I consider the implications of this study for future research and policymaking, and I reflect on the legacies of the people and policies I discuss in the book. For instance, I discuss potential applications to healthcare policy, specifically around the opioid epidemic, and education policy. I also address how the themes of the book play out in my own everyday work as a teacher.

This chapter describes some prevalent ideologies and attitudes found in minority language communities. It emphasizes the importance of listening to attitudes expressed in a community, and identifying the underlying ideologies, before developing programs to improve negative attitudes. Particularly in cases of linguistic discrimination and language trauma (e.g. Breton, Kashubian Polish), changing language ideologies is a long-term process and must be handled sensitively. The best approach is to make people aware of ideologies and how they function, through education, media and other means. Case studies address ideologies leading to the loss of Zadar Arbanasi in Croatia, and a positive shift in attitudes to Guernesiais, although these are not necessarily followed by action. In the Isle of Man, in order to change perceptions of Manx it is necessary to avoid arguments about the authenticity of the modern form of the language. In Jeju (Korea) Jejudommal is seen as a language in which emotions can be expressed more richly than in Standard Korean. Negative attitudes and ideologies associated with speaking Nahuatl are described.

South Africa is well known for its multilingual and multicultural society. It is also famous for its constitution that guards against any form of discrimination. The aim of this chapter is therefore to examine the micro element of the indigenous African languages and how the meanings associated with blackness and whiteness reflect or shape the mental state of both hearers and speakers. Using the mentalist approach to understanding language, we examined data from social media as well as self-observation to study language attitudes associated with blackness and whiteness. We argue that the way in which language is used reflects and shapes feelings and behaviours. We further argue that language usage can be a tool of social control in further associating blackness with badness while glorifying whiteness.