Abstract
This concluding chapter uses the ecology of language metaphor and the continua of biliteracy to highlight significant themes from the ethnography and their connection to broader themes, including the contexts of and relationships among languages, language learning and language use for teaching and learning, and local values and identities. The influence of language on community relationships parallels the ecological relationships among the languages themselves. The value of multilingualism is expressed nationally and locally as acceptance of diversity within a united community. Yet power relations cannot be ignored. Is there really unity in diversity? Discourses vary depending on the lens or depending on what scale is being considered. Practical and theoretical implications are drawn for policy, pedagogy, and research—for young women as they experience and negotiate multiple discourses in their communities.
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Notes
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This example is recounted and further analyzed in Groff, C. (in press). Language policy and language ideology: Ecological perspectives on language in the Himalayan foothills. Anthropology and Education Quarterly.
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Groff, C. (2018). Conclusions: The Ecology of Language and Biliteracy in the Kumaun and Beyond. In: The Ecology of Language in Multilingual India. Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51961-0_10
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