This research addresses the notion of discursive identity construction in the analysis of two ethnographic case studies,in order to shed new light on the social and linguistic practices of the “new citizens” in urban China.The new citizens include two groups:rural-urban labor migrants and educated “elite” migrants.The ethnographic studies are,therefore,elicited from two cases of ethnographic fi eldwork.The results show that the urban new citizens switch between different dialects,accents,and linguistic styles and construct multiple identities.The research further demonstrates that identity is a process of construction in which achieved identity is as important as ascribed identity.
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