3.2.4 Identity construction as an adaptation to co...
As mentioned above, the making of linguistic choices is constrained by various contextual correlates. The same goes for identity construction because the chosen identities or the identities to be chosen are mainly constructed through the use of language in verbal communication. The contextual correlates exercise constraints on the choices on a wide range of possible identities and linguistic forms and strategies for constructing these identities. At the same time, the choices made on identities to be constructed and on linguistic forms and strategies influence the dynamic establishment of context for the current interaction. Identity construction therefore adapts to various contextual correlates of the physical, social and mental worlds.
The physical world mainly includes physical setting, in which an interaction takes place, as well as the participants’ bodily postures, gestures,gaze, and physical appearance. Identity construction is constrained by the physical world of the utterer and the interpreter. For example, the physical setting of classroom may constrain an individual to construct an identity of a teacher, while the physical setting of home may constrain him to construct an identity of a husband, a father or a son. As far as Chinese PhD dissertation proposal presentation meetings are concerned, the presence of the audience is one of the main ingredients in the physical world for advice-givers to adapt to when they choose to construct certain possible identities.
The social world mainly involves social settings, social norms, social relationships and culture. Identity construction is greatly constrained by these aspects of the social world. For example, at home an individual may construct an identity as a husband, a father or a son in terms of the various social relationships between him and his wife, his daughter or his mother or father.Social settings are therefore a parameter of constraint on one’s identity construction. For example, in one of the typical academic interactions, a PhD dissertation defence, the members of the committee are expected to construct an identity of an expert. In the interaction discussed in Ex.(3-2) (see Section 3.2.3), the power relation is one of the ingredients in the social world for participants to adapt to in their dynamic construction of identities.
The mental world mainly involves personality, emotions, beliefs, desires,wishes and motivations. These factors can also play a role in identity construction. For example, one’s wish to save face of the hearer in an academic interaction may constrain her/him to construct an identity of being a polite expert. One’s personality may also constrain one to be a strict teacher or to be a tolerant teacher.
However, it should be noted that, at any particular point, some aspects of the three worlds will become more salient than others. Identity construction at a given moment often explicitly adapts to the most salient contextual correlate. However, this does not mean that the other less salient correlates do not constrain identity construction. The only difference is the degree of their constraints. Some factors are foregrounded in the process of adaption, while others are backgrounded. Which contextual correlates have to be adapted to in the current interaction are always dependent upon the competing results of various aspects of the three worlds involved and the communicative needs for the interaction to achieve. Identity construction is a constant process of adaptation to various contextual correlates and the competing negotiation of contextual correlates.
To sum up, constructing particular identities is the accomplishment of interadapting to contextual correlates involved in specific interactions. These contextual correlates may also constrain what identities are constructed in verbal communication.
Figure 3.6 The analytical framework of identity construction
As a summary of Section 3.2, the various dimensions involved in the analytical framework and their interrelationship can be shown by Figure 3.6,which is explained as follows:
To satisfy certain communicative needs in verbal interaction,participants will perform several activities at the same time, through the making of linguistic choices. One of them is to do identity-work (or identity construction). The box with bold dotted lines highlights the focus in this study and it also shows the dynamics of identity construction. In addition, identity construction is a process of making choices as discussed in Section 3.2.2,which is realized by choosing possible identities to construct and making linguistic choices to construct these identities. Making identity choices constrains making linguistic choices and vice versa, but both of them are constrained by and adapt to various contextual correlates involved in the current interaction. The interadaptability of identity construction and contextual correlates is therefore realized through the two interrelated levels of identity construction, namely making identity choices and making linguistic choices.