Role Of Language In Identity Formation Cultural Studies Essay

Role Of Language In Identity Formation Cultural Studies Essay race that beat multilingual background face complex issues in adapting and assimilating their vocabulary to pagan identity that they want to be identified with. People render their linguistic structure so as to bear a resemblance to those of the group with which from time to time they wish to trace. Cultural identity is defined as the product of social and historical background that is constructed when an individual categorize themselves a group, in addition to social context and socialally accustomed communicative structures in a particular society (Jung and Lee,2004). Language serves as a tool that embraces ones identity and operates as a mean of uniting a cultural confederation that sh ar the same corporate identity.In the process of identity formation, actors line functions as a tool that holds the cultural identity that the language resembles. Professor Ngugi Wa Thiongo, an African scholar and Kenyan author claims that language is a carrier of culture (cited in Kaili and Kaili). He explains that the distinctiveness qualities that a culture possessed for example, its suffer value, custom, principles, faith, ideologies and the ways of life are embed in its own language. Kaili and Kaili (1998) gives an example ab tabu the relationship between language and identity that is embedded in a culture of fakaapaapa to the variety of status in Tongan social hierarchy this cultural customs is conceded in the Tongan language of respect. A Tongan speaker unit leave behind utilize variety form of Tongan speech to express the level of fakaapaapa that is ethnically suitable for the person ones is speaking to. This illustration demonstrate the occasion that language play in the process of identity formation.Lanehart (1996) in her article alleges that language is a part of ones culture and identity. In the article, Laneheart explains the connection between language and identity and how they are relat ed with each other. She claims that our identities emerge from our transaction which is develop within a culture, whither language is essential. Lanehart relates language and identity through the concept of language goals where people construct their language structure so as to bear similitude with the cluster they want to identify with and want to become. As an African American, she gives her run across based on her social experience where she explains the dilemma that African Americans face when they try to incorporate their language to cultural identity that they want to identified with. friendly perception that equates the choice to speak Standard English as trying to be White creates a dilemma in most people that have multilingual background. This perception and situation demonstrate that there is a significant connection between language and identity formation.However, the usage as a cultural identity that the language play is debatable because there are some cases when the individuals does not identify themselves as a group in particular ethnic even though they master the language of that ethnic. Jung and Lee (2004) in their study about the ethnic identities of Korean American students found that most of their research subjects identify themselves as a person that has a strong Korean background although they are fluent in English and were born in U.S. They identify themselves as either Korean American or Korean, but not American. This is the outcome of strong influence of Korean community that is ethnically oriented. In this context, we can correspond two forces that drive the changes and divergences identity formation structures and agency. Structure is the forces beyond our control which shape our identities while agency is the degree control which we ourselves can exert who we are (The Open University, 2010). Ones cannot choose the language that they are born with because of the structure forces however, as time goes by, identities changes as a r esult of agency factor such as media, environment and social pressure and this induce a person to make changes in which language and cultural identities they want to identify with. Open University (2010) asserts that identities are not fixed and constant they change too. It can be concludes that language is not the only tools that embrace identity there are some other away factors that helps the process of identity formation.Language also works as a mean of connecting a cultural community that share the same collective identity. corporate identity refers to sense of belonging when an individual identify themselves to a group or nation (Open University, 2010). Kaili and Kaili (1998) claims that when an individual speak their mother tongue language with their peers, they are a sense of relationship, unity and bond that make the cultural community more connected with each other. Research that was conducted by Jung and Lee (2004) found out that Korean language is the agent that unites the Korean Americans cultural community. Even though there is a type of student whom did not really engage with Korean cultural activities, this type of students still typically hangs out with Korean peers because they feel cultural disparity when they communicate with American peers. Ghose (2010) supports the idea of unity that language plays in identity formation in his article and he stresses that language serves as a mean of unifying the country. If the role of language in uniting a cultural community is analyzed in a different perspective, language can act as a tool that divides the people in a cultural community. Goose (2010), Lanehart (1996) and Kaili and Kaili (1998) share the same opinion about this idea. They critique the society obsession with Standard English and how English have eroded the cultural identity of their culture. For example, many Tongans see the Tongan language as an obstruction to their academic and economic development they favored English language more than the Tongan language.Freire and Macedo (1987, 128) highlight that language should never be understood as a mere tool of communication (cited in Lanehart). Without doubt, language plays a significant role in the formation of cultural identity. It also acts as tool to unite the people in one cultural community that share the same collective identity. We often do not realize how much language has impacted our life. So, it is important for us to value our language because it carries our cultural, historical and social identity. Without a language, ones will lose its own identity.