Identity Construction and Its Influence on Language Shift among Ghanaian and Nigerian Bi/Multilinguals

Abstract

Sociolinguists argue that language is a reflection of identity, suggesting that the language individuals use and the way they use it signal the kind of identity they project. Accordingly, we hypothesised that the linguistic identity of bi/multilinguals could have a predictive effect on language shift/maintenance. To validate this assumption, we gathered data from university students in Nigeria and Ghana. A multigroup partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis was performed to test this theoretical assumption. The findings indicate that while the desire to construct an “elite identity” predicted students’ language shift tendencies in both formal and informal domains, “cultural identity” contributed to language maintenance. The significant association between identity and language shift/maintenance was the same for Nigerians and Ghanaians. We conclude that bi/multilingual African students make distinct identity choices that tend to determine whether they will maintain their native language or shift to a foreign language in a communicative context.

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