This text describes what identity is, its characteristics and the reasons why Identity is essential in intercultural communication.

1. U​NIVERSIDAD​ ​DE​ L​A​ S​ALLE
F​ACULTAD​ ​DE​ C​IENCIAS​ ​DE​ ​LA​ E​DUCACIÓN
Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés
Intercultural Communication I
Laura Victoria Pinzón Alarcón 26.111.022
Before start talking about Identity it is relevant to keep in mind the meaning of it and also recognize that
this concept has different meanings depending on the science from you are studying it on; it could be
analyzed from anthropology, sociology, psychology and each of them give you a different idea about
what identity is.
From my point of view Identity is what differentiate us from other people in the world, as Castells (1998:
28) said: “we do not meet people without name, languages or cultures where people do not establish
distinctions between me and the other” . In this sense it is meaningful to say that every person has their
own identity and each one involves social and psychological factors as race, gender, sexuality, likes,
dislikes, ways of lives, cultures, etc., of a human being. Another definition of identity is that which says
“one is what the other thinks that one is” (Riley, 2007). This definition implies that everyone is built by
the others through language which makes that languages have a very important place in the construction
of identity. A single feature of language use suffices to identify someone’s membership in a given group
(​Omoniyi, 2014).
A member of a society can have a plurality of identities and that plurality causes contradiction in the self
representation and in social action, and it occurs because identity is distinguished, according to
sociologists, in terms of roles and role sets.Roles are arranged by the institutions and organizations which
belong to a specific society.Those roles can influence on people’s behavior depending on negotiations and
agreements between individuals and those institutions and organizations (Castells, 1998). Each person
exploits different layers of identities, forming more or less intricate and encased networks, some parts of
which are loose and prone to frequent change and replacement; others being more permanent throughout
the lifespan and throughout social and cultural space. We are identified and identified ourselves within the
large space of the society of our time within the different groups (institutional, professional, friends, etc.)
we belong to, within the surroundings of our home, our office, our car, our out-of-door outfits, our in-door
outfits, etc.
In terms of sociology, Identities are not discovered, but constructed. It is important to know how, and
what for. This process involves aspects of history, geography, biology, religious affiliations, etc. Any
given construction of identity may be in part deliberate or intentional, in part habitual and often less than
fully conscious, in part an outcome of other’s perceptions and representations, in part effect of larger
ideological processes and structures that may become relevant to interaction (Stockwell, 2007)
In conclusion, the perception of identity that as human beings, we have now, is undoubtedly more
complex than at the outset of our disciplines, but at the same time is more satisfying of diversity

2. (Stockwell, 2007). Besides it is better not forget that through communication we can share our identity to
others and learn from different ones even if people belong to our context or not. Anyways, identities help
us to deal with social pluralities in the way, that we can understand each other better.
Bibliography
Castells, Manuel (1998). ​La era de la información. Vol 2. El poder de la identidad. ​Buenos Aires: Alianza
Editorial.
Omoniyi, T. (Ed.). (2014). ​Sociology of language and religion: change, conflict and accommodation​.
Riley, Philip (2007). ​Language, culture and identity​. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Stockwell , P. (2007). ​The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics​. Recuperado Febrero 4, 2020, de
http://home.lu.lv/~pva/Sociolingvistika/0562565_0117C_llamas_carmen_mullany_louise_stockwell_pete
r_the_routledge_c.pdf
Identity por Laura Victoria Pinzón Alarcón se distribuye bajo una
Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0
Internacional​.