ABSTRACT

The autoethnographic approach has been particularly effective in highlighting the dynamics and counter-dynamics of the myriads of linguistic journeys across borders and boundaries in a way that is very engaging. There is an increasing number of people in urban spaces who are growing up bilingual in English and their own respective ethnic language. The third sense of English as a first language relates to its role as a lingua franca, as a medium of interethnic communication, again, especially among the members of the elite. English is in part one of the legacies of colonialism. This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. In the final analysis, taken together, the chapters in the book show that while certain hegemonic forces have persisted in spite of the fact that colonialism came and went and Cold War emerged and subsided, the struggle continues between the forcers of dependence and the tide of authenticity.