What is Code Switching?
Code switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages within a single conversation or even a single sentence. In India, code switching is the norm: a speaker might say "Mujhe appointment reschedule karna hai for next Thursday" mixing Hindi and English naturally.
How Code Switching works
Code switching presents a major challenge for voice AI systems. The ASR engine must recognize that the speaker has switched languages mid sentence without any signal. The NLU must parse intent across mixed language input. And the TTS must respond in the same mixed language pattern the caller used. Most voice AI systems fail at this because they are trained on monolingual data.
Why Code Switching matters for enterprise
In India, over 80% of business calls involve some degree of code switching. A voice AI system that cannot handle code switching will misunderstand or drop a significant portion of real world interactions. This is not a nice to have feature. It is a fundamental requirement for any voice AI deployment in India.
How ARCA handles Code Switching
ARCA handles code switching natively across all 22 Indian languages. It does not require callers to select a language before speaking and processes mixed language input without breaking the conversation flow.
See how ARCA uses code switching in practice.
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