Thai-Muslim young adults’ narrative identities as multilingual learners: intersections of individualization, language ideologies, and ethnic accent bullying

This study explores the multilingual identities of Thai-Muslim young adults who migrated from rural areas to urban Pattani, Thailand, for education. Speaking Patani Malay as their mother tongue alongside Thai, English, Arabic, and Central Malay, the participants navigated language learning within a nation-state that recognizes only Standard Thai officially. Utilizing the multilingual identity and positioning theories, in-depth dialogues with 15 university students revealed their self-positioning as multilingual learners who were autonomous multilingual learners engaged in individualized language practices. They invested significant effort in language development and cultivated cultural capital, including confidence, articulation, and sociability, alongside socially valued accents. Confronted language ideologies that marginalized their mother tongue and experiences of ethnic accent bullying, the participants negotiated complex identities to pursue transnational mobility, often reducing public use of their heritage language. The study concludes by proposing a framework to support positive multilingual identity formation.