Identity performance and positioning in online discourse in Jordan

Abstract

Jordan provides an interesting context for the study of identity and its linguistic performance in the Arab world. The present article offers a new perspective into the study of Jordanian identity through the lens of positioning theory, which looks at actors’ positions and how these positions constrain and shape the actors’ narratives and actions. The article focuses on the performance of identity in online discourse, based on data of postings and online reader comments drawn from Jordanian news websites, focusing on its linguistic manifestation through jargon, metaphor, or special parlance. The main function of such identity performance is to position self positively and legitimate or justify one’s acts, while positioning others negatively as antithetical to identity of self. Through discussions of examples of three identity constructions, i.e. tribal, national, and religious, the article shows that the negotiation between these multiple identities is a necessary part of identity construction in Jordan. This view of identity as multifaceted and multilayered serves to exclude the belief that there is a monolithic ‘Jordanian identity’ as officially propagated. Instead, these identities intersect, and a particular identity, whether tribal, national, or religious, is mobilized according to contextual exigencies, as when it is perceived to be threatened or attacked.