Dialects in