Language may be regarded as the basic tool for communication and shaping of identity of individuals and the society. Thus, language plays a major role not only in societal development. Moreover, certain languages may have relatively longer explanations in their expression, while others are precise and straight to the point. This paper attempts to consider various aspects of the role of language in the formation of identity. Language is the tool that allows humans to crystalize their thoughts, ides and experiences, thus it has the power to shape the identity of persons and culture at large.
How Language Defines Identity
The ethnic group, culture and language that one associates with may be termed as their identity. Language is used for interaction and description of oneself particularly when meeting for the first time. As discussed, earlier one’s language may be used to describe them as talkative, when it is their language that takes much uttering to convey a point. According to Taylor, language may shape one’s identity in different ways, he mentions, for instance that French is a romantic language that is felt and originates from the heart (Hoffman, 1990). He further mentions that there are certain words mentioned in English may be embarrassing as opposed to when mentioned in French. Going by this then it is clear that the language spoken may term someone as ‘cool’, and soft. He further mentions his mother tongue Cree, which he describes as the funniest language as it is felt on and around the sexual organs, make it rather funny. Further, Taylor describes the language speakers as funny, in the article, the author mentions a few Cree words, which when indeed pronounced prompts reader to smile despite not understanding the language (Hoffman, 1990). Language connects one to their lineage, and as he narrates the experiences during his migration to the United States and France.
The author felt that he did not carry along his parents’ connection to home from the moment he had to practise English in order to have significance in the USA. The Spanish believe that language is so attached to the person’s identity that having two different languages is having two identities (Surrain, 2021). In the United States, speaking English identifies one as a patriotic and loyal citizen to the country. Citizens who do not speak English in the United States are considered Un-American, and often disloyal. Identifying with the English language in the USA is heroism and it shapes one’s identity as loyal, obedient and trustworthy. The case of the of Martha Laureano versus the attorney found that the former was guilty of speaking only Spanish to her 5-year-old daughter. According to the judge, in the United States, Spanish was associated with house helps and maids, accusing the mother of naturing the child into a house help.
Communication by the use of language has been considered a driving factor to civilization by different scholars. Education has relied heavily on language to pass information from educators to the learners. The English language, exhibits itself as a professional language, hence speaker have an identity of professionalism. Well not to be misinterpreted for tribalism, language often restrains one to, seeking assistance or support from those that they share same linguistic identity. Moreover, as seen in the children growing in the United States, as they slowly adapt and learn the English language, fear of loss of identity is observable in their parents, who feel their children may adopt not on the English language, but also the American culture (Villegas-Torres & Mora-Pablo, 2018). This language has a direct influence in shaping the identity of a person.
Finally, the colonial period, majorly in the African continent gives a clear example of how language can be used to learn and understand the impact of language on identity. In most of the west African states colonised by the French, the policy of assimilation i.e., conversion from native Africanism to the French language and culture remains an iconic event of how change of language may alter and change identity (Keller, 2018). Those who conformed to the French language and culture abandoned their ethnicity and originality for survival, completely changing their identity. This is evident by the large population of Afro-Europeans living in France, speaking fluent French and accustomed to the French culture. The impact of language in the shaping of the identity of both individuals and the society at large.
Examples of the Influence of Language on Identity
The consolidation of the linguistic picture of the world in the semantics of words is convincingly shown in research in the field of cultural semantics. They showed that almost every word contains a cultural component that captures a special view of the world of native speakers of this language. There are discrepancies between such seemingly equivalent words as ‘friend’ in English and ‘ami’ in French; ‘beautiful’, ‘guapo’, ‘joli’ in English, Spanish and French, etc. The same applies to the connotative meanings of words. For example, in American culture, such a characteristic of a person as ‘ambitious’ has rather a positive connotation, since they are associated with such a communicative value. In Russian, where, on the contrary, modesty is traditionally valued, words containing the meanings of high self-esteem contain a negative assessment. The above examples suggest that language captures the ideas about the world peculiar to native speakers of language and culture and perceived by them as something self-evident.
References
Hoffman, E. (1990). Lost in translation: A life in a new language. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Keller, Kathleen. (2018). Colonial suspects: Suspicion, imperial rule, and colonial society in interwar French West Africa. University of Nebraska Press.
Surrain, S. (2021). ‘Spanish at home, English at school’: How perceptions of bilingualism shape family language policies among Spanish-speaking parents of preschoolers. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(8), 1163-1177.
Villegas-Torres, P., & Mora-Pablo, I. (2018). The role of language in the identity formation of transnational EFL teachers. HOW, 25(2), 11-27. Web.