ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that whether and how language is involved in speakers' internalization or display of particular identities. The question is at the heart of research on identity worldwide as well as in the Arab context. The chapter pertinents to the Arab context concerns the impact of diglossia on identity formation and the role of Standard Arabic (SA) and Colloquial Arabic (QA) in indexing different social and personal identities. It relates to the implications of the coexistence of a number of competing local and global languages, sometimes in the same social spheres, for Arabic speakers' view of themselves as members of certain social groups and as individuals. The chapter examines these questions with particular emphasis on three identity forms: national, ethnic, and religious. It outlines the historical conditions that contributed to the development of various identity forms in the current political map of the Arab region and focuses on historical narratives as well as identity statements and identity acts.
