A new perspective of cultural identity based on creative hybrid combinations of cultures is proposed as a metaphor for the case of cultural identity of inhabitants of the Caribbean island of San Andres y Providencia. In contrast to... more
A new perspective of cultural identity based on creative hybrid combinations of cultures is proposed as a metaphor for the case of cultural identity of inhabitants of the Caribbean island of San Andres y Providencia. In contrast to cultural process of colonization, "mestizage", acculturation, "transculturation", "cultural phagocytosis", this work signals process of identity in San Andres Island cannot be reduced to cultural imposition due the adaptive creativity of their communities, a strong and progressive resistance and identification as an emergent community, the "Raizals". By using participant ethnography and analysis of public plazas and monuments, this study describes how Raizals community transforms diasporas and multinational/multiracial cultural sources into an identity in constant evolution. Creative hybrid processes are better understood under the autopoiesis of biological and cultural organizations. Creativity shapes identity as a rhizome, in combination with inter-generational forces of the "manglar" a constructive sources of Raizal´s identity.
ABSTRACT Currently, the linguistic landscape in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can be described as dynamic, complex and multifaceted. This article discusses the status of English in the UAE with three key periods of language change being... more
ABSTRACT Currently, the linguistic landscape in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can be described as dynamic, complex and multifaceted. This article discusses the status of English in the UAE with three key periods of language change being identified, based on Schneider’s ‘dynamic model’ of postcolonial Englishes. The increasing impact of English as a lingua franca, and the recent shift towards English Medium Instruction at all levels of Emirati education are then explored before examining attitudes towards English with reference to the ‘Englishization vs. hybridization’ debate. It is argued that rather than English and Arabic being used in a binary way representing linguistic purity, the UAE’s linguistic landscape is more complex and dynamic. Emiratis are increasingly using multiple forms of linguistic hybridity such as ‘white dialects’, ‘Arabizi’, ‘translanguaging’ and ‘code-switching’, which are reshaping Emirati language use and additionally influencing local identities.
