Issues in Language Policy, Culture, and Identity

Abstract

This conclusion present some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book shows that identity can no longer be regarded as a characteristic that individuals gain through birth, something stable and consistent throughout one's life. Essentialist notions of fixed identity assume relatively straightforward relationships between language varieties and identities. The book examines, in a number of Asian countries, language policy responses to the competing demands of globalization and the need to create or preserve national cultural identities. It focuses on different aspects of this complex issue: the role of language policies in the social construction of national cultural identities; the relationship between such policies and political agendas that are linked to important social conflicts. The book also demonstrates that the relationships between language policy, culture, and identity are complex and paradoxical, they also point to important directions in language policy research.