Culture Language and Identity

Observations of the Relationships between Culture, Language, and Identity
Part 1: The Lead/ What you already know about the topic
This paper works from the premise that our identities are influenced directly by the culture of our formative years and development: this includes the languages we speak. From this perspective “culture” actually refers to a melee of factors: the immediate culture of one’s family, the culture of one’s neighborhood/environment, and the culture of one’s work or school. Finally, one of the dominant forces upon culture, is of course, the dominant culture of one’s nation. Essentially, culture has a tremendous influence on identity and this includes a mix of national, societal, and familial culture. Culture makes a tremendous impact on how people view themselves and their place in the world, and often the path they take in life. In similar fashion, language has just as much influence. Language impacts how we view human interaction and the appropriate means of expression. For example, in Russian culture, if someone calls you and you are busy, it’s customary to just say, “I’m busy” and hang up. In American and English cultures, it more customary to be polite, and offer up an excuse or explanation of why one can’t talk at the moment. If you even examine the different ways of identifying oneself in various languages from their literal translations into English, the distinctions are profound: My name is ___, in French we have: I call myself ___, in German we have: I am called ____ and in Russian we have: They call me _______. Even with distinct phrasal identifiers such as this can demonstrate how much language influences oneself and one’s place in the world.
Part 2: What you wanted to find out.
Essentially, my goals when engaging in this research were very modest. I wanted to determine what the most significant findings had been in this field, regarding how culture and language influence research. I wanted to look at research that examined language and culture upon identity development in general, and research that examined specific pockets of culture and the issues of identity and language in those arenas. Essentially I wanted to look at the overlap of all of these elements and what researchers had concluded in the most general and specific ways possible.
Part 3: The story of your research
The first research study I examined was “Does culture influence what and how we think? Effects of priming individualism and collectivism” by Oyserma and colleagues (2008). This study was one of the most direct in its purpose regarding culture/language on identity manifestation via one’s thought processes. The next part of the research process sought to determine a bigger picture perspective regarding culture and identity within the digital age. “Identity, language learning, and social change” by Norton and Toohey (2011) helped to scrutinize how digital technologies impact the identities of language learners everywhere along with the overall impact of globalization on the approach to language and self-reflection. The next piece of research examined was the book, “Global Linguistic Flows: Hip Hop Cultures, Youth Identities, and the Politics of Language” by Alim and colleagues looks at how something like Hip Hop, a music and cultural force has influenced young people all over the world, and the politics of language and self-expression, and with it, the pillars of identity. Finally, I read the article, “The Collapse of the American Identity” by Robert P. Jones examined how American culture is imploding and dissolving through a variety of forces.
Part 4: What you discovered
Many compelling and enlightening things were discovered. For example, I discovered that language and culture could indeed influence the way a person thinks and views him or herself, but not necessarily in a predictable manner. For example, Osyerma and colleagues found, “The cross-national literature on the effects of individualism and collectivism is both impressive and spotty. It is impressive because across outcomes, operationalization of outcome measures, and samples, results converge in demonstrating differences in values as predicted by individualism and collectivism as well as evidence that these differences have psychological consequences for individuals” (2008). In a similar fashion, Norton and Toohey are able to make compelling hypotheses about the every growing nature of language learning in conjunction with culture and the influence of globalization. Essentially these researchers find that while aspects of individual cultural identities are becoming more muted, more collective global cultures are becoming more pronounced. Digital technologies and the internet have a profound impact on this trend. However, certain aspects of language and cultural identities remain as untouched as ever, regardless of the influence of neither technology nor globalization. Norton and Toohey reach a similar conclusion to that of Osyerma and colleagues when they suggest that a certain amount of influence is predictable, and yet another amount is more opaque and harder to anticipate.
On that note, the book “Global Linguistic Flows” by Alim and colleagues does examine the globalizing impact of something as widespread as Hip Hop, a genre of music that has fashion connected to it, as well as language and slang. In their own way, Alim and associates attest to the pervasive power of hip hop and how this has caused so many youths to distance themselves from their native cultures and families, instead embracing this foreign identity. This process also creates a form of de facto bonding and unification with youths in nations all over the world. It is an example of how a specific form of culture (in this case hip hop culture), influences a sense of identity and self on a global scale. Finally, the Jones article in the New York Times demonstrates how American cultural is in a general time of upheaval, and how a certain group, Christians, have always enjoyed being the majority group with the largest influence. Now that is all shifting and the general upheaval makes it unclear where American culture will land. The author points to massive changes that have occurred in the last few decades within the national cultural identity and it is provocative to attempt to determine how this will impact Americans as a societal group and as individuals.
Conclusion
The research conducted for this paper helped to illuminate certain aspects of the culture, identity, and language conundrum, as it manifests on an individual, societal and global level. Nearly all the research conducted helped in confirming what was suspected: culture and spoken language have a tremendous impact on the way that an individual develops, views him or herself, interacts with others and with the world. However, it’s nearly impossible to predict how this will manifest as a result of individual variables. The research also brought up compelling issues such as technology and globalization, two factors that have had a profound impact on these three issues: language, culture and identity. Technology and globalization have in many respects helped to form an international culture and language, which is largely governed by pop culture and social media. However, this has given young people more mediums and ways to communicate with one another and forge a common understanding. While more traditions appear to be lost to time as globalization takes a firmer hold of youth, it still helps to create a universal understanding among people, particularly the young.
















References

Alim, H. S., Ibrahim, A., & Pennycook, A. (Eds.). (2008). Global linguistic flows: Hip hop cultures, youth identities, and the politics of language. Routledge.
Jones, R. P. (2018, January 20). Opinion | The Collapse of American Identity. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/opinion/the-collapse-of-american-identity.html
Norton, B., & Toohey, K. (2011). Identity, language learning, and social change. Language teaching, 44(4), 412-446.
Oyserman, D., & Lee, S. W. (2008). Does culture influence what and how we think? Effects of priming individualism and collectivism. Psychological bulletin, 134(2), 311.