The Negative Influences of Language Identity

 ~Hi! I wrote this essay two years ago for a class, but I thought the subject can rise some interesting opinions, and maybe some may find it helpful. Enjoy!~

   Language identity appears when a person is introduced to the culture and social context of the target language, the second or third language they are learning. Thus, a person assimilates a different status based on something outside their usual circumstances defined in time and space. As Menard-Warwick (2009) said: ‘Movements of and around temporalities and human lives defy categorical positionings in most spheres of our lives.’ in other words the place of birth, the place where one spends their childhood and teenage years affects the identity and the way the individual perceives themselves and others. A shift from this knowledge of oneself and surroundings can have negative repercussions on one’s personality, mentality, and nationality.

   First of all, when talking about language identity the main issue is inevitably the social performance of the person thrust in a relatively new environment. Although one is acquainted with the language and with the overall particular behavior of the foreign country, it cannot be said that there is a fast adaptation to the particularities. This uncertainty impacts the person’s confidence in their abilities, they can no longer feel sure when talking in their second language or how to behave around others. Most likely than not, natives are not excited to be speaking with immigrants due to the difference in status, and patriotism, as Menard-Warwick (2013) exemplifies. Coincidentally, one will seem introverted in a language context different from their usual one, changing their identity through the basis of the language.

Furthermore, the social surroundings are dictated by the language that is spoken in the country in question. Taking into account that the means of communication are different from one state to another, there are certain limitations that a foreigner is challenged by to the detriment of the specific population. While behavior encounters change, as was mentioned before, this particularity also shapes a different way of thinking which can be seen as odd by the others and can be considered unnecessary and traitorous. It also reforms the personality of an individual to the point where they perceive what was normal before as peculiar. To make final comments in this particular area of the human perception of themselves, language as a social construct takes part of the liberty relating to the way a person behaves and thinks.

 

   Second of all, language identity influences a person’s national integrity. I believe my following example is one of the best ways to explain this statement- Miriam is an American student. She goes for a few months in Norway, knowing the language and understanding the citizens perfectly. She discovers that the college there is free, in contrast with the situation in her own country. Miriam recognizes a situation in which her citizenship is not to be desired, distancing herself from her original identity. Hence through language, she is met with a different educational and, most likely, political reality. Although that can be beneficial for both her and her country, it also changes the way she perceives her state which, as it is negatively influenced, can lead to her migrancy. In this way, language can distort a person’s national identity and a nation’s integrity.

   In order to follow through with the idea of patriotism, researcher Corinne A. Seals exemplifies in her article (2017) how even foreigners refuse to interact with each other due to social implications and inherited vengeance towards the other. Her example constituted presenting a group of Ukrainians that refused to speak the nation’s language, Russian. This was due to the war between the two states. Thus, not the society itself forms a barrier between people, but themselves by putting heritage above communication, adapting, and bounding with the citizens. In this case, language does not exhibit a method of eluding from the community but getting too involved in the intricacy of its disputes and history. This statement is particularly true in the case of emigrants coming from minorities, from countries that are not seen as nuclei of power. This overview has such an impact to put the misunderstandings of the group, the nation into an individual, creating the situation mentioned above and perhaps making it take bigger proportions.

   However, not only does affect the language identity of the immigrants, but also the emigrants. Bisrat Tasew has done interviews with several people who came from abroad, from the Eastern side of the world, when they were little, but then they faced the impediment of having forgotten the heritage language. In short, they were all perceived as not being part of their culture because they did not speak the same language. The wantonness comes from within the unit, not from aside, an aspect which can live the individual feeling helpless, not wanted by their own people. There is a disconnection between the emigrated and the integrated which causes the first to embrace the culture that speaks their language. The aforementioned national identity is thus put in the second place, instead, it puts greater value on what accepts them as part of their own.    

   In conclusion, language is the main instrument through which a person creates connections with people and their culture. This exposure stops being beneficial the moment one cannot feel confident anymore in their own knowledge of the language, changing the way they act around people and when they do not feel as close to their country as they used to. Thus, language identification has several negative influences on individuality, all of them concerning on a certain level.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

·       Heller, Agnes The Human Condition, 1987

·       Menard-Warwick, Julia Gendered Identities and Immigrant Language Learning, Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2009

·       Menard-Warwick, Julia Identity and Language Learning: Extending the Conversation, Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2013

·        Seals, Corinne, Positive and negative identity practices in heritage language education, “International Journal of Multilingualism”, March 2017

·       “The Daily Q”, Speaking of Identity: The Effects of Language on Cultural Identity.  Web. No date.