1. Does language define our identity? I think it goes both ways. I was watching Modern Family with my cousin one night- the Halloween episode. If you haven't seen the show before, Gloria is a young Colombian woman who marries a man with grown up kids. Language does define Gloria's identity. If I was asked to list 3 things she's known for, her accent and mispronunciations would be the first thing on the list.
In the Halloween episode, Gloria gets tired of her husband making fun of the things she says. For example, she calls his secretary and asks her to order a box of crackers and baby cheeses that he likes, but the secretary sends them a box of baby Jesuses instead because Gloria doesn't pronounce the word correctly. As a result, she decides to speak with an 'American' accent in 'proper' English. When she does this, everyone notices right away, because they are used to the way she usually speaks.
Gloria's Colombian identity also shapes the way she speaks. Spanish is a somewhat loud language, and when she speaks in English, she does so loudly. She also puts emphasis on certain syllables, because in Spanish, many words have accent marks.
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