Code switching refers to the practice of alternating back and forth between two (or more) language styles when one is in conversation with different groups. For example, when a student speaks to her teachers, she likely employs good verbal manners (e.g. please and thank you) and good grammar; however, when a student speaks to her friends, she likely employs some slang and is less formal and careful about her word choices. Sometimes we use language to fit in or to be viewed in a particular way. One may want a teacher to think of them as a good student and respectful, but one may just want to be "one of the group" with one's friends.
When Calpurnia is in the Finches' home, she speaks as they speak. For example, when she speaks to Scout one day, she says,
Baby, [. . .] I just can’t help it if Mister Jem’s growin' up. He's gonna want to be off to himself a lot now, doin' whatever boys do, so you just come right on in the kitchen when you feel lonesome. We’ll find lots of things to do in here.
She sounds like the Finches, for the most part, when she is with the Finches. However, when Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout with her to her black church one day, Scout is shocked to hear Calpurnia's speech change when she's around other people of color. Scout says,
I felt Calpurnia’s hand dig into my shoulder. "What you want, Lula?" she asked, in tones I had never heard her use. She spoke quietly, contemptuously."I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to nigger church.""They’s my comp'ny," said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them.
Scout, a child, obviously does not understand why Calpurnia would speak differently in different contexts, but it likely makes sense to the reader. First, as a black woman—especially in this time and place—it benefits Calpurnia to sound like whites when she's around whites. People of color are often seen as suspect by whites, so the more similar to whites Calpurnia can sound, the better for her. However, if she were to continue to talk like whites around her black friends, she would likely be seen as suspect by this community. It benefits Calpurnia to fit in as much as possible with each group, and her speech is a powerful way to achieve this.
Towards the end of chapter 12, Calpurnia explains to the children that she is one of the few educated, literate black citizens in their community and Jem brings up Calpurnia's ability to change her dialect and code-switch by saying,
"That’s why you don’t talk like the rest of ‘em...Rest of the colored folks. Cal, but you talked like they did in church…" (Lee, 127).
Jem notices that Cal speaks informally to her fellow community members instead of using proper diction and clearly pronouncing her words like she does around the home. Calpurnia explains why she changes her dialect and utilizes code-switching by telling the children that it is more appropriate to speak in the same dialect of her present company and says that her fellow community members would think that she was "puttin‘ on airs to beat Moses" if she spoke formally around them. Despite knowing how to speak formally and properly pronounce her words, Calpurnia tells the children,
"It’s not necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike—in the second place, folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin‘ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin‘ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language" (Lee, 127).
Scout is astonished by Cal's "modest double life" and discovers that she changes her dialect and utilizes code-switching to connect and blend in with her audience. Calpurnia is careful to not offend her fellow community members, which is also a reason that she alters her dialect and utilizes code-switching.
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