The study of language identity has seen four major shifts in its research paradigms. The fi rst shift is the turn from the structuralist approach to the constructivist approach, where the process, mechanism, and motivation of identity construction are stressed. The second shift is the prioritization of objective elements (e.g. language behavior tendency) over subjective factors (e.g. language attitudes), highlighting the value of identifi cation practice and the community-level “otherness identification”. The third shift is the change from static identification to dynamic identification, which has raised concern about the fluidity and reversal of identity. The last shift is the change from unique identity to dual identity, especially in the case of the recognition and exploration of “dual mother tongues”. In view of the paradigm shifts in language identity research, this paper suggests that language identity research in China should make some changes accordingly. First, Yuyan Rentong (i.e. language identity), rather than Yuyan yu Rentong (i.e. language and identity), should be adopted as the single scholarly term in Chinese in order to serve as a consistent equivalent to the English term identity. Nevertheless, the different connotations of the term Yuyan Rentong in various disciplines deserve researchers’attention. Second, given the lack of recognized evaluation criteria for language identity,it is suggested that more importance should be attached to the assessment of language identification, and holistic evaluation systemsand effective indicators should be properly developed.