Cultures and Identities: Figure 12.1 Increasing and Re Fined Facets of Cultural Affiliation

chapter 12
Cultures and Identities
Chapter Overview
Each individual represents a complex network of social relationships,
which begin with primary socialization by parents or caretakers (Duff,
2010; Ochs & Schieffelin, 2008). As we grow up, we get socialized into
more and more social groups, including families, friendships, sports teams,
religious organizations, or professional associations, just to name a few.
These social relationships shape our identity throughout our lives. Some
aspects of our identity are determined for us: our nationality, ethnicity, or
race. Others we control, such as friendships, most working relationships,
athletic organizations, or politics. Some aspects are relatively constant,
since societies and social groups strive for stability, preferring little or
slow change (Byram 1997). Other aspects are malleable. We present
ourselves in different ways depending on specific situations; for example,
we may emphasize our professional or familial selves or our sexual identity
in different interactional contexts.
We can visualize the process of expanding social affiliations as etching
new facets on a crystal (see Figure 12.1), transforming it from its original
form (our infancy, on the left) into a multifaceted prism.
Figure 12.1 Increasing and refined facets of cultural affiliation
263
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264 Part III Intercultural Communication and the Personal Journey
Studying another language provides a unique opportunity to reflect on
who we are, because our sense of self often gets renegotiated when we
encounter new cultures and navigate new social expectations. To delve into
these issues, this chapter first examines identity as a complex and dynamic
phenomenon, then considers the relationship between language and identity.
Identity as Multiplex
By identity, we generally mean the essence of who we are, how we want to
be seen, and how others view us. Our identity is complex, as the following
meme circulating on Facebook on April 15, 2018, effectively illustrates:
When I went to college, I thought about joining one of those Asian student
organizations. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go ‘all in’ on being Asian. I had to
ask myself how integral it was to my identity. I’ve never been very traditional.
I grew up in a white town on Long Island. If I described myself in three
adjectives, ‘Asian’ wouldn’t be one of them. But on the other hand, the world is
going to see race anyway. I view myself as Chinese, but Asian is the first thing
people see. So if it’s how everyone sees you, should you see yourself the
same way?
As the poster’s self-reflection suggests, our identities originate both
within ourselves and externally, encompassing “an individual’s unique
characteristics . . . defined as one’s knowledge of membership in
certain social groups and the social meanings attached to the group”
(Abrams, O’Connor, & Giles, 2002, p. 226). These groups include
friends and family, various social circles to which we belong, nations,
and supranational organizations. Aspects of identity can be viewed as
categories delineated by similarities with and differences from these
groups.
Previous psychological understandings of identity considered it to be
relatively static, homogenized, created and maintained by individuals as
they relate to cultural groups, such as women or men, ethnic or linguistic
groups, or social class (Duff, 2012; Hua, 2014). Identity, according to this
paradigm, is comprised of:
1. individualized identity: the distinction between self and others;
2. familial identity: an individual’s place in connection to others within
a cultural group; and
3. spiritual identity: the sense of self in relation to belief systems (Martin
& Nakayama, 2018).
12 Cultures and Identities 265
This theoretical understanding also supposes that, while all three aspects of
identity exist in all cultures, the relative emphasis given to each varies. For
example, in Canada, the individual identity, how people see themselves
(e.g., as smart, athletic, outgoing, or friendly), is emphasized, whereas in
East Asian cultures, the development of relational identities might be
encouraged over the individualist aspect, valuing obligation and responsi-
bility towards one’s elders over an individual’s wants or needs (Martin &
Nakayama, 2018).
More recently, identity has been reconceptualized as a dynamic, multi-
layered construct, emerging out of socially situated relationships, varying
across contexts, and created interactively (Abrams et al., 2002; Gábrity,
2012). Examining the issue from this viewpoint, Hua (2014) and Tracy
(2002) describe four main types of identity, which are presented in Figure
12.2 as layers.
Master identities are relatively stable, with little variation across interac-
tional contexts, such as our age, ethnicity, gender, or nationality. In the
next circle lie personal identities, our personality and character traits, our
attitudes (e.g., towards others, life, learning an L2/Lx), and motivations.
These are more malleable and may change over time. We may become
more or less progressive in our political views or open to new experiences as
we gain confidence. The next layer represents interactional identities, which
include “specific and situational roles people enact in a communicative
context,” such as sibling, student, nurse, or soccer player (Hua, 2014,
p. 202). These identities are more flexible and dynamic, even if fairly
consistent within unique situations. For example, during a job interview,
the hiring committee’s role as interviewer and the job candidate’s role as
dynamic
More
relational
identities
interactional
identities
personal
identities
master
identities
stable
More
Figure 12.2 Layers of identity (based on Hua, 2014 and Tracy, 2002)
respondent stay quite steady, but the interactants move out of these roles at
the end of the interview. In contrast, the relational identities that form the
next layer are situationally dynamic, shifting quickly and frequently within
one interaction, depending on our interlocutors. Recently, I had
a conversation with a close friend, who is a fellow faculty member at
a large university in the United States. We started our regular conversation
chatting about our children and the latest updates on our summer plans,
emphasizing our identities as friends and mothers. Then we discussed our
research plans for the upcoming weeks and the courses we would be
teaching next year, thus, highlighting our scholarly, professional selves.
Our chat concluded with an extended leave-taking sequence during which
we talked about our plans for the upcoming holiday weekend and sent
greetings to each other’s family. The variable topics prompted shifting
relational identities.
The word ‘identities’ is used in the plural intentionally, as we embody
a range of possible selves, shaped by emotional, moral, and cognitive forces.
Table 12.1 presents several identities and illustrates them with specific
linguistic examples.
Multiple aspects of identity co-occur, since we simultaneously have
a gender, national, familial, linguistic, and minority/majority identity,
and the unique combination we embody make up our personal identity.
This identity is not necessarily coherent or unified, because some aspects of
it may be in conflict with each other. For example, taking care of elderly
parents may cause tension between a person’s identities as ‘child’ and
‘caretaker’ or when we juggle traditional social roles at home, while having
to adopt modern ones at work.
In addition to being complex at any given moment, our personal identities
also change over time. From early infancy, before any awareness of social
categories becomes relevant for us as newborns, we are ascribed a gender
identity and become a daughter or a son, grandchild, sibling, a citizen of
a nation, and a member of a social class. Later, as we expand our social
experiences beyond our home, we become swimmers, ice skaters, mathema-
ticians, travelers, social rights activists, or actors. As we age, we take on further
social roles: spouses, parents, aunts, uncles, employees, and employers.
Our personal identity is inherently linked to our social identities (which
straddle all four of Hua and Tracy’s categories) which make up most facets
of our identity and reflect various group affiliations and the emotional
significance of such relationships (Liu, Volcic, & Gallois, 2011; Wintergerst
& McVeigh, 2011). We associate with some people because we share
Table 12.1 Aspects of identity with linguistic examples
Aspect of
identity Definition and description Language example
Majority A sense of belonging to culturally In Myanmar, Burmese is the official

