Linguistic Belonging and Cultural Sustainability in Diasporic Spaces: Reading Language and Identity in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah

Abstract

This paper examines the intricate relationship between language, identity formation, and cultural sustainability in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013). Drawing on cultural studies and postcolonial theory, the study explores how linguistic choices, particularly accent, code-switching, and the negotiation between Nigerian English and American English, function as markers of
belonging, exclusion, and self-fashioning within transnational spaces. Through the protagonist Ifemelu’s migrant experience, the novel foregrounds language as a site of cultural preservation as well as cultural erosion, revealing how assimilation pressures often demand the suppression of indigenous linguistic identities. The paper argues that Americanah resists linguistic homogenization by valorizing native speech patterns and cultural memory, thereby advocating for cultural sustainability amid globalization. By portraying language as both a performative and political act, the novel underscores the role of narrative in sustaining cultural identity across borders. This study contributes to discussions on migration literature by demonstrating how language operates as a crucial medium through which diasporic subjects negotiate identity and sustain cultural continuity in an increasingly globalized world.