Author(s): Mohd. Moniruzzaman Akhand
Abstract: The process through which systemic evidence about social processes can be traced is known as discourse analysis (DA). DA examines speech, writing and other signs to elucidate different social functions. It studies language in use in a particular social and cultural context. Through this a social identity also emerges and we assign ourselves to different groups with our values, beliefs and attitudes that are projected in our speech. According to Ochs (1993: 288) social identity is “a cover term for a range of social personae, including social statuses, roles, positions, relationships, and institutional and other relevant community identities one may attempt to claim or assign in the course of social life”. This paper analyses an interview of a Chinese university teacher of the Department of Computer Science, Pennsylvania State University taken by a M.A. student of Applied Linguistics from the Mainland China of the same university and shows how sociocultural perspective on human action/words influences language use and vice versa and construct social identity.
Keywords: Discourse Analysis, Conversation Analysis, Language and Identity