Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan

Am I English when I speak English and Russian when I speak Russian if I use both equally well? Am I the same when I speak English and when I speak Russian? In what cases would I prefer to use which one of them? These questions are at the core of the issue of the identity of bilinguals, particularl...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Broadbent, John T., Vavilova, Zhanna
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM 2015
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/1/9125-27902-1-PB.pdf

id	ukm-9074
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-90742016-12-14T06:48:54Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/ Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan Broadbent, John T. Vavilova, Zhanna Am I English when I speak English and Russian when I speak Russian if I use both equally well? Am I the same when I speak English and when I speak Russian? In what cases would I prefer to use which one of them? These questions are at the core of the issue of the identity of bilinguals, particularly if they suffer in any way from fragmented identity, linguistic interference, misunderstanding in a monolingual society and other related problems. This paper aims to look closely at these issues in certain bilingual environments in order to define the role of multilingualism in the self-identification of an individual. Reflecting on experience over forty years of teaching bilinguals, multilinguals and L2 English-speakers, we may draw the conclusion that anomie, identityconflict, results not from the experience of bilingualism or multilingualism per se but arises where anxiety and lack of self-confidence in one's own identity - either individually or collectively - is already present. It seems evident, then, that the root cause of alienation lies not in bilingualism itself but in the conflict of cultures. The implication appears to be that cultural self-identification governs language proficiency rather than is determined by it. Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM 2015 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/1/9125-27902-1-PB.pdf Broadbent, John T. and Vavilova, Zhanna (2015) Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 21 (3). pp. 141-150. ISSN 0128-5157 http://ejournal.ukm.my/3l
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	Am I English when I speak English and Russian when I speak Russian if I use both equally well? Am I the same when I speak English and when I speak Russian? In what cases would I prefer to use which one of them? These questions are at the core of the issue of the identity of bilinguals, particularly if they suffer in any way from fragmented identity, linguistic interference, misunderstanding in a monolingual society and other related problems. This paper aims to look closely at these issues in certain bilingual environments in order to define the role of multilingualism in the self-identification of an individual. Reflecting on experience over forty years of teaching bilinguals, multilinguals and L2 English-speakers, we may draw the conclusion that anomie, identityconflict, results not from the experience of bilingualism or multilingualism per se but arises where anxiety and lack of self-confidence in one's own identity - either individually or collectively - is already present. It seems evident, then, that the root cause of alienation lies not in bilingualism itself but in the conflict of cultures. The implication appears to be that cultural self-identification governs language proficiency rather than is determined by it.
format	Article
author	Broadbent, John T. Vavilova, Zhanna
spellingShingle	Broadbent, John T. Vavilova, Zhanna Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan
author_facet	Broadbent, John T. Vavilova, Zhanna
author_sort	Broadbent, John T.
title	Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan
title_short	Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan
title_full	Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan
title_fullStr	Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan
title_full_unstemmed	Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan
title_sort	bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in malaysia and tatarstan
publisher	Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM
publishDate	2015
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9074/1/9125-27902-1-PB.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T19:53:57Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T19:53:57Z
_version_	1777406403729686528

Bilingual identity: issues of self-identification of bilinguals in Malaysia and Tatarstan

Similar Items