【Revised】Lost language identity in SL?

Embodied in a virtual world, how do you present your identity? Sometimes we all ignore how much weight languages put on us.

It seems normal for me that English is the only dominant language in second life in which everyone should speak. “Is it necessary to use the so-called “international language” for successful socialization in SL” was a question I wouldn’t hesitate to answer with “YES” some time ago.

However, once I ran into a Chinese speaker who asked me to speak Chinese to in China Town even though she had no idea whether I was a Chinese speaker. I felt surprise and inquired what language she used to communicate with people in SL and she responded without hesitation— “Chinese”. I was not sure she spoke English well or not but she told me firmly that Chinese was also an international language. I have ever also bumped into some guys who are not native English speakers and our conversation couldn’t last because they preferred to talk to people who can speak their mother languages. Those events gathered together and turned into a bomb exploding in my mind.

I’ve started to ponder whether I lost my identity in SL because I am so accustomed to the dominant language that I am blind to face the importance of varied languages. To be honest, I am pleased about showing my origin to others in the virtual world, yet I tend to reckon English as the only access to the world and presentation of internationalization unconsciously.

In fact, language seems to play an important role in driving conversation, especially between people from different countries. It is essential to shift in different language identity timely to create a more agreeable conversational environment where we practice our target language as well.
in Japanese Town
in China Town