Language and identity

In how far is a person's identity or character linked to the language that he/she speaks? Suppose you are a person who is fond of using irony in his native tongue. Or let's say you are a person who earns his living with language e.g a teacher. Now you move to a country with a different language, Let's say you're an elderly person. Let's assume you will never be at home in the 'new' language. In the 'new' country people will have a different perception of you, because you are forced to communicate in a different way. Your irony doesn't work because you are not proficient in the new language or the people in the new country are not susceptible to irony. Does that change you? Does the fact that you cannot communicate as you would wish, change you? At any rate you feel that your personality cannot be fully expressed. That probably means that people's perception of your character or identity or personality is different. What exactly is the difference between character, identity and personality? Mmm, food for thought.