Cultural Identity

'Cultural identity', according to Stuart Hall can be viewed through two different ways. The first position views 'cultural identity' in terms of one shared culture, reflecting typical historical experiences and shared cultural codes. Further, these cultural codes and common historical experiences 'provide us, as 'one people', with stable, unchanging and continuous frames of reference and meaning'(Hall, p.393). The second view relies heavily on the individual's experience of their culture. Through this view, culture is …

…modified them to fit their own cultural norms, therefore creating a hybridity of the two. For example, the language use of the upper - class in Malta. It is English, but it has been altered enough, through the accent, to make it distinct and recognisable as a Maltese dialect of the English language. This shows the synthesis of the two cultures, combining to create a new form specific to the Maltese culture after British rule.