identity dominant groups (dominant and dominant language, while the
group membership is often use of other (minority) languages,
unexamined or subconscious, which number close to a hundred,
without an awareness of that is discouraged (Goddard, 2005).
group’s privileges in cultural,
sociopolitical, socioeconomic, or
other terms).
Minority A sense of belonging to a culturally Hungarian speakers in Serbia use
identity non-dominant group; the Hungarian – and enact their
function of minority languages Vojvodinian Hungarian
typically reflects their status in identities – only in the domestic
a country: the more prestige domain, whereas in public
a language has, the more domains contexts they shift to/navigate the
it is spoken in. majority identity (Gábrity, 2012).
Gender Psychological identification with Many languages reflect gender in the
identity a biological gender; gender lexicon (e.g., the pronouns he or
identity does not always align she in English) or grammar (e.g.,
with one’s biological gender (e.g., verb endings in Russian, such as
transgender individuals identify был (masc.) and была (fem.) for
as male or female, but their ‘I was’), which can be challenging
biological gender may be to navigate vis-à-vis gender
different). How we embody identity in addition to learning an
a gender is culture-dependent as L2/Lx.
well, since notions of what a man
does and how he acts or how
a woman acts and what she does
vary across cultures.
Sexual identity An identity based on orientation Refining one’s sense of sexual
and attraction towards others identity is an important part of
(or a lack of attraction):1 teenage years, and language play –
• asexual (no attraction towards including self-labeling, ‘trying on’
others), gendered language such as
• heterosexual (attraction to the emotional expression, or topic
opposite gender), choice – serves an essential
• gay/lesbian (attraction to the function for exploring this
same gender), identity (Huffaker & Calvert,
• bisexual (attraction to both 2006).
genders),
1
www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/overview-sexual-orientations
Table 12.1 (cont.)
Aspect of
•pansexual (attraction to people

with all sexual identities),
• queer (identifying with sexual
identity beyond binary
categorizations), or
• demisexual (forming attraction
only based on emotional
connection) identity.
Age identity Identifying as young or old, in terms Many languages have specific terms
of how we are expected to act, to use at different stages of life
look, feel or behave. (e.g., giving someone a name
Importantly, what is deemed before or well after birth, terms of
‘appropriate’ behavior at various address, formal or informal
life stages is culturally language use), and there may be
determined; what is acceptable verbal and nonverbal rituals at
for a child or middle-aged adults specific speech events that
in one culture may be considered accompany certain milestones as
‘inappropriate’ in others. well (e.g., the enkipaata adult
In many cultures, significant initiation for Maasai boys and
milestones are celebrated in later their circumcision
unique ways (e.g., the quinceañera ceremony2).
on a girl’s 15th birthday in
Mexico, being allowed to vote at
age 16 in Malta, or celebrating
one’s 100th birthday.
Racial identity Identifying with a particular race, Language and race intertwine in
where race is a social construct ways that can reinforce (e.g.,
(fluid and subjective) defined by racist epithets) or challenge (e.g.,
some aspects of physical poetry or rap) existing power
appearance and issues of privilege disparities among racial groups;
or disadvantage (e.g., apartheid President Barack Obama’s ability
and genocide in the Sudan, to style shift between different
historical apartheid in South audiences, for example, helped
Africa). challenge and transgress racial
It is important to note that no boundaries (Alim, Rickford, &
scientific evidence supports Ball, 2016).
differentiating humans as
belonging to biologically different
races (Templeton, 2013).
2
www.maasai-association.org/ceremonies.html
Table 12.1 (cont.)
Aspect of
Ethnic identity A sense of belonging to a particular The language used by an ethnic

ethnic group, having knowledge group may reflect both
about that group’s culture (e.g., a dominant language spoken in
history, practices, beliefs, and the wider community and the
values), and having an emotional heritage language spoken by
connection to that ethnic group. members of the ethnic group,
Similar to racial identity, there may such as code-switching between
be a historical power disparity Spanish and English among the
between groups; for example, Latinx community in California
nowadays, most Americans with (Fought, 2006).
Irish and Italian heritage celebrate Language knowledge may also entail
their ethnic legacy, but in the late songs, poetry, myths, tales, and
nineteenth and early twentieth rituals transmitted across
centuries, their predecessors and generations within the ethnic
ancestors experienced systemic group.
social and socioeconomic
discrimination.3
Religious A sense of affiliation with a religious Religious identity may be expressed
identity group, its practices, belief system, by using phrases in one’s
and values; some religions require discourse (e.g., Inshallah [‘if Allah
particular types of clothing or wills it’]) and during religious
adornments, and may regulate ceremonies as clearly structured
a person’s appearance (e.g., in the speech events, such as Aboriginal
Amish community, married men funeral ceremonies in Australia,
do not shave their beards). which determine who may
participate and how, who speaks
and how they use the traditional
ceremonial language (Butcher,
2008).
Socioeconomic A sense of affiliation with In mass media, certain accents are
or Class a particular socioeconomic, identified with particular social
identity occupational or social status. classes as a short-cut to the
In hierarchical societies (high power stereotypical views the audience
distance), the class structure is holds of that class, such as the
fairly rigid, with little movement Boston Southie accent
from less privileged classes to representing a hard-working,
higher status ones, while cultures scrappy person (Lippi-Green,
with low power distance among 2012); partially due to such
their members offer more stereotypes, individuals who
3
www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/11/racist-anti-immigrant-cartoons-from-the-turn-of-the
-20th-century/383248/
Table 12.1 (cont.)
Aspect of
mobility (e.g., Chile and Brazil speak less privileged class-based

