ABSTRACT
Language and identity cannot be seen as a separate entity as one’s identities and social memberships are established and enacted through his communication process. As one’s identities are not stagnant, subject to change, and very context-bound, the construction of new identities in various communication settings is therefore seen as an ongoing phenomenon in a person’s communication experience. Lee Su Kim’s (2003, 2010) years of studies forwarded a framework of language and identity in various contexts, offering some valuable insights and variables that are useful for the present research; generally aims at looking into the issues pertinent to the constructions of multiple identities among the new generation in Malaysia. The first variable is known as “neutrality and directness of English” (2003: 31), which indicates an ease or a comfortable way to express feelings using in the English Language. Next, “reflective, decentering quality of English” (2003: 34), a situation of how mastering the English Language has brought upon certain impacts on speakers’ identities as it broadens their minds to see things from different perspectives. The third variable would be, “multilingualism with English emerging as the dominant language” (2010: 92), which explains how speakers’ exposure to the English-speaking environment has resulted in the practice of its embedded cultural values and norms of interaction.
