Language and Identity: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of English Use among University Students

Abstract

Language is not only a means of communication but a major defining factor of social identity. English is a common academic lingua franca and a symbol of social identity when there is multilingualism and multiculturalism in the university. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which students at the universities can negotiate their language choices and identity forms using English have not been yet properly studied, especially in situations where English is co-existing with other dominating languages. This paper will address the ways in which the use of the English language by college students’ molds, replicates and occasionally queries his or her social cultural identity. It tries to determine the disposition of language use in both academic and social life, the attitude of students about English and how the linguistic preference is intruded over beliefs about belonging, prestige and self-identity. The research bases its theoretical framework on a mixed-methods sociolinguistic methodology that provides a combination of the quantitative survey sample (n=250) of session work with 250 university students and qualitative interview and discourse analyses of the interaction patterns among students in formal and informal environments. The data are analyzed in terms of frequency of English usage, code-switching, and self-reported belonging to identity defining self-reported belonging to linguistic identity and language ideology. The results probably suggest that English is a two-pronged indicator of scholarly and cosmopolitanism. Though most of the students are viewing English as a means of rising on the social ladder, some of them are also ambivalent with association of it with loss of cultural identity. Codeswitching patterns indicate dynamic identity negotiation, that is, language with the context, audience and purpose will be chosen. The research points out the complex nature of the relationship between language and identity in institutions of higher learning, and there is the necessity of accommodation of linguistic policies that appreciate the multilingual inefficiencies. It is incorporated in sociolinguistic issues of globalization, construction of identities, and language ideology in the youth culture of today.