Introduction

As in the previous part of this volume, the chapters in this part show how the close study of local practices in multilingual settings opens a window on wider social and ideological processes. The focus here is on the role of language ideologies and communicative practices in the construction of identities and in the building of di erent kinds of social relationships. All three chapters are underpinned by a poststucturalist view of identity: identities are seen as multiple, fl uid and always ‘under construction’ (rather than unitary, stable and fi xed over time). In keeping with a broad, social constructionist approach, identifi cation is seen as a discursive process: that is, identities are conceived of as emerging in and through social action and interaction in di erent settings. At the same time, the specifi c processes of identifi cation captured in each of the chapters are represented as embedded in wider relations of asymmetrical power and in transnational contexts where di erent discourses about identity circulate.