Linguistic Code-Switching as Identity Practice

Sor Juana wrote in Spanish, Latin, Nahuatl, and Portuguese, moving fluidly between courtly language, theological argument, popular verse, and indigenous references. This linguistic virtuosity was not merely technical skill but a practice of identity claim—each language and register allowed her to name herself differently and to access different kinds of authority. Code-switching becomes a framework for understanding how multilingual and multicultural individuals construct complex identities that cannot be reduced to a single name or origin. In colonial contexts, in immigrant communities, and in multiply-displaced populations, the ability to move between languages and cultural registers is both necessary for survival and a assertion of intellectual power. This concept challenges the notion that authentic identity requires a single, stable name; instead, it recognizes that many people live with multiple names and languages that together constitute their full identity. Sor Juana's linguistic mobility models how identity naming across cultures is inherently plural.