Does language define our identity?
Language can define our identity, especially through the way we say it.
The hostess I lived with during the break is of middle age, and she is a mother of a grown-up son and a big yellow dog, which was adopted on the street. She named the dog "ChouBao"--literally means "silly baby", and she talks to her dog all the time whatever she is doing. She treats her dog as if her second son, teaching it a lesson when it attacks other dog, and the way she talks embodies her maternal instinct. In this case, it's not which language affects but the word choice that makes a difference to shape one's identity. For example, my hostess could call me "Nancy", "Nancy Li", "girl", but she calls me "Baobao"--means baby. As I can tell, she is a really gentle and warmhearted lady, a good caretaker with nice temper. And she is the only one who gives me such a nickname in the family, so her words are like a tag representing herself.
Besides, language can also define a group. For example, the teenagers, who have a lot in common, would communicate with each other using their special and fashion words, mostly slang. We tend to feel closer when using the cool words which are mostly incomprehensible to our parents, just like the characteristics of our teens, who are energetic and dynamic, and want to be unique. So the language becomes a tool to express and show our identity, to tell others who we are.
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