Linguistic Representations of Identity in Slumdog Millionaire

This paper draws on Bhaba's notion of cultural difference to engage with the issue of hybridity with reference to Indian English film and in particular to Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. The study investigates the intricate role of a nativized variety of English in the linguistic identity construction and aims at the comprehensibility of South Asian nativized varieties of English in general, and the role of English in ethnically and linguistically diverse Indian society in particular. The results substantiate the fact that language and identity are two closely related social factors. The English language use by the characters in the film is an integral part of their linguistic identities and manifests itself in a number of ways with regard to their social identity and patterns of socialization. Thus, identities are multiple and people are capable of constructing as well as reconstructing multiple identities within and across Discourses. Selected scenes from Slumdog Millionaire are analysed in detail. They show that India itself is not portrayed as a purely traditional but rather as a hybrid culture, i.e. one that is partly Westernised around a core of traditional Indian values.