belong in the former category, language varieties often feel
while Denmark, Norway, compelled to code-switch in
Finland, and Canada to the educational and other public
latter). settings (Elkins & Hanke, 2018).
National Unlike other identities, national The use of Tetum in increasing
identity identity has a legal component domains in Timor-Leste,
(e.g., someone born to a German replacing the colonial and
parent will be a German citizen, occupational languages of
or someone born on U.S. soil or Portuguese and Indonesian,
to U.S. citizen parents will be respectively, is a reflection of
a U.S. citizen). Tetum’s “role as an icon of
National identity is not always nationalism” in a young,
straightforward: (1) we may have emergent democracy (Taylor-
more or less affinity to our legal Leech, 2012, p. 20).
home, depending on our attitude
toward its politics or values, (2)
the nation is in flux (e.g., Latvia,
Lithuania, and Estonia were
former Soviet Republics but now
are their own nation-states), or (3)
our national identity is uncertain
(e.g., refugees awaiting
resettlement).
Regional Identifying with a geographic A somewhat complex example of
identity region, whose boundaries may regional identity is Dutch Street
overlap with or cross national Language, which has an ethnic
borders. origin in Surinamese (Surinam
In Germany, for example, the was a former Dutch colony): this
regional boundaries are within language incorporates many
the national ones: people are lexical items from Sranan Tongo,
more likely to identify with their Arabic, and (African) American
region, such as Bavaria (and English (Nortier, 2008) and has
within that the northern or the its own phonological and
Alpine regions) or Rhineland- grammatical features (Kuiken,
Palatinate than with the country 2009).
(given Germany’s history of Mixed ethnicity youth in
nationalism during the two world Amsterdam tend to adopt this
wars in the twentieth century), particular variety of Dutch,
whereas the Bedouin are likely to because its use sets them apart
traverse national boundaries, from white speakers of Standard
both in Northern Africa and the Dutch (de Rooij & Cornips, 2003
Middle East. cited in Boekesteijn, 2015).
Table 12.1 (cont.)
Aspect of
Familial The relationships we form with In many cultures, surnames reflect

identity members of our family – parents, hereditary naming systems, often
grandparents, siblings, children, based on paternal lineage or clan,
broader family circles, etc. – shape signaling family unity and
our familial identity. These continuity (Mateos, 2014):
relationships play a role in how • Rodríguez (Spanish → son of
we view ourselves even beyond Rodrigo)
the family, our sense of self-worth • McAlister (Scottish → son of
and self-esteem. Alister)
President Obama (2004) relates his
excitement when upon his arrival
in Kenya someone recognized his
name, making him feel welcome:
“For the first time in my life, I felt
comfort, the firmness of identity
that a name might provide, how it
could carry an entire history in
other people’s memories, so that
they might nod and say
knowingly, ‘Oh you are so and
so’s son.’ No one here in Kenya
would ask how to spell my name,
or mangle it with an unfamiliar
tongue. My name belonged and
so I belonged, drawn into a web of
relationships, alliances, and
grudges that I did not yet
understand” (p. 305).
Linguistic This identity reflects the Language that reflects the personal
identity relationship(s) between our sense identity can be most closely
of self and the language aligned with one’s idiolect, our
communities we identify with individual ways of using
(Block, 2007). vocabulary, idiomatic expressions
Subcomponents of linguistic and other phrases, style,
identity connect us to all the grammar, pragmatic and
different cultural affiliations we paralinguistic features, non-
develop in relation to our verbal communication.
families, friends, smaller and Idiolects are difficult to study,
larger cultural groups, as well as because they vary according to
national and supranational one’s interactants (e.g., the same
entities; we may speak a particular individual is likely to use one type
national variety of a language, in of language in formal settings
Table 12.1 (cont.)
Aspect of
addition to a regional variety, and with a figure of authority and

various sociolects (e.g., another with close friends in
a profession). informal contexts).
The idiolect plays a primary role in In a study of British Prime Minister
communication, and its Tony Blair’s speech patterns,
characteristics reflect a unique Mollin (2009) found 25 recurring
combination of social varieties, and distinct pairings of maximizer
reflecting the language of cultural collocations, for example
groups that the individual belongs absolutely committed (maximizer +
to; the idiolect, in spite of its adjective) and extremely closely
adaptability to one’s interlocutors (maximizer + adverb).
and the communicative context, Idiolect analyses are also used in
is both consistent and distinct forensic linguistics, when
(Barlow, 2013; Hudson, 1996; linguists try to identify the author
Wright, 2017). of a certain text, such as an email
Individuals develop a linguistic or a text message on somebody’s
repertoire that is unique to them, phone.
not shared in the exact
combination with anybody else;
this unique repertoire emerges
from “the different expressions
and constructions encountered by
the speaker” during interactions
in various cultural groups
(Barlow, 2013, p. 444), who
represent complex sociohistorical
and linguistic backgrounds (Nini
& Grant 2013).
interests or characteristics with them (Oetzel, 2009; Ting-Toomey &

