Linguistic and cultural identity: epistemological review (original) (raw)
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Issues in language and identity research in applied linguistics (2013)
Estudios de Lingüística Inglesa Aplicada, 2013
Identity has become a key construct in applied linguistics over the past 30 years, as more and more researchers have heeded Norton Peirce's (1995: 12) call for 'a comprehensive theory of social identity that integrates the language learner and the language learning context'. In this article, my aim is to discuss what I see as issues arising in identity research in applied linguistics. I start with a brief consideration of why identity has become so central in applied linguistics, before discussing the poststructuralist model of identity which has been adopted by the vast majority of researchers. I then move to consider three more substantive issues: (1) the potential benefits of a more psychological angle when most language and identity research tends to be predominantly social; (2) the importance of clarifying the interrelationship between individual agency and social structures in language and identity research; and (3) the potential benefits of including a socioeconomic stratification and social class angle in research which tends to prime identity politics (identity inscriptions such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality and language), over the material conditions of life.
The article is devoted to the problem of constructing a unifying identity through the commonality of language as an alternative to the concepts and practices most widely spread in the modern world, which are understood as the construction of a single ethnic identity (including the concepts of ethnonation and ethnonationalism), as well as the construction of general civil identity and "civil" nation. The primary attention is paid to the methodology of ethnology and social sciences in general, as well as to the scientific grounds and methods of the construction of a unifying identity through language. The evolution of methods of social sciences, changes in paradigms in ethnology, some linguistic theories in the problematic area of interdisciplinary research relevant to the issues of linguistic identity are considered. The international legal aspects of an ethnos are also considered; the inseparable connection between the phenomena of ethnicity, an ethnos and collective rights of an individual, on the one hand, and the phenomenon of native language and collective rights as one of the formats of existence and exercising personal rights and freedoms is postulated. The conclusion is made about the possibility, advantages, and potential social stability of the construction of a unifying identity that harmonises ethnic relationships through language identity.
The Relationship between Language and Identity
International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation
This research explores the relationship between language and identity; with more than 7,000 spoken languages in the world today, we can transmit our identities and thoughts by using our language, and that is one of the strongest human abilities as far as the language is different as much as the transmitted can be different too since the language is a main and an important method to express our identities in any culture and society. Language is either individual words, connected speech, or even writing. While we use written or spoken language, we do not only express our thoughts, culture, society, intentions but also who we really are and how we want people to see us. We both perform and produce specific identities depending on the context. I used a survey (quantitative data), and I published it on different media, so I could gather as many participants and cover a large number of experiences. It included both open and closed questions and also included possible answers (multiple c...
The Ethnic and Linguistic Identity
2015
Abstract. This article investigates the development of the identity of young non-Estonians, depending on their language environment and linguistic origin. The study focuses on the changing ethnic and linguistic identity of people in areas with a large concentration of non-Estonians – Tallinn and Ida-Virumaa. A comparison is made between young people from monolingual and bilingual families who have graduated from schools with Russian language of instruction. The purpose is to find out how linguistic origin, language environ-ment, frequency of communication with speakers of Estonian and the level of skills in the official language relate to the ethnic and linguistic identity of young non-Estonians; and how the linguistic self-identification of non-Estonians and their identity change due to factors influencing the society. Written questionnaires were used as the method for conducting the research.
Construction of Linguistic Identity
International Journal of Central University of Kerala, 2018
Abstract This study focuses on the construction of linguistic identity in an attempt to dissect its constitutive elements during interaction. Language is considered an important device for the expression of identity. Most linguists and sociologists have considered identity as similarities and differences among members of social categories and consequently attributed linguistic variation to the pertinent social category, which is often criticized by other colleagues. This study concludes that linguistic identity is co-constructed by participants in social contexts and argues that linguistic identity is an intersubjective phenomenon whose social implication is indexed by interactional settings. Coming up with such a conclusion, indeed, requires an in-depth discussion of the historical development of identity, including theories and concepts of identity in different disciplines. We conclude our views within the conceptual notion of Identity Theory. Identity Theory perceives individuals as resources for multiple identities whose activation of each identity depends on the roles performed by social agents (White, 2008).