Through the Looking Glass of the Language Ego

How do we view ourselves speaking another language? Awkward? Anxious? Struggling? Unconfident? Blindly copying native speakers? Does it feel strange to utter the sounds we would never use in our first language, or the words—we would never think of? How does it feel to act like somebody else? Is it still us? The linguistic and cultural adaptation often dramatically influences the deep sense of self in the populations exploring the newcomer-open societies. Continuously growing immigration to Canada and other English-speaking countries sustains a high demand on educators and counselors to develop competencies in assisting arrivals who may go through hard times adjusting to the new setting. Providing culturally sensitive support to these cohorts, teachers and counselors should be aware of the wide range of unconscious disquiets, those deeply-felt needles underpinning language use and cultural adaptation that hinder the paths to personal success. The study of multiple manifestations of the language ego, a phenomenon that can account for the stinging sensations of inadequacy, or “the disquiets” of the self lost in struggle with the unknown, is a focus of this work.