Chung, 2012). As Jackson (2014) observes:
we can identify ourselves according to our religion (Taoist, Jain, Christian),
place of origin, (Gibraltar, Macau, North Korea), political affiliation (Green
party, Independent, Muslim Brotherhood), profession or educational status
(university student, English language teacher, civil engineer), language and
accent (Yorkshire accent, Singlish, Tagalog) or relationship (step-mother,
great-aunt, first cousin, friend, lover). Some of our social identities are stigma-
tized (drug addict, homeless person, unemployed, high school dropout). Most
social identities are multiple (e.g. a multilingual, gay British Indian male
student who is a devout Hindu and belongs to Green Peace). Together, all of
our diverse roles and attributes help us to realize our overall social identity,
which continues to evolve throughout our life as our preferences, interests,
financial situation, job status, marital situation and other social dimensions
change. (p. 137)
The group affiliations we establish reflect diverse social belongings,
through which we develop relevant schemata for processing the world,
such as organizing knowledge, getting things done, and interacting with
others. At the same time, social identities are fluid; they describe an
individual’s sense of belonging, which might shift across situations, as
Hofstede (2001) explains:
Populations that fight each other on the basis of their different ‘felt’
identities may very well share the same values. Examples are the linguistic
regions in Belgium, the religions in Northern Ireland, and tribal groups in
Africa. A shared identity needs a shared Other: At home, I feel Dutch and
very different from other Europeans, such as Belgians and Germans; in Asia
or the United States, we all feel like Europeans. (p. 10)
This quote illustrates the changing perspectives that lie behind identities.
The frame of reference impacts which aspects of our identity become
salient (i.e., relevant). A graduating senior from university, majoring in
applied linguistics, is an avid hiker, a bilingual speaker of English and
Spanish, and an aspiring elementary school teacher. She will be working in
Madrid, Spain after graduation, teaching English as a Second Language to
elementary school children. At work, her training in applied linguistics and
plans for teaching will be most salient; consequently, she will use language
with her colleagues and students that reflect her training and professional
interests. At the same time, she can meet fellow hikers (Spanish or inter-
national) to establish friendships with and help reduce feelings of home-
sickness. By seeking out such work-external communities, she can also
practice and continue to improve her Spanish language skills.
Usually, we navigate our various identities seamlessly and subcon-
sciously, but sometimes, we become aware of them, when others’ assump-
tions about us do not align with how we view ourselves.
Avowed and Ascribed Identities

Identity is both avowed and ascribed (Hua, 2014; Martin & Nakayama,
2018; Pavlenko & Blackledge, 2004). Avowed identities are the ones we
adopt ourselves, subconsciously or consciously. Ascribed identities, in con-
trast, are imposed on us by others. Ideally, avowed identity is aligned with
ascribed identity: college student, spiritual leader, politician, or father. At
other times, there might be a misalignment between the two views. Many
native speakers of English report the experience of studying abroad where
their L2/Lx is spoken and try to interact with native speakers of that
language, only to find that those speakers switch to English immediately.
These French, Arabic, Swahili, or Chinese speakers might not recognize
the L2/Lx learner as capable enough to communicate. These experiences
can be annoying, but other instances of misalignment can have serious
consequences. After the terror attacks on New York on September 11, 2001,
for example, many Americans conflated Islam and terrorism,4 resulting in
a decades-long increase in hate crimes against people of the Muslim faith in
the United States. Moreover, anyone to whom an American ascribed
a Muslim identity could be in danger, regardless of their actual religious
affiliation. Many members of the Sikh community experienced rising hate
crimes,5 as their Sikh identity was erased, replaced by inaccurate ascribed
identities by their attackers as Muslims and terrorists. Such misidentifica-
tions are incorrect in two regards: most Muslims are not terrorists, and
Sikhs are not Muslim.
Scholars who approach intercultural communication from a critical,
advocacy perspective aim to draw attention to discrimination based on
identity, which they view as being shaped and constrained by institutional
and societal structures, including historical, economic, political, and dis-
cursive inequalities (Collier, 2005; Martin & Nakayama, 2018). Often,
multiple aspects of identity intersect, each contributing in unique but
compounding ways to experiences of societal oppression (Crenshaw,
1989). The reasons for and ways in which such oppression differs across
cultures, requiring new understandings beyond what we know of our own
local cultural contexts. Within a critical advocacy framework, avowed and
ascribed identities are often contested (questioned and resisted), if they are
in conflict. Women’s increased political presence in Tunisia is one illus-
trative case of dynamic identity development as a contested site.
Written after gaining independence from France, Tunisia’s constitution in
1959 did not mention women, either regarding legislative power or legal
protections (Hitman, 2018). In spite of “state feminism,” where those in
4
http://theconversation.com/explaining-the-rise-in-hate-crimes-against-muslims-in-the-us-80304
5
www.npr.org/2018/09/14/647426417/people-saw-only-a-turban-and-a-beard-reflecting-on-a-post-
sept-11-death
power “handed down” women’s rights (Shalaby, 2016, p. 173), men could hold
legal guardianship over women until 1990 (Moghadan, 2005, 2013), and
women’s organizations were under strict state supervision (Hitman, 2018;
Shalaby, 2016). Since the 1990s, Tunisian women have taken an active role
in advocating for women’s rights, which continued throughout the Arab
Spring in 2010, a revolution that aimed to improve sociopolitical conditions
across the Arab world. Unlike other nations that quickly returned to auto-
cratic control, Tunisia adopted a revised constitution and put in place
significant safeguards to protect its democracy. Yet, women were once again
relegated to second-class citizenship; the 2014 constitution accorded them
a complementary role, not equal partnership with men, and removed
a number of protections for women (Hitman, 2018; Shalaby, 2016). The
ensuing nationwide protests spearheaded by women’s organizations led to
revisions that granted women equal rights and equal citizenship (al-Rashed,
2014; Shalaby, 2016). Although women still hold only about 30 percent of
elected seats in Parliament, the changes in women’s situation – and conse-
quently their identities – have been remarkable. Hailed as “moderating voices”
in politics, Tunisian women now embody the identities of political, social,
and economic leadership (Shalaby, 2016, p. 183), whose collective identity was
a crucial force in shaping the new constitution (Hitman, 2018). Due to
persistent ascribed identities as mothers, wives, daughters, it is still a struggle
to implement equality into actual practice, but the changes illustrated by the
situation of women in Tunisia reflects the necessity of political openness for
change, and society’s willingness to embrace that opportunity and drive
further progress (Hitman, 2018). Each of these steps requires a reenvisioning
of women’s complex identities in unique cultural contexts.
Language, Identity, and Power

