Language Choice as a Means of Shaping Identity

Abstract

In this study of four Mexican‐American fourth grade children in a Spanish—English bilingual classroom, language choice is shown to be a mechanism for constructing social identity. While all four children use both English and Spanish to perform their identities, the diversity of their social identities leads them to use the same linguistic resources in a variety of ways. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses show how specific language choices may be tied to societal norms to index pre‐existing identity categories, most saliently ethnicity and nationality; yet frequently specific language choices are used to construct identities in which gender, friendship ties, and classroom roles are focal aspects.

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