The main linguistic outcomes of the prolonged contact of ethnic groups within a modern nation-state are language maintenance, bilingualism, or language shift. This article explores the social variables germane to language maintenance and shift in ethnic-group relations. An understanding of language maintenance and shift and the social conditions under which they occur is prerequisite to establishing or evaluating educational language policies that seek to regulate the interactions of ethnic groups within a nation-state. A language policy that goes counter to existing sociocultural forces is not likely to be successful.
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