Language has operated as a vehicle for debate about cultural, national, and individual identity throughout history. Social media and language use in digitised contexts have allowed the study of the intricacies of identity negotiation and community construction to be explored more closely. The discourse study presented here will shed light on the complex dynamics of language politics and ideologies in the context of the Maldives. The Maldives is an independent small island nation in South Asia that has a unique language, Dhivehi, which has its own inimitable script called Thaana. In March 2021 one of the most prestigious newspapers of the country published an article questioning the need to maintain Thaana and the current relevance of the diacritic marks it uses to enhance pronunciation. This caused an eruption of commentary on social media that revealed language ideologies held by the Maldivian public and a debate on the role of minoritized languages like Dhivehi in a globalised world. Based on over 200 newspaper comments and 500 tweets related to the article, this study explores how the backlash played out on two social media platforms over a two-week period, and how the linguistic and semiotic tools used to express individual views represent deeply held ideologies and indicate identity affiliation. The findings point to the embodied nature of languages and users' agency in modifying them, as well as the resistance towards what is perceived to be a new form of imperialism as exercised by the spread of globalisation. The ideological stances signalled in the data further highlight the centrality of language in sustaining group identity and the creativity of language use in these online interactions.
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