Language is double-edged, binding people together while marking them as Other.

Evidence

That which gives one an identity, which connects one to a community and a home, may also in the end be the means by which one is marked and categorized as Other. Entering another language means opening oneself to a deeper engagement with other cultures. All the main characters in Burnt Shadows are multilingual, and the teaching and learning of languages are what has brought them together. — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 435

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the two novels in hand — Hamid’s Changez navigating elite English/American speech and Naqvi’s characters code-switching in Brooklyn — where multilingualism likewise both binds and marks.