Multilingual Expatriates' Presumed Identity and Reality

Globalisation led more people to go abroad to study, work or search for a better life. However, each move to a new country entails major linguistic and socio-cultural adjustments. Living through such transitions for many years makes it difficult for some people to answer the question, 'Where are you from?'; their now multifaceted identity requires a narrative to answer. This book investigates how such 'multilingual expatriates' negotiate and construct their identities against the hegemonic discourse of national identity that assumes language-nationality and other correlations. This confining belief needs to be critically examined, and poststructuralist and social constructionist approaches to identity were adopted in the research design with the notion of discourse as the medium and site of negotiation and construction of identities. Nine participants' critical identity experiences were analysed for their positioning and agency in different discourse, social relations and interactions. The findings show their temporary conclusion of 'mixture' identity. This book advocates hybridity in identity and is of interest to those researching identity or have questions about their identity.