Cross‑pattern translanguaging in the university environment: A new interpretive model for Arabic–English alternation in academic and digital communication

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of cross‑pattern translanguaging in the university environment by studying the alternation between Arabic and English in academic and digital communication contexts. It starts from the basic hypothesis that this alternation is no longer merely a partial linguistic phenomenon to be explained solely by structural or educational factors, but has become a complex communicative practice in which linguistic, pragmatic, institutional and digital dimensions intersect. The article seeks to construct a new interpretive model that makes it possible to understand this alternation as a communicative behaviour shaped by the nature of the situation, the type of medium, the identity of the interactants, and the symbolic and cognitive functions that both Arabic and English perform within the university domain. The article also discusses the presence of this alternation in lectures, scientific discussions, academic writing, digital correspondence, and e‑learning platforms, highlighting that the shift between the two languages is not always spontaneous but is governed by considerations related to scientific precision, conceptual economy, academic prestige, group belonging, and the demands of rapid digital interaction. The article concludes that understanding multilingualism in the contemporary university requires moving beyond traditional conceptions of code‑switching and adopting an interpretive approach that is open to the interaction of language with medium, institution and social practice, thereby allowing a deeper appreciation of the profound changes that university communication is undergoing in the digital environment.