Embedded language

In codeswitching studies, the less important language is often called the embedded language, whose elements are inserted into the surrounding matrix language.


 * “...the participating languages are labelled in the following way. The ‘base’ language is called the matrix language (ML) and the ‘contributing’ language (or languages) is called the embedded language (EL). This terminology will be used in this book. I follow Joshi (1985) in how the terms matrix language and embedded language are used in regard to [codeswitching], while acknowledging that Jacobson (1977) seems to be the first to have used these terms in reference to [codeswitching], albeit in a different sense.” (Myers-Scotton 1993:20)

Synonyms

 * contributing language (vs. base language) (cf. Myers-Scotton 1993:20)
 * guest language (vs. host language) (Sridhar & Sridhar 1980)