Lopez 1

Ashly Lopez

Professor Batty

English 028

8 December 2017

Language Has Control Over Us

Language. It's a single word with eight letters that can form your whole identity. Of

course, language is used to communicate with one another but that's not the only thing it has

control of. Identity can be defined as a set of personal or behavioral characteristics by which an

individual can be identified with a certain group. As well, language defines our culture, letting

others know whether we're Hispanic, Asian, Armenian, Muslim etc. Therefore, language does

contribute to the formation of one's identity because it is able to define factors make up our

identity as an individual. Our language is able to define many factors that contribute to our

identity such as a cultural language, religion, name and ethnicity.

The cultural language that you speak is an important factor to your formation of identity.

Culture can be seen as a term for communication because it lets others know where you come

from or what language you speak. Your culture holds important factors such as moral beliefs,

values and your name that make up your identity. Sylvia Chen, a psychologist from Hong Kong

states that, "language is regarded as a carrier of culture and a marker of group identity."(Chen 1)

With your language you are able to express your beliefs, values and other factors that make up

our identity to others. In addition, your cultural language contributes to pointing out the

differences with you and other cultural groups.

 Lopez 2

However, some can argue that individuals find it hard to define language as a

contribution to their formation of identity. For example, emigrating to a different country that has

a different cultural background or spoken language. Psychologist Chen states that, "Individuals

become absorbed by the dominant culture and lose identification with their culture of origin."

(Chen 2). What this quote is trying to say is that some become lost in the process of having a

new identity. Individuals start to speak the new language and gain new means of identity. Little

by little, things start changing with the individual and their original culture. The way individuals

dress or act also changes because of the exposure of a new identity. Being exposed to two

different cultures or more may be hard for individuals because sometimes they might identify

themselves to one identity based on a culture or won't identify to any specifically.

One example that proves individuals can sometimes find it hard to identify themselves as

a single identity because of language is Yolanda from How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.

According to the author Julia Alvarez, the parents of the four girls tried to hold to their ways, but

the girls tried to lose themselves and find new lives. Yolanda, in one hand, lost her Spanish,

"What's an antojo?"(Alvarez 8) she asked. She's frequently stuck between two cultures that

include different morals, values, beliefs etc. This may be how some individuals feel when they

don't know how to identify themselves.

As time goes by, there is a slight chance that our identities start to change. "Immigrants

become Americans through a linear process of giving up their old beliefs, patterns of behavior

and language." (Chapell 6). Although some individuals may be dominated by a different

language, this still shows that language is a great contribution to the formation of one's identity.

It seems as one is losing their identity when being exposed to a different one but you're also

gaining a different identity. You'll become dominant to their language, beliefs, values etc. These
 Lopez 3

are still important factors that contribute to the formation of your identity. Just because you

speak a different language, your factors as individuals don't change. Also, people will still have

the opportunity to identify themselves to one culture or to a certain type of group.

Another factor that can be a contribution to the formation of identity are simply accents.

All different languages have accents added to them when spoken with. When one speaks a

specific language like British or Australian, the accent comes into place and it may let others

have an understanding of where they're from. For instance, people to emigrate from their country

to a different country may build up an accent once they start speaking a different language. But

accents are not a negative factor although some may be ashamed for sounding the way they do

when they speak. Latinos are being ashamed when they start speaking English with others. Some

will change the way they speak to blend in with everyone else and not be embarrassed by their

accents. But overall accents are part of these individuals and their identity is shaped around them

as well.

Overall, language does contribute to the formation of one's identity as an individual. With

language we're allowed to express who we are by simply speaking. It gives others an idea of

where we come from or what our cultural background is. Language has the power to form our

identity and defines who we are. It is the thing that no one can take away from you, your

language because it is part of you and it has the power to be used as identity. In other words,

language can be considered a badge to identify who you are, just like police officers use their

badge to identify themselves as law enforcements. It is a contribution to our identity.

 Lopez 4

Works Cited Page

Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Algonquin Books, 2013.

Chappell, Sharon, and Christian Faltis. Spanglish, Bilingualism, Culture and Identity in

Latino Childrens Literature. Children's Literature in Education, vol. 38, no. 4, Sept. 2006, pp.

253262., doi:10.1007/s10583-006-9035-z.

Chen, Sylvia Xiaohua. Toward a Social Psychology of Bilingualism and Biculturalism.

Asian Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 18, no. 1, 2014, pp. 111., doi:10.1111/ajsp.12088