Identity and Globalization

In this gigantic global village today, it’s not as much who you are, than who you want to be.

When I took linguistics class some semesters back, the tutor brought up an interesting phenomenon – she’s had a friend who had migrated to the United States with her family for a good couple of years now, and every time she comes back to visit her friends, she continues to speak with the usual Singaporean accent, complete with the lahs, lehs and lors. And then the same tutor had seen a student picked up the American accent over a holiday, albeit she had been there for an exchange programme for only less than six months. She asked us why we thought such occurrences happen, and left it at that.

I’m inclined to think that it is probably not just the environment that we are immersed in, that shapes who we are, but also who we really want to be. With an increasing number of corporations spanning their operations worldwide, it is becoming more and more common to receive chances to work overseas, be it for a short term assignment, or a long term posting. Even for the students who have yet to step into the workforce, opportunities to be immersed in a foreign culture are aplenty, with established college international-exchange programmes, work-and-travel programmes hosted by external agencies, and overseas community involvement programmes being made widely available. After having experienced for ourselves the different cultures, we are able to compare and contrast, and then, perhaps, form some personal preferences.

You might have heard something similar before – an Australian-born Chinese tells you about her Chinese roots, how she remembers about her mother feeding her porridge whenever she was sick when she was young; and her dilemma as an Australian mum when her son fell ill and she could not quite decide what to make for lunch – porridge or sandwich. (read from: http://www.karencheng.com.au/2008/09/30/sick-food/ ) Oh yes, she was stumped by her own cultural mish-mash, but she identifies herself as an Australian-Chinese nonetheless.

Some of us may be born and bred in Singapore for a good few decades, only to decide to settle in Australia for good after a 5-year outstation. (I would not go into the discussion of permanent residencies and giving up of citizenship, as I believe one may have a thousand reasons for making various choices, although the choosing of a preferred culture, or identity, could be part of it.) And after one obtains permanent residency in the new found home, one suddenly has a lot more options in how one wants to introduce oneself.

(Assuming the Chinese man introducing himself at a cocktail party with many internationals)

“Hi! I am a new Australian and I just celebrated obtaining my permanent residency a few months ago.”

“Hi! I am a Singaporean who moved here a couple of years ago on outstation.”

“Hi! I am a Singaporean Chinese and I am here for work.”

“Hi! I am a Singapore-born Australian Chinese who has decided I like this place so much I want to call it home.”

There are so many possibilities for self-labeling, it’s really up to creativity. What one chooses as a self-label, is determined by who one wishes to see oneself as. And in the case of “a Singapore-born Australian Chinese”, the order in which the labels are placed probably reflects some sort of primary/secondary identity which are adopted, and this again, can be subjected to personal preference.

An identity is, afterall, something that we identify ourselves as. It is not something that is fixed and unchangeable; it is not innate. Unlike, say, the colour of our skin or the community that we were born into. This characteristic of an identity is greatly emphasized in today’s globalized world. If we do not like or want that something, we will be unlikely to identify with it, much less acknowledge it as our identity.