Language and Identity

Identity is simultaneously one of the most widely familiar terms that appears in this volume and one of the most highly contested terms in an array of scholarly fields, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, sociolinguistics, and education. Personal accounts of those who cross linguistic and cultural boundaries, including travelers, transnational workers, immigrants, and others, frequently suggest that these sojourners lose some sense of who they are. Two iconic examples are both called Lost in Translation: Eva Hoffman’s 1989 memoir tells of emigrating as a child from Poland to Canada, where she could not even retain the original spelling and pronunciation of her name (Ewa), while the 2003 film with the same name stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as Americans struggling with feelings of ...