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“Language is identity.” — Daowd I. Salih I partially agree with this quote in several aspects. Although one’s language can reveal many things about his/her identity, as it can disclose your nationality, culture, background, level of education, socio-economic class, etc., it is not 100% accurate. Language (vocal) can reveal your nationality and cultural background by your accent (American, British, Chinese, Indian, etc.) as well as vocabulary, as we all know, is the choice of words used in a language, which is the key component of language itself. For example, the British say autumn, and the Americans say Fall—Autumn and Fall are, and define, the same thing: one of the four seasons every year. Another thing about vocal language is that for example, a Chinese, who speaks English in a Chinese accent – we can tell that this Chinese learns English as a second language, especially despite that Chinese speaking English with different grammar and other people think of the Chinese speaking ‘bad English’. Written language can show through the way you spell, for example, favour and favor, colour and color, grey and gray, etc. The use of language can reveal your age. Teenagers, for example, use ‘teen speak’, that is used to identify teenagers, whereas the elderly and adults speak properly and appropriately. For example, adults greet each other by saying, ‘hello’, whereas teenage boys say to each other, ‘yo’. When adults say, ‘she and I’, teenagers would say, ‘me and her’. On the other hand, because we live in a modernized world, and major countries are socializing with each other, their people are being exposed to multi cultures, and more of them day by day learn from each other internationally. For example, a female Korean student speaks English in a fluent American accent with correct grammar and vocabulary. Although this does not mean that this Korean student is actually an American, this inaccuracy on language revealing your identity, reveals in another aspect, that this Korean Student is exposed to American culture at young age, and adapt and learn from it for several years.

Language is Identity Quote Analysis

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From a documentary about Language, starring Stephen Fry. Useful for TOK for IB Diploma students

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Language is identity. Daowd I. SalihI partially agree with this quote in several aspects. Although ones language can reveal many things about his/her identity, as it can disclose your nationality, culture, background, level of education, socio-economic class, etc., it is not 100% accurate. Language (vocal) can reveal your nationality and cultural background by your accent (American, British, Chinese, Indian, etc.) as well as vocabulary, as we all know, is the choice of words used in a language, which is the key component of language itself. For example, the British say autumn, and the Americans say FallAutumn and Fall are, and define, the same thing: one of the four seasons every year. Another thing about vocal language is that for example, a Chinese, who speaks English in a Chinese accent we can tell that this Chinese learns English as a second language, especially despite that Chinese speaking English with different grammar and other people think of the Chinese speaking bad English. Written language can show through the way you spell, for example, favour and favor, colour and color, grey and gray, etc. The use of language can reveal your age. Teenagers, for example, use teen speak, that is used to identify teenagers, whereas the elderly and adults speak properly and appropriately. For example, adults greet each other by saying, hello, whereas teenage boys say to each other, yo. When adults say, she and I, teenagers would say, me and her. On the other hand, because we live in a modernized world, and major countries are socializing with each other, their people are being exposed to multi cultures, and more of them day by day learn from each other internationally. For example, a female Korean student speaks English in a fluent American accent with correct grammar and vocabulary. Although this does not mean that this Korean student is actually an American, this inaccuracy on language revealing your identity, reveals in another aspect, that this Korean Student is exposed to American culture at young age, and adapt and learn from it for several years. Therefore to conclude, I partially agree with the quote, Language is identity.