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Connection between identity and language

In the general society, there is commonly believed to be a natural connection between the language spoken by members of a social group and that group’s identity, e.g. Italians speak Italian. Indeed even an accent may be more important than speaking the language itself as seen in the comment of a boy participating a study on Breton. He was asked whether being able to speak Breton was a necessary part of being a Breton. He replied, No, it’s much more important to have the accent, that way you know straight away that someone is Breton. (Hoare, 2001). Through their accent and other features of their dialect, speakers identify themselves and are identified as members of this or that speech/discourse community. Crystal wrote ‘If you wish to tell everyone what part of a country you are from, you can wave a flag, wear a label on your coat, or (the most convenient solution, because it is always with you, even in the dark and around corners) speak with a distinctive accent and dialect. Similarly, on the world stage, if you wish to tell everyone what country you belong to, an immediate and direct way of doing it is to speak in a distinctive way’ (2003).

By using accents in speaking English, people bridge the gap between intelligibility and identity. They retain their group identity while communicating with the world at large. This group membership gives them also ‘personal strength and pride, as well as a sense of social importance and historical continuity from using the same language as the group they belong to’ (Kramsch, 1998). Kramsch also stated that group identity is created through highlighting or blurring the lines of race, nationality, ethnicity, language, and so forth. This is even the case even for a minority language, regional or social, that may be highly valued by its speakers for any number of reasons. This close tie between the language and the social identity of ethnolinguistic groups is not to be overlooked though it is important also to keep in mind the following: ‘there is not a one-to-one relation between identity and language. A distinct social, cultural, or ethnic identity does not always have a distinct language as counterpart, while groups with distinct languages may have largely overlapping identities. Furthermore, identities and languages are not monolithic wholes but are clearly differentiated, heterogeneous and variable. This makes their relation in specific situations even more intricate’ (Appel & Muysken, 1987).

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