This paper discusses how Congolese Goma bordertown inhabitants indexically appropriate the exogenous Lingala language to convey (i) being a real Congolese, (ii) tenacity (cfr. Lingala's military association), and (iii) urban sophistication. Given the sociopolitical instability of the Rwandan-Congolese borderland, publicly assert one's status as “autochthonous” Congolese appears central for securing subsistence and sometimes even personal safety.