Not surprisingly, language and identity are closely connected and enjoy
a dynamic relationship across interactional situations in which we partake.
During interactions, people make conscious or subconscious calculations
about how language identifies them to other interactants. They express
various facets of their identity via national, regional, and local varieties of
a language; they also reveal their identities in particular sociolects, jargon,
styles, and registers (Block, 2006; Duff, 2012; Myers-Scotton, 2006). As
Myers-Scotton (2006) observes, “each language does ‘social work’ for its
speakers” (p. 9), and languages are one of the first features we learn about
another person, when we recognize the variety of language or accent that
they speak. In other words, we manage impressions with our linguistic
choices (Ting-Toomey, 2005), which may benefit or disadvantage us
socially, economically, or personally.
One important social benefit is that languages are powerful symbols of
group membership. They can be used to signal positive linguistic affiliation
with a cultural group, such as wearing a heart-shaped sticker with the word
Italiano or Español by L2/Lx learners. For similar reasons, we self-identify
as Francophiles or use jargon to signal our in-group identity as medical
professionals or athletes. The 2019 Democratic debates likewise prompted
many presidential hopefuls to include messages in Spanish in order to
express their commitment to the Latinx community in the United States.6
There are also increasing instances where individuals and communities
have come to accentuate previously marginalized language varieties, help-
ing to revitalize them and raise their prestige. By recognizing diverse
varieties of languages, such as Hawai‘i Creole English (Drager, 2012) or
Kristang in Singapore (i.e., Malaccan Creole Portuguese) (Wong, 2017),
members of these speech communities feel more empowered, recognized,
and legitimated in society. The immense power of language should not be
underestimated: the ability to use a language that one closely affiliates with
positively impacts that individual’s sense of belonging to society, sense of
self-worth, and legitimacy (Lee, 2017).
Unfortunately, the power of symbols can also be negative, as languages
can be used to exclude others. If a government does not provide sufficient
educational materials in certain languages, it restricts academic access to
some social groups and limits their scholarly achievements (Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2017). In
a comparable situation, trainee teachers from Northern England were
asked to reduce their linguistic and regional identities in favor of one
that was perceived to be more prestigious, under the guise of making
themselves more comprehensible to their students and their parents.7
Such incidents can be found in many places around the globe.
In multilingual contexts, it is often sociopolitical forces that shape
linguistic boundaries, resulting in more or less powerful languages vying
for use, respect, and prestige. Power distributions in bilingual and multi-
lingual communities are typically uneven: migrant populations usually
have to adapt to the dominant culture (e.g., Turkish migrants in
Germany, North African migrants in France, or South Asian migrants in
6
www.npr.org/2019/06/27/736520658/spanish-speakers-highlight-democratic-primary-debate
7
www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170523-does-your-accent-make-you-sound-smarter and
www.theguardian.com/education/2016/may/12/trainee-teachers-from-northern-england-told-to-
modify-their-accents
Australia). This nonreciprocal relationship arises from and reflects clear
power differentials. Such power differentials also arose when colonial
powers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries did not take ethnic
and linguistic identity into consideration, when creating national and
political boundaries, thus forcing multilingual and cultural identities on
most inhabitants in West Africa and the Middle East (Myers-Scotton,
2006).
Bourdieu (1991), a French sociologist, proposed that languages have
symbolic capital. That is, some languages enjoy significant prestige and
cultural value, while others lack both. The value society places on
a language – and by extension, its speakers – is usually determined by
social groups who are in positions of power; they decide who is allowed
to join the community and who is not. The driving force most often is
to reinforce the existing power structures. Consequently, it is the power-
ful in society who determine which languages or language varieties are
valuable and which are less so. They also determine who has access to
power through language (e.g., controlling voting ballots, educational
and healthcare materials). Not having access to a qualified interpreter
in legal interactions, for example, not only denies a defendant his or her
human rights but also serves to perpetuate existing power structures.
One illustrative example pertains to a Mexican national, who tried to
enter the United States (legally and as an informant on a drug smuggling
operation) and was detained at the border because the government used
an ad hoc rather than a professional, trained interpreter, who mistrans-
lated both the language and the cultural content of a two-hour inter-
rogation (Angelelli, 2015). By conveying the border agents’ questions as
assertions and not being able to see the detainee’s nonverbal commu-
nication that played a crucial role in his communication with nonnative
speakers of his language, the interpreter reinforced the disparate power
relationships among the participants which resulted in the detainee
being sent to jail for two months before he was acquitted. ‘José’s’ case
is not unique by any means; linguistic discrimination is systemic at the
border:
There are no dedicated professional interpreters to serve the communica-
tive needs of this federal office. The agents are told that when they need
interpreting services they have to call a company that provides this service
