Switching the code for social harmony

Our shared culture is being divided by boiling resentment

Scene of Inquisition; Francisco de Goya, 1808-12

Last week, BBC Radio Four broadcast a programme about “code-switching”.

This term started life in linguistics, where it means alternating between two or more languages during a conversation. 

Now, though, it’s become a weapon on the identity politics battleground. Black culture warriors complain they feel un…