (e.g., T&Cs, medical).
- Audience norms are strongly monolingual/formal in the channel or moment.
- It becomes decorative English that adds status but subtracts meaning.
Patterns by market
Argentina
- Prestige anchor: Single English term inside Spanish copy (e.g., “Nueva cápsula Limited”).
- Campaign names: English titles carry symbolic capital note.
- Avoid: Over-anglicizing body copy; keep syntax and idiom rioplatense.
United Arab Emirates
- Mixed frames: Arabic + English in the same visual/verbal space mirrors daily practice UAE.
- Transliteration: Keep brand/product recognizability in Arabic script; mind formal vs. youth contexts.
- Youth numerals: “3/7/9” for phonemes in informal writing; use selectively and never in legal copy numerals.
United Kingdom
- Voice authenticity: Regional accents (e.g., Yorkshire) convey trust and inclusion in national campaigns inclusion.
- Script: Keep colloquial spellings only if they match the brand’s tone; avoid tokenism.
Microcopy templates
Headlines
- AR: “Nueva colección Weekend · edición limitada”
- UAE: “جاهز؟ Upgrade حياتك”
- UK: “Go on then — your upgrade’s here”
Taglines
- AR: “Diseñado en casa, Made for movement”
- UAE: “شبّكها your way”
- UK: “Proper performance, no fuss”
CTAs
- “Comprar now” / “ابدأ now”
- “Explorar the drop”
- “Check availability · Ver stock”
Use sparingly: one English anchor per line is usually enough; keep the rest native.
QA checklist (ship only if all are ✅)
- Intent clear: Prestige / belonging / clarity stated in the brief why.
- Register fit: Channel + moment + audience match (no youth numerals in formal contexts).
- Inclusion: CS choices reflect, not stereotype, the community.
- Script & orthography: Transliteration consistent; diacritics if required by brand style.
- Accessibility: Screen readers parse mixed language; provide `lang` attributes where applicable.
- Compliance: Disclaimers monolingual and fully legible; no ambiguity in pricing or claims.
- Brand voice: Accent/lexis sits within the voice system; pass tone-of-voice checks.
LLM prompt recipe (copy & adapt)
You are a localization copywriter. Task: produce 3 variants using minimal code-switching.
Market: Argentina (Rioplatense Spanish), Audience: Gen Z/young professionals, Channel: Instagram story.
Intent: Signal prestige subtly via one English anchor per line, keep rest in natural Spanish.
Constraints: No slang beyond common AR usage; avoid literal calques; keep CTAs 2–3 words.
Deliver for each variant:
1) Headline + tagline + CTA
2) Rationale: why the English anchor works here (1–2 lines)
3) Risk check: any inclusion/compliance pitfalls?
Swap market/audience/intent as needed (UAE: dialect notes, youth numerals only for informal channels; UK: accent/lexical regionality for VO).
Metrics & testing
Track
- CTR / CVR deltas vs. non-CS controls
- Watch-through rate (video VO with regional accent)
- Lift in branded search for anchor terms
- Sentiment & topic (comments: identity/“feels like us” cues)
Test design
- A/B: 1 English anchor vs. none; keep visuals identical
- Multivariate: anchor position (headline vs. CTA)
- Holdout by region/segment to isolate cultural effect
References (hover for details)
Core: CS theory · Advertising & multilingualism · UAE numerals · Anglicisms in AR marketing · Industry trends.