Chapter 6

Language & Cultural Identity

Cultural Identity

• The association of language with a person’s sense of self.

• A natural connection between language spoken by members of a social group & that group’s identity (by accent- voc- discourse patterns) / speakers identified as members

• Membership to a social/discourse comm. Draws:– Strength & pride– Social importance– Historical continuity

How do we define which group one belongs to?

– In isolated homogeneous communities, Members are: who share common cultural practices and daily face-to-face interactions.

– Difficult to define boundaries in modern open mixed societies / Clip # 28

– E.g. Old (Trobrianders) tribes vs. modern open societies

• 1/ Group Identity:• Group identities based on race Not easy to define:

– Many genetic differences• E.g. between members of the same White/Black race

• 2/ Regional identity• equally difficult to define• E.g. population of France/ “a multinational state.. It is

one nation, the product of a long history”

• 3/ National Identity:– Never clear-cut/ citizenship– E.g. Turkish passport vs. Turkish national identity

One language = one culture

– (not always true)

– Individuals assume several collective identities/ are likely to change over time.

- e.g. Immigrants (Turkish)/ ‘long distance nationalism’/ sense of self linked to country of origin- political views…/ nostalgia ‘old country’/’long distance nationalism’/ language differs/ ‘imagined community’

Cultural Stereotypes

• Our perception of someone’s social identity is culturally determined.

• Diffusion:– Stereotypes are formed by extending the

characteristics of one person (or group ..) To all.– E.g.

‘All Americans are individualists’ ‘All Chinese look alike.’ Clip # 29

Examples

• 1. When one’s impression is focused by the classificatory concepts prevalent in his society

– E.g. The official Singaporean ethnic categories: Chinese, Malay, Indian

• 2. Societies impose racial & ethnic categories only on certain groups.

– E.g. Danish women vs. African-American boy/ he used ‘race’ to identify his cultural identity but they depended on language.

• 3. The complex language- cultural identity relationship– E.g. Chinese speak languages/ dialects that are

mutually not understood but still identify themselves all as ethnically Chinese.

Language Crossing as Act of Identity

• One way of surviving culturally in immigration settings– E.g. Arabs in Paris- Pakistanis in London– Code-switching/ to change footing/ to show solidarity or

distance with other discourse communities

• By crossing languages, speakers perform cultural acts of identity

– E.g. two 12-year olds mexicans in the American school/ ‘piano’

– Clip # 31– Intonation/ mock or distance

Linguistic nationism• The association of one language variety with the membership in one

national community.– E.g. The French Academy (francophone)– Clip # 33– The intellectual language of scientific research monitors proper English use in

scientific circles by Anglo-American journals.

• Nation states try to overcome the tendency to separate the identities of subcultures by refocusing national identity either around a national language or around the concept of multiculturalism. / mutual linguistic understanding/ cultural homogeneity

• Also the use of ‘one and only one language’ can be to exclude outsiders & as a sign of political allegiance./ a sign of monolingual pride ‘I had ten years of French and still cant speak…’/ suspicion around bi-multilinguals

Standard language, cultural totem

• Standard language:– The way national identity is expressed– Created from a multiplicity of dialects– One variety of language is selected/ taught in national

educational systems/ protected by official grammars & dictionaries/ indicator of insiders & outsiders

• Barbarism:– Denotes any use of language that offends contemporary

standards of correctness.– E.g. Ancient Greeks / ‘barbarian: an alien from an inferior

culture’/ when language is not Greek– National Academies/ misuse of standard language considered a

moral offence/ e.g. ‘butchering’ or ‘slaughtering’ a language.

• Language acquires a symbolic value beyond its pragmatic use and becomes a totem of a cultural group.

• Exercise of national or colonial power/ when one language is imposed over others.

– E.g. English over Spanish in New Mexico/ spread of English as an international language

Linguistic & cultural imperialism

• Linguicism:– ideologies and practices which are used to impose power

between groups which are defined on the basis of language.– E.g. English linguistic imperialism (a type of linguicism)/

regarding language as a source of power/ using it on a world-wide scale ‘globally’.

– Clip # 34

• Linguistic rights have to be upheld– Threat of the monopoly of one language over the others– One to one relationship bet culture & language– Each language is unique/ the ppls unique means for

comprehending the world