3. WHAT IS IDENTITY?
Identity is the individual’s concept of the self, as well
as the individual’s interpretation of the social
definition of the self, within his/her inner group and
the larger society
According to Devos (1992):
IDENTITY formation is not a conscious
process but is influenced by unconscious
psychological processes.
4. What is language?
Language is a system of communication comprising
codes and symbols which is used by human to store,
retrieve, organize, structure and communicate
knowledge and experience.
Language is not a static process.
It is primary instrument in culture.
Language is used to maintain to maintain one’s own
culture and identity.
5. Relationship between language and
identity:
Language has two basic functions:
a)Communication
b) Identity
Neither identity nor language use is a fixed notion;
both are dynamic, depending upon time and
place(Norton,1995)
6. Conti…
The main requirement of a group is to find
out a way to distinguish members from non-
members.
Group members learn a language within the
group and only those who belong to the
group can use it to a high degree of
competence.
7. Languages can be divided into human and
non-human languages.
Human languages are those used by humans
for communication.
All human languages are both natural and
artificial.
8. Human beings created writing, and
then states, and the state establishes
state languages which differ from
other spontaneous languages by
being standardized
9. Each person belongs simultaneously
to many groups and each group
tends to develop variations of
language which demarcate it from
other groups.
10. Each language also tends towards
more extensive use than within its
own group and each tends towards
some use by neighboring groups to
facilitate communication and
identity.
11. States that are formed through the
unification of several ethnic groups
or nations need a neutral new
language to express their overall
identity, such as Bahasa Indonesia.
12. Identity formation via discourse
For the majority of Hispanics, the Spanish language runs
deeply into cultural and personal identities
The work of the sociologist Goffman has been influential in
showing that self is constructed entirely through discourse,
making our language choices of paramount importance to
our identity construction.
In fact he defines that personal identity is how others identify
us, not how we identify ourselves.
14. Conclusion
Language and identity is dynamic
not static. A person identity is
formed through discourse. In this
way identity is interlinked with
language.
