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Language and Social Identity

Language plays a central role in shaping social identity. It communicates information about gender, age, profession, culture and place of origin, helping to construct one's identity within social groups. The way people speak, including their choice of words, accent and dialect, conveys complex social meanings and signals what social groups they belong to and their role in society. A person's language use can reveal much about their background and characteristics. Through language, individuals both understand their own identity and how they fit within different communities. It defines membership in ethnic and social groups, as well as one's social status and power. Overall, language, social identity and society are closely intertwined, as language serves as a means for people to both understand

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152 views3 pages

Language and Social Identity

Language plays a central role in shaping social identity. It communicates information about gender, age, profession, culture and place of origin, helping to construct one's identity within social groups. The way people speak, including their choice of words, accent and dialect, conveys complex social meanings and signals what social groups they belong to and their role in society. A person's language use can reveal much about their background and characteristics. Through language, individuals both understand their own identity and how they fit within different communities. It defines membership in ethnic and social groups, as well as one's social status and power. Overall, language, social identity and society are closely intertwined, as language serves as a means for people to both understand

Uploaded by

cindy trajera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Yaranon. Jenny Lynn A.

AB English

Social Identity in Language Use

Language is one of the major vehicles individuals and groups use to


communicate, structure, construct, shape, and negotiate their social
identities. Language is more than just mere words. It’s a powerful social behavior
that speaks about who we are as an individual, what we can do, where we come
from and how we relate. Language is one of the most powerful representation of
social behavior. In the normal transfer of information through communication, we use
language to send vital social messages about who we are, what we are capable of,
where we come from, and who we relate with. It is often startling to realize how
extensively we may judge a person’s background, character, and intentions based
simply upon the person's language use, dialect, accent, or, in some instances, even
the choice of a single word. Language is the central feature of individual identity. We
communicate information about gender, age, profession, place of origin and our
culture, thus creating a portfolio of our own identity. Language is the carrier that
reflects our identity to other people and delivers our culture and where we come from

The society itself stamps the child his/her own name and identity as an
individual. For instance, a person may be 'an instructor', 'a Black American', 'a
Filipino' and so. According to the way they talk, their choice of words and accent.
Languages are both procured characteristically and taught formally and both natural
acquisition and formal teaching create, fortify or debilitate the connections between
dialects and personalities. Listening to a dialogue by different individuals, our
interpretation of their identities will most probably be influenced by their voices,
accents and other features of how they speak. Identity is realizing who we are at
personal level and also at community level. To make such identification, language
has been a primary feature of making group membership and social identity. From
such group identification, one again is able to know their identity as individual.
Through language for example, you are able to know which ethnic group you belong
to. With regards to social identity, it is seen as individual’s identity made from the
language he/she uses within a social group setting. Language is a creator of social
identity and a medium to gain self-esteem and power in the society. Through
language one is treated as part of that society. This just means that language, the
individual, and the society cannot be separated in creation of social identity.
Yaranon. Jenny Lynn A.
AB English

Language behavior convey complex social meaning. Language defines the


different social groups within which we are identified and the role we embrace in the
society. Language is a symbol of different social identities and it is used to construct
a particular identity. When language is involved through communicating with a
certain individual, then the way he/she uses language will definitely tell you where
they belong to in the society. Identity defines ‘who I am’ Our identity as an individual
is something that we build constantly all our lives through interaction with other
people. This is a society wherein it is you, who create and nurture your own identity
as an individual and how you reinvent yourself every day. Language determines our
ethnic group that we belong to, our status in the social stratification, and also defines
the power we hold in our society. Our social identity is constructed by our language.
With other factors placed in mind, language then plays a major role in determining
who we really are as a person.
Yaranon. Jenny Lynn A.
AB English

COURSE OUTLINE

Social Identity in Language Use

 Introduction
 Language and Society
 Language and Identity

References:

Zhang, J. (2018, January 17). Social Identity in English Language Development: A


Case Study with Two Interviewees. 24(1): 1-7, 2018; Article [Link].37157.
Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science. Retrieved from
[Link]
[Link]

Wolfram, W. (2005). What is Sociolinguistics?. Macneil/Lehrer Productions.


Retrieved from [Link]

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