Language - Identity and who you are

Analytical 
Language shapes our identity but doesn’t define who we are. Take a stance on whether you agree or disagree with this statement. Write an argument that supports your position. Make reference to concepts or readings from the course as evidence.

Language shapes our identity but does not define who we are as a person. An identity is something that is achieved, a way in which others can differentiate you with and single you out, but also, something that one changes to fit the needs of the moment. It is not something that can define who you are in terms of your knowledge or value and position as a person.

There are different aspects which make up ones’ identity, master identities are stable and don’t really change (gender, ethnicity, national and regional origins) Interactional identities refer to roles that people take on in their life, personal identities being stable and unique as in ways in which someone speaks or behave to another person, or the traits that you have that make you.  Relational identities being the last one, refers to the relationship that a person has with a specific person or situation. None of the different aspects of identities can really describe or show who someone really is, as it is only that person who is able to control what information they share and do not share, or the type of body language or spoken language they choose to demonstrate as a way of communication.

Language can shape your identity in ways depending on the situation or moment you are in. Personality can change such as, for example, if I was speaking Spanish to one of my relatives, I would be quite formal and speak in a short, slow and low tone. When speaking in English to my friends, I would be more relaxed and be in a more of a laid back position. An example of a person’s identity being affected by language would be Julia Alvarez’s “Names/Nombres”, where she accepted the change and translation of her name to fit the common American ones and how her mother was also influenced and socially pressured in changing the name of “Mauricia” to something she would be better identified with, like “Maureen”.

People can base who a person is by their language, lack of dialect or general vocabulary to make a flowing sentence. This is shown in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue with the use of stereotypes of non-English speakers, by treating them differently, not taking them seriously or pretended not to understand them. People’s ideas are often valued less or think they are above them as they believe that just because the way someone expressed her/himself was imperfect, their thoughts and intentions were also imperfect. People can base your level of knowledge and assume who you are as a person because the type of language you speak, like “broken” as Amy described it. This off course was not really true in the case of Amy’s mom; as she reads the Forbes report, listens to Wall Street Week, converses daily with her stockbroker and reads all of Shirley MacLaine’s books.

In conclusion, I don’t think that language would really define who you are, but your experiences and the people around you would. However language does definitely affect your identity as one can change in the needs of the moment, using some of the aspects of identity like interactional and personal.