Joel — Great essay. Never heard it referred to as “code switching”, but observed it first hand back in the 1970’s when I worked with a college-educated black woman with whom I developed a collegial relationship. We had great discussions on a wide range of topics conducted in college level “white speak”, so I was surprised when I overheard her conversations with with some of the less educated, mostly black, data entry staff. [Not being judgmental here…just trying to be descriptive] My friend was able to “code switch” flawlessly…even changing from “white speak” to “black speak” as she shifted focus from conversing with me to the data entry folks. I think you “hit the nail on the head”. We do this because we want to be accepted and understood…but it is not just a black/white thing. I also observed (and to a limited extent practiced) “code switching” as a student studying abroad in Greece for a semester. Several of my teachers would switch from Greek to English and back as they shifted focus from their Greek friends to their (mostly) American students. I know Hispanics in the US who do the English / Spanish shift and Asians who switch easily from their native language to English and back. I just hope that your nephew’s college friends find reasons to accept, rather than exclude, him even if he doesn’t learn “code switching” fast enough.