ABSTRACT
In bringing together strands from the earlier chapters the concept of vernacular literacies provides a useful summary term for much of what we have uncovered. Vernacular literacy practices are essentially ones which are not regulated by the formal rules and procedures of dominant social institutions and which have their origins in everyday life. As we will see, vernacular literacies are in fact hybrid practices which draw on a range of practices from different domains. As part of summarising what people do with reading and writing in their everyday lives we will give some examples of these vernacular practices before discussing more fully what we mean by the term and before contrasting them with other practices.
