ABSTRACT
The ideology of language as a “medium” of schooling has been emphasized by researchers, particularly with reference to postcolonial societies. This chapter contributes to this theorization by documenting the ideological productiveness of medium by drawing on debates over medium of instruction in social media spaces. It illustrates how Bangladeshi Bangla- and English-medium students and graduates ideologically impregnate medium in constructing “self” and “other” identities. Our analysis of the debates reveals multiple unconventional markers of class identity alongside more conventional ones deployed by the two groups, prompting us to underscore the semiotic and ideological robustness of medium debates in producing and reproducing class identity. Specifically, both groups indulged in crudeness, vulgarity, and displays of masculinity devoid of mutual respect and social or moral norms in representing the other. The debates can be seen as indexing a moral map of class divisions based on stereotypical representations of Bangla-medium and English-medium groups. This chapter enhances literature on language ideology in relation to digitally-mediated discourse and class, gender, and sexuality.
