“I Do Know That I Have an Accent”: Identities Expressed Through English as a Lingua Franca in Accent Tag Videos

This paper examines how eight YouTubers in nine Accent Tag videos, focusing on phonological and lexical varieties, use English as a lingua franca to reveal their multiple L1, L2, and, occasionally, L3 identities and attitudes. Examining vlogger content is a new approach to fi eld work, in which the data are off ered by the informants at their own initiative. The analysis reveals two major categories of identity assertion: one through conscious language use and another through metalanguage (i.e., statements on accent and language use). Some techniques involve off ering choices selecting from the vloggers’ L1, L2 (English), and occasionally their L3, analyzing transfer problems, distancing themselves from a form or language, and declaring their affi liation. Overall, the YouTubers appear to be more confi dent users of English than expected compared to previous research on attitudes towards accents, and function well without necessarily comparing themselves to native speakers of English. Additionally, the vloggers use English to promote their other languages as well, presenting themselves as communicators in multiple languages. It is hypothesized that the context of YouTube may promote the expression of internationally varied, multiple identities.