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Language and Identity – A Closer Analysis
Language and identity are closely related. It is impossible for one to create their own identity without the involvement of language. Language plays a great role in shaping a person’s identity. It expresses and at the same time constructs the identity of a person. It is impossible for one to pass their culture to the younger generations when there is no language. In the article Social Time: The Heartbeat of Culture by Robert Levine and Ellen Wolff, social time is viewed as part of the identity of a person. According to the authors, the way different people use the concept of time reflects their way of life. In fact, the author describes the Brazilians use of time as a communication of their identity as well as their culture (Levine and Wolff, 83). Their use of time gives them an identity that is different from the identity that the lecturer identifies with from his home country. Language is thus linked with identity in the sense that it expresses and at the same time constructs the identity of a person.
Human beings are born without language and culture. However, from the time of birth, they start forming identities through interactions in the environment. When a child is born, their first identity is their gender (Preece, 42). The infant will be given a name that reflects its identity based on sex. In this case, language is being used to construct the identity of the child. They will thus grow up identifying with the name that they have been assigned. The name given to the child may also reflect their religion as well as their geographical area. People who are born in Muslim families are given names that reflect their religion. The religious identity of the child is created through ascribing a name to them. The creation of identity through language is reflected in the story in both the culture of the American students and the Brazilian students. Language is expressed in many forms. It is thus the carrier of identity and culture. The American people are brought up in a culture that structures them to strictly follow time schedules (Levine and Wolff, 86). However, in Brazil, it is normal for the students to come to the classes late. When the students in American colleges shuffle the books and drug their feet on the floor to indicate the end of the lecture, they are utilizing language to express their identity and culture as good time keepers. The lecturer understands their language and would thus end the lecture.
The relationship between language and culture is shaped by complex mix different characteristics that can be derived from individual, political, and social factors that are connected to construct people. The implication is that identity of a person is derived from the various social identities that a person interacts with (Rovira, 66). A person that is born in a Christian environment will construct their identity around the Christian principles. The principles are communicated to them through a language. They also display their inclusion into the Christian social group by expressing the principles of Christianity. Without language, it would be difficult to understand the identity of the person as a Christian. Language therefore shares a complex relationship with other social factors to form individual identity.
To conclude, it is impossible to talk about identity or culture without utilizing language. Language is a tool that both expresses and constructs identity in individuals. Right from birth, a person begins to acquire their identity by learning from the environment around them. The culture that the children acquire is mainly expressed through language. People acquire their identities from the surrounding cultures.
Works Cited
Levine, Robert, and Ellen Wolff. “Social time: The heartbeat of culture.” Psychology today 19.March (1985): 29-35. Print.
Preece, Siân, ed. The Routledge handbook of language and identity. Routledge, 2016. Print.
Rovira, Lourdes C. “The relationship between language and identity. The use of the home language as a human right of the immigrant.” REMHU-Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana 16.31 (2008): 63-81. Print.