remotely. When recruiting interpreters, companies providing over-the-
phone interpreting services seem to focus more on the bottom line than
on the quality of the service offered. The interpreter used by the tele-
phone company in this case is not a certified legal/court interpreter . . .
The law establishes that the judges are responsible for appointing and
screening legal/court interpreters . . . [but] judges do not have expertise to
do this. (Angelelli, 2015, p. 201)
While it is typically socioeconomically and historically more domi-
nant languages that enjoy prestige (e.g., English in Kenya), sometimes
cultural groups with fewer members wield linguistic power. Some
examples include Afrikaans speakers in South Africa, Catalan speakers
in the Catalonia region in Spain, and Spanish-speaking Cuban immi-
grants in Miami, who constitute powerful economic and cultural com-
munities, and who enjoy considerable ethnolinguistic vitality, allowing
their members to take pride in their linguistic identities (Myers-Scotton,
2006).
The relationship between language, power, and identity is complicated
sociopolitically. In many African countries, for example, the language
established under colonialism – such as English, French, or Portuguese –
remains an official language and is often seen as a neutral option when
several ethnic and linguistic groups compete for official status. In these
instances, the former colonial language is viewed as “the best of bad
choices” (Myers-Scotton, 2006, p. 48).
Language and identity, however, are not only deeply connected at the
societal level. We regularly deploy our linguistic repertoires at the personal
level as well, to situate ourselves as multilingual and multicultural social
beings during interactions.
Intercultural Identity
The ideal outcome of extensive L2/Lx learning is the development of an
intercultural identity. Reitenauer, Cress, and Bennett (2005) define inter-
cultural identity as one that can traverse cultural situations, based on “the
creation of learned and shared values, beliefs, and behaviors in
a community of interacting people”; this new identity is shaped by “the
many cultural influences that impact us, including nationality, ethnicity,
race, age, gender, physical characteristics, sexual orientation, economic
status, education, profession, religion, and organizational affiliation”
(p. 68). An intercultural identity enables the “intercultural speaker”
(Byram, 1997, p. 32) to participate in intercultural communication in
a way that no interlocutor is considered to be better than the other (even
when one is a native speaker of a language and the other is not), just
speaking on equal footing, presenting social identities they wish to make
salient in that particular exchange. Interactional success would be mea-
sured in terms of the “effective exchange of information,” as the goal may be
building a relationship rather than a transaction of information (Byram,
1997, p. 32; emphasis mine). Moreover, an intercultural identity allows
individuals to engage with another culture by “exploring the ways language
and culture relate to lived realities – the learners’ as well as that of the target
community” (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013, p. 49). Such individuals under-
stand social meanings in the different cultural contexts they inhabit and
how these social meanings affect them.
Consequently, intercultural individuals understand and enact their
social identities, knowing what is possible and how to realize it through
verbal and nonverbal communication in various cultural settings. They
also understand the values, practices, and behaviors these social roles reflect
in each cultural context (e.g., how is a business executive supposed to
behave in both settings?). At the same time, intercultural individuals also
know that they can accept some values and practices from each culture
with which they affiliate and simultaneously reject others (while being
aware of the possible consequences for flouting expectations).
The process of developing intercultural identity entails making connec-
tions to others who overlap with facets of our identity; such connections
facilitate the emergence of social group identities, and it is social groups
that can help socialize newcomers into their communities. Students return-
ing from study-abroad sojourns have reported finding friendships through
shared passions for karate, board games, or studying an additional L2/Lx.
In addition to modeling a range of socially acceptable behaviors in a new
cultural context, these identity-based social groups allow learners to see
other people as individuals, with whom they share common ground,
although they might at first glance appear different (e.g., different gender,
nationality, profession). This revelation helps reshape learners form cross-
cultural to intercultural individuals. Whereas prior to their travels they
viewed themselves as Americans versus German and Japanese host cultures,
the students realized that national identity was not the most salient aspect
of their encounters. Instead, their social group identities were more rele-
vant and helped them find a ready connection with their peers.
As mentioned in previous chapters, cultures reflect “complex systems of
thought and behavior that people create and perpetuate in and for associa-
tion” (Omaggio-Hadley, 2001, p. 348). Their beliefs, values, and behaviors
are deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness, and in-group members
may hold them as “universal truth,” labeling their preferences “‘human
nature,’ ‘instinct,’ ‘common sense,’ ‘logic,’” while beliefs, values, and
practices “that don’t fit are different, and therefore either illogical,
immoral, nonsensical, or the result of a naïve and inferior stage of devel-
opment of ‘human nature’” (Galloway, 1992, p. 88). Correcting these
assumptions and learning to think of other people and ourselves as
embodying equally valid multiplex identities is essential for developing
intercultural communication.
Teaching about Identity in the L2/Lx Classroom

