ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 begins with an overview of language and identity through a poststructuralist lens. This discussion intends not only to unveil the definitions adopted in this book but also to accentuate the deep links between the two concepts, which is a critical understanding in this book. It then discusses the global changes that have positioned English at the foreground of the global linguistic landscape and have resulted in variations to the language, and further outlines the literature that has extensively examined these changes to the language, namely Kachru’s (1986) Three-circle Model of World Englishes, English as a lingua franca and English as an international lingua franca. This leads to a description of the Bourdieusian theory of the accumulation of capital and the designation of language as a form of symbolic capital, or the theoretical underpinnings of this work. Finally, a discussion of the reframing of attitudes as ideologies, motivation as investment, and proficiency as ownership leads to a brief overview of the aims of the study on which this book reports.
