Upholding and Resisting English Language Ideologies: Identity Negotiation of Five Sunni Muslims in Lebanon

This article reports on a qualitative research study that investigated the negotiation of identities, ideologies, and capital relative to the English language among five Sunni-Muslims in Beirut, Lebanon. The growing use of English, grounded in curricular and global shifts, has spilled over into workplaces and society. These changes influence identities within an already complex and often divided ethnic and linguistic context. The study found that the use of English has become inevitable and necessary in educational and professional contexts and habitual in social ones. In these contexts, English is part of self-identification and positioning to gain capital and often to resist disempowering positioning by others. However, these identities shaped through English complicate others, like Arab, Lebanese, and Muslim identities, which feel threatened by the power of English and weakening of Arabic. This study provides a small-scale exploration of language ideologies, emphasizing the need for further research across diverse communities to inform language policies and educational curricula, while addressing the broader impacts of English’s global spread and its influence on identities and power structures.