ABSTRACT
With reference to two popularly used words amongst Bangladeshis, the chapter explores how university students in Bangladesh use the Bangla word ‘khaet’ (hick) and the English word ‘fast’ to construct a sense of ‘others' and position themselves in their educational landscape. The data are drawn from a three-month long ethnographic research project in a private university in Bangladesh in which 29 participants volunteered to participate. The data specifically from focus-group discussions and interviews are analysed with the framework of ‘positioning’ and ‘representation of selves'. The findings reveal that individual interpretation and use of ‘khaet’ and ‘fast’ are intricately intertwined with the historical, political, and ideological roles of English. Life trajectories, particularly educational, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds, nature of exposure to linguistic and cultural resources, and mobility in space also influence how the participants negotiate their positions. These factors work in a binary polarisation for their sense of association and disassociation which in turn influences how they perceive and position others. The chapter concludes that individual agency in working out ways of normative social structures and perceptions, exclusion, and ‘othering’ are equally important for individual negotiation of identity.
