Globalization, English, and Identity Construction

A Narrative Inquiry

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.210427.038How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Cultural identity, English, hybridity, narrative inquiry

Abstract

Language is fundamental in shaping one’s identity. In today’s borderless world, how we see, define and position ourselves appear to be, to a varying degree, interconnected to a host of ‘globalizing forces’, such as English. Drawing on Bhabha’s (1994) notion of hybridity and Gomzina’s (2012) multi-layered cultural identity as theoretical frameworks, this study aims to trace and understand how the exposure to the English language has impacted one of the writers’ sense of self as an individual. Adopting an autobiographical narrative inquiry, the study used personal narratives written by Luthfiah as data. These narratives encompassed her reflections of various ‘significant moments’ that highlighted her engagement with English. Analysis of the narratives pointed to three major themes: (1) being fascinated with English, (2) feeling superior because of English, and (3) expanding the self through English. While initially Luthfiah’s exposure to English had led her to a state of ambivalence regarding her identity, it is through English that she was finally able to expand herself and to understand her hybrid identity: English has become a tool for Luthfiah to re-define herself as an Indonesian. This study confirms the idea that there is no one single true way of defining one’s cultural identity, as identity is multifaceted and complex and that it is always in the process of ‘becoming’.

Copyright

© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Isti Siti Saleha Gandana
AU  - Luthfiah Nissa
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/04/28
TI  - Globalization, English, and Identity Construction
BT  - Proceedings of the Thirteenth Conference on Applied Linguistics (CONAPLIN 2020)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 253
EP  - 258
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210427.038
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.210427.038
ID  - Gandana2021
ER  -