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Linguist blogs2/3/2024 ![]() Recalling memories when you were out with friends, the jokes you made, the discussions you had they all happened in a certain language, a certain space, with specific people. Mother tongues represent more than just the language you hear at home, it is the experiences you make through that language in that place you call home. ![]() When you have a certain nationality or mother tongue, you identify with that country/language as it is part of your life. Languages are, in my eyes, a similar concept to nationality. So language for me is not just a useful tool for communication, but it is a symbol for our country, for a small collective standing together as one, fighting against language deaths. We fought many wars, and albeit the results, we always stood together, sharing common values, living the same history. We are proud of our language (as is every nation I assume) as it symbolizes our independence, our uniqueness, our history. Just be prepared to get into a heated argument as people might insult you for assuming such a thing. If you ever want to get into a discussion with a Luxembourgish person, simply tell them that Luxembourgish is a dialect of German or French, or a mix of different languages which does not qualify for an actual language. Being such a small nation, we feel the need to cling on to our uniqueness, often by emphasizing that we have our own language. I finally found someone I could identify with, simply by speaking the same language.Ī more relatable example of language and identity is when I am actually back home in Luxembourg. Without asking too much, I feel like knowing that person, simply by sharing the same language, as I know that we share a common set of values, traditions and culture from our mother land. I immediately create a more personal relatio n with that person as I feel more closely connected to him/her. When talking to someone in Luxembourgish in Maastricht, it does not feel like the Netherlands anymore, but rather like being back home. It took me 14 periods of university to finally find someone in a tutorial who speaks Luxembourgish. While I can express myself in English in an educated, proficient manner, the feeling I get when talking to someone in English is far from when I am able to communicate in Luxembourgish. I speak English pretty much all the time, which although it comes naturally to me, is not the same as my mother tongue Luxembourgish. I live in Maastricht now for almost 3 years. ![]() Luxembourgish? Oh, you mean the German dialect? But how does this link play a role in my life? Well, let me tell you about it. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”. ![]() I find the quote by Nelson Mandela important in this context as it depicts the importance and the link of language and identity: “If you talk to a man in language he understands, that goes to his head. But identities can also be collective in the sense that a collective of people shares the same values, history, culture and, interesting to create a link with our topic, language. Identities can be individual in the sense that each person has his or her own identity which is comprised of culture, history, value and character. This common language creates a common history, especially since languages are often regional and hence tell the story of a collective. Languages are unique and have a history as well. Language is used to express ourselves, express our feelings, thoughts and share our culture and history with others. Language is much more than a simple stringing together of words in a coherent manner. So without any further ado, let us dive right into it.īefore starting to tell you about my own experience with language identity, I want to explain what language identity actually is in my opinion. I am going to talk about my own personal experience of language identity and reflect on how and why language is such an important factor when it comes to identity. In today’s blog post I will talk about language and identity two concepts that are, in my opinion, closely linked together. Welcome back to the fifth iteration of my blog. Well hello there fellow language enthusiasts.
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