Language and identity are inherently welded in the real world, an issue that
becomes especially poignant when we learn another language, both from
the learners’ perspective and from that of the instructor, as the following
discussion reveals.
The Student’s Perspective

Several issues arise from the learners’ perspective, pertaining to expecta-
tions, opportunities, and contextual possibilities. L2/Lx learners often set
unreasonable expectations for themselves in terms of language-learning
outcomes. Some of these expectations come from advertisements from
language-learning platforms that promise fluency in the L2/Lx in as little as
three weeks; such expectations can damage learners’ sense of L2/Lx speaker
identity, when they inevitably cannot meet these unrealistic goals.
Instructors also contribute to a sense of ‘failure,’ if they expect perfection
from their students or are intolerant of their learners’ mistakes. Jia and Lai
Jia (2017), for example, reports on the case of Burmese migrant students
studying in China, who are frequently shamed by their Chinese instructors
for the variety of language they speak and their literacy skills.8 This kind of
linguistic deficiency orientation (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013; Piller, 2016) is
misguided. As Chapter 2 presented, few Lx learners will develop native-like
abilities, and in any case, comparisons to native speakers are fraught with
problems: Which native speaker do we measure learning against? Someone
without formal education? Someone with a high school diploma? With
a college degree? Also, native speakers speak different varieties of languages,
some of which are excluded from a conceptualization of ‘norms’ and
‘ideals’ due to reasons of racism or socioeconomic prejudice (Davies,
2003). At the same time, language competence is complex. Some L2/Lx
8
This issue is discussed in further detail at www.languageonthemove.com/explorations-in-language-
shaming/
learners may be better speakers, while others are more comfortable with
writing. Some learners may have the same level of control over grammar,
lexicon, or pragmatics as an educated native speaker, yet may retain
a ‘nonnative’ accent in the L2. That accent marks them as nonnative
speakers, even when their other competences reflect outstanding L2/Lx
knowledge.
In addition to language skills possibly limiting the variety of and extent
to which learners can express their identities in the L2/Lx, classroom
contexts offer meager opportunities for practicing diverse social roles.
Learners practice language skills but tend to perform solely the social role
of language learner, and often feel infantilized by the input. Due to such
limited sociolinguistic preparation, they are often unable to inhabit the
typical range of social roles they would normally encounter in the real
world, and which actually reflect their identities (e.g., developing common
interest-based friendships, expressing their style of humor, or being socially
and politically active). To foster successful intercultural identity develop-
ment, then, we need to commit to changing learners’ and our own attitude
towards L2/Lx learning outcomes. Both they and we need to realize that
multilingual learners can express a range of identities, albeit imperfectly, in
another language. They are legitimate participants in L2/Lx communica-
tive practices, who can tap into a wealth of multiple linguistic and cultural
repertoires in their intercultural interactions (Dewaele, 2017).
Another possible reason why L2/Lx learners are hesitant about expres-
sing the full palette of identities is that they do not quite know how those
identities are enacted in new cultural contexts. What verbal and nonverbal
communication should be used to express one’s gender or professional
identity? Are all aspects of one’s identity safe to express in a new cultural
context? Will our way of speaking, be it our pronunciation or pragmatic
knowledge, lead to linguistic discrimination (Hua, 2014; Myers-Scotton,
2006)? A former student, who was very interested in learning Arabic,
hesitated signing up for teaching English abroad in Morocco or Jordan,
because he was unsure how, how openly, where, and with whom he would
be able to express his identity as a gay man, an aspect of identity that is
important to him.
In order to help learners navigate complex multilingual realities, they
need opportunities to become aware of possible identities, both avowed
and ascribed, in the L2/Lx-speaking context and learn how to express those
identities verbally and nonverbally. Awareness raising can be accomplished
by presenting cultures from multiple identity perspectives, and not just
from the perspective of members of a dominant cultural group, and as
engendered through social interaction in dynamic ways (Byram, 1997).
Moreover, L2/Lx pedagogy must focus on “equipping learners with the
means of accessing and analysing any cultural practices and meanings they
encounter, whatever their status in a society,” where ‘status’ should refer to
both the language learner and their likely interlocutors (Byram, 1997,
p. 19). Importantly, L2/Lx pedagogy should foster learners’ ability to be
coequal participants in intercultural communicative events, rather than
secondary to the all-knowing native speaker, the arbiter of what is correct.
Learners should not “model themselves on first [and monolingual] speak-
ers, ignoring the significance of the social identities and cultural compe-
tence” of multilingual, multicultural individuals (Byram, 1997, p. 8).
Increased agency (the ability to determine goals for oneself) provides
more flexibility in learners’ trajectory by allowing them to reject certain
parts or varieties of the L2/Lx, if they are aware of the implications of that
language or variety, reflecting “the individual in relation to the social world
and affective dimensions of identity” (Duff, 2012, p. 413).
The Teacher’s Perspective

Like language learners, L2/Lx instructors bring issues of identity to the
classroom as well. Ghanem (2018) highlights this experience in teacher
education. In a study analyzing the identities of graduate instructors of
German, she acknowledged that “Foreign languages differ from any
other subject in that the subject that is taught should be also the
medium of instruction, which can often complicate the construction
and development of teacher identities” (p. 46). While language educa-
tors need to convey ideas about language and identity to their stu-
dents, they need to be aware of how their own social self is shaped by
language and how they constantly renegotiate their linguistic identities
as part of their career (Kumaravadivelu, 2003). To this end, Ghanem
(2018) recommends regular professional development that focuses not
only on pedagogical and subject-matter content, but also on opportu-
nities for language instructors to reflect “on identity constructs, such as
confidence, authority, roles as instructors versus graduate students,
struggles the instructors encounter and possible solutions” (p. 60).
Professional development should also entail acknowledging the forces
impacting instructors’ identity, both self-avowed and other-ascribed,
since identity impacts the content that instructors are likely to teach,
whether they feel comfortable including culture and culturally
embedded language use or not (Ghanem, 2015). This sentiment is
echoed by Duff (2012), who recommends that instructors reflect on their
identity vis-à-vis the language they teach: “It is important for teachers
and learners to understand their own stances and positionings, and how
these affect their engagement with (or participation in) language educa-
tion” (p. 420).
Both for language instructors and their students, interacting with a wide
range of ‘others’ (i.e., simply other individuals, similar to each other in
some ways, distinct from one another in others) can help clarify one’s own
identity/identities, moving towards the emergence of an intercultural
identity. This process should include active analysis of one’s own identity
vis-à-vis ‘the other’ in ever-expanding circles of self-reflection (Byram,
1997); it also requires an awareness of one’s own identities and those of
one’s interlocutor(s), as well as empathy and adaptability. Moreover, it
requires an awareness not only of one’s own avowed identities, but the way
members of the other culture view the individual: his or her ascribed
identities.
Barkhuizen (2013) recommends self-reflective journaling to explore
identity formation among L2/Lx learners, an approach supported by
the “narrative or discursive turn” (Pavlenko, 2007, p. 164). Such
journals would be ideal for instructors as well, using autobiography
to explore their L2/Lx development and realize how self-reflection
“contributes to shaping participants’ own understandings and devel-
opment through the act of telling their stories and putting shape on
experience” (Ushioda, 2019, p. 204).
Pedagogical Activities to Foster Intercultural Identity Development

in the L2/Lx Classroom
Identities are essential to each person; therefore, this issue must be
treated with great care, especially when learners’ L2/Lx skills are
limited. However, given the importance of expressing the full array
of our identities, learners need opportunities to develop the linguistic
skills and cultural knowledge to do so in L2/Lx-speaking contexts.
The following activities, which connect the information covered in
Chapters 4–9 to the material discussed in this chapter, can help
achieve these goals.
• Using a movie or video recording, examine how identities (e.g.,
gender, age, profession, interest) are expressed verbally and
nonverbally.
• Selecting a smaller speech event, include tasks that help learners recog-
nize the dynamic nature of interaction, how different aspects of identity
might be more or less salient during a communicative event; observe
how participants emphasize and express that aspect fluidly.
• Using the same video or a new one, analyze aspects of politeness and
impoliteness, to understand how language and power are performed by
social actors.
• Explore terms of address (and corresponding lexico-grammatical
features) to identify social roles and relationships among them (e.g.,
how do people address colleagues or express support for friends and
family?).
• Analyze authentic interactions to see how humor is deployed to express
in-group and out-group identities among different social groups.
• Using various authentic materials as input sources, have learners engage
in role-playing, so that they can enact and embody diverse social roles in
the L2/Lx, using verbal and nonverbal communicative tools creatively.
• Analyze values associated with social and interpersonal roles, as well as
cultural groups from multiple perspectives. Learners should develop an
understanding of intracultural variation in the expression of identities.
Include language samples and works from people who come from
communities with little cultural capital.
• Have learners research a community that reflects one of their social
identities (e.g., skateboarders or anime enthusiasts): How does that
community identify itself? What verbal and nonverbal communication
is unique to them (or is used in unique ways by them)? How are they
viewed by other members of the broader cultural community? This
group can be the learners’ entry point into full participation in the L2/
Lx-speaking community.
• Include research projects regarding cultural and social symbols, images,
objects and their connection to identity (e.g., school mascots in the
United States, including the debates surrounding culturally appro-
priated images; religious songs; peace or environmental movements).
• Have students research a social group’s relation to power, both histori-
cally and the implication for the group at the present time in terms of its
multicultural identities (e.g., Italian colonization in the Horn of Africa;
Trento, 2012).
• Incorporate stories written by immigrants to the host culture that
explore the process of identity development in an L2/Lx-speaking
community.
• Invite representatives (native members as well as people who have lived
there as sojourners themselves) of the cultures whose language you are
teaching to talk about their experiences as intercultural individuals.
What challenges have they faced in new cultural contexts and how did
they solve them (if at all)?
• Explore aspects of identity through telecollaborative exchanges, so
learners can understand better the lives enacted and identities embo-
died by a peer group.
• Help learners become more compassionate with their own linguistic
and cultural mistakes using the L2/Lx by inviting guests who are
adapting to the learners’ own cultural context. This can demonstrate
to learners that making mistakes is to be expected, that people can
express their identities in the L2/Lx without perfect language skills, and
improve learners’ own expectations for themselves as they develop their
intercultural identities.
Summary
This chapter explored the multifaceted nature of identity, which we begin
developing at birth and shape throughout our lives via the affiliations we
form with other individuals and groups. Including academic and athletic
organizations, political and professional associations, gender and age,
ethnicity and race, we wear various ‘hats’ in our lifetime, reflecting our
identities. Language and identity are inherently enmeshed, both at the
societal and individual levels, as they relate both to avowed (self-
determined) and ascribed (other-determined) facets to our sense of self.
Learning an L2/Lx provides ideal opportunities for exploring our
identities, as it is often when we reflect on how we are similar to and
different from others that we have the chance to refine our understanding
of who we are. Learning to speak other languages may reflect or add new
facets to our identity, depending on the reasons behind our studying that
language, whether our background leads us to learning it or a new
language results in the development of new identities. In L2/Lx educa-
tion, it is essential to draw both learners’ and instructors’ attention to
facets of identity, and the dynamic nature of identity, that changes over
time and across situations, including based on each of the languages we
enact. For students and instructors, regular opportunities for self-
reflection can improve awareness of the relationship between language
and identity.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Fill in the image of the prism below with the various identities you
inhabit, then identify which aspects are relatively stable and which ones
are interactional/situational. Do you inhabit different identities in your
L2/Lx? How do you express these identities verbally and nonverbally in
your L1 and L2/Lx?
I am . . .
2. Examine the identities in Table 12.1 and, focusing on two

or three of them, consider how they would be realized
verbally and nonverbally in the context of the language you
will be teaching.
3. Watch a movie or observe an extended interaction among speakers
of your L2/Lx and note how they define and express their identities.
Examine issues such as individualism versus collectivism, equality,
gender roles, etc. What does this source reveal about the different
cultural identities represented? How do people/characters convey
these identities verbally and nonverbally? Please keep in mind that
this is one data source and should not be viewed as a categorical
representation of the culture.
4. Identify a community in an L2/Lx-speaking context that could be
a good entry-point for you into the broader culture, and research it in
depth: How does that community identify itself? What verbal and
nonverbal communication is unique to them (or is used in unique ways
by them)? How are they viewed by other members of the broader
cultural community?
5. How would you prepare L2/Lx learners for participation in
a cultural context that is more or less inclusive (i.e., accepting of
diversity) than their current context? What are the ethical
responsibilities of you as an instructor, and how would you discuss
this with your L2/Lx learner(s)?
6. Select an activity presented in this chapter on pages 283–284

and, working with a peer or a small group, develop a lesson
plan that fosters the development of intercultural identity in
your learners.

Cultures and Identities: Figure 12.1 Increasing and Re Fined Facets of Cultural Affiliation

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chapter 12

Cultures and Identities

Figure 12.1 Increasing and reﬁned facets of cultural afﬁliation

Majority A sense of belonging to culturally In Myanmar, Burmese is the ofﬁcial

•pansexual (attraction to people

Ethnic identity A sense of belonging to a particular The language used by an ethnic

mobility (e.g., Chile and Brazil speak less privileged class-based

Familial The relationships we form with In many cultures, surnames reﬂect

addition to a regional variety, and with a ﬁgure of authority and

interests or characteristics with them (Oetzel, 2009; Ting-Toomey &

Avowed and Ascribed Identities

Language, Identity, and Power

Teaching about Identity in the L2/Lx Classroom

The Student’s Perspective

The Teacher’s Perspective

Pedagogical Activities to Foster Intercultural Identity Development

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

2. Examine the identities in Table 12.1 and, focusing on two

6. Select an activity presented in this chapter on pages 283–284

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