Joseph ( 2004) in his book Language and Identity clearly delineates the relation between these two concepts. He shows how people’s identity can be determined through the language they speak. An example is hearing two different individuals saying:
A: Shut up
B: Please be quiet
Although these two sentences can have similar perlocutionary effects, they differ in the meaning they connote. If we do not know about the gender of these two speakers, we might say that the first speaker is rude and of lower social status, and the second speaker could be a polite individual and probably a woman! That is one way to identify these individuals through the language they use. If we see these two individuals and look at the way they are dressed, we could probably better guess about their identity. But for now, it is the language that can be revealing about people’s identity
On the other hand, language identity is an important element in the integrity, solidarity and independence of countries. According to Rajagopalan ( 2001), the idea of nationhood and language was given due recognition based on the favorite slogan of one nation, one people, one language. History shows how language has often been the main instrument for political independence and national identity for newly developed countries such as Bangladesh when separated from Pakistan in 1971. To fulfil such a purpose, language became one of the main means to distinguish Bangladesh from Pakistan. Bengali became the language of the country and hence the tool for identity of that nation since 1971 and henceforth language identity became a decisive point for the people in Bangladesh.