My language, my identity
Well, hello there, welcome back to my life in blog. In today’s blog post, I will talk about the relation
between language and identity; two concepts whish are, in my opinion, closely linked together. I am
going to talk about my own personal experience of language identity and reflect on how and why
language is such an important factor when it comes to identity. So, without any further, let us dive right
into it.
Link between language and identity?
Before starting to tell you about my own experience, I want to make it clear on how I see this relation
between language and identity; so, language is much more than a simple group of words in a coherent
phrase, language is more about expressing ourselves, expressing our feelings, thoughts and share our
culture and history as well with others. This common language creates a common history since
languages are often used to tell the story of a collective. This is where identity comes into play. Identities
can be individual in the sense that each person has his or her own identity which is comprised of culture,
history, value, and character. But identities can also be collective in the sense that a group of peoples
shares the same values, history, culture and, interesting to create a link with our topic, language. I think
that the quote of nelson Mandela a great example to explain the link between language and identity :
“If you talk to a man in language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his
language, that goes to his heart”
So how this link plays a big role in my life:
In my summer break of 3 months in 2019, my parent had decided to send me with beloved brother to
Canada to try to figure out how to get along with each other in a foreign country alone. So long story
short, after spending 3 days of being with each other in the same room, same hotel my brother packed
his things and traveled to Calgary in Alberta which is in the other side of Canada leaving me alone in
Toronto. To be honest it didn’t bother me at all in the contrary we made a deal to not tell our parents so
that we can enjoy our freedom. And here my journey in Canada ( alone) begins, I speak English pretty
much all the time, which although it comes naturally to me, is not the same as my mother tongue
Arabic, but I can express myself in English in an educated, proficient manner, the feeling I get when
talking to someone in English is far from when I am able to communicate in Arabic. so, I spend like 4
days going around the city and get lost like serval times , but it was worth it. And in the 5 th day I had
gone to the Niagara Falls and there where I meat finally a Tunisian guy and let me tell you: it feels great.
When talking to someone in Arabic in Canada, it does not feel like the Niagara anymore, but rather like
being back home. I immediately create a more personal relation with that person as I feel more closely
connected to him. Without asking too much, I feel like knowing that person, simply by sharing the same
language, as I know that we share a common set of values, traditions, and culture from our mother land.
I finally found someone I could identify with, simply by speaking the same language. so, in short when
you have a certain nationality or mother tongue, you identify with that country/language as it is part of
your life. Mother tongues represent more than just the language you hear at home, it is the experiences
you make through that language in that place you call home. Recalling memories when you were out
with friends, the jokes you made, the discussions you had; they all happened in a certain language, a
certain space, with specific people. If you recall one, the others are linked, and that is how language
creates history, experiences, relations and overall: identity.