The present ideologies of identities are no longer the same as those that existed of our ancestors a century ago. As a result the languages and the way people interact in these languages has created a unique authenticity of these languages. In relation to the above statement, the essay agrees that the ideologies of identity have changed throughout time. These notions that led to the change of identity can be reflected through people’s perception of identity and social upbringing; the Eurocentric influences; colonial languages; cultural definition; and European languages. This essay aims to prove that the European languages have complicated ideologies of an individual’s identity ahead of the cultural definitions of identity in Africa.
The identity of the people is usually described or can be usually seen through their upbringing in the community. The languages and the culture is introduced to a person at a very young age and the way of doing in the society at large. For example, what the society practices now is by far different from what was being practiced back then. Let us take for instance the practice of “ukubingelela” (which means to great), ukubingelela was a way of showing respect for both an elder and a youngster, and it was done without any question of whether you knew a person or not. Through that practice a person’s identity was known, meaning the people could identify you as a person who is from a respective family with great family values. Now you have to be cautious of who you greet, because people are corrupt and can mislead you for your kindness and now a well-known term is ‘don’t talk to strangers’. Therefore, it can be said that the individual identity in the contemporary world is determined by the social forces that arise from the influences of Eurocentric beliefs and practices.
The Eurocentric influences imposed on the African continent, have led to the identity of Africans through languages being questioned. For instance, some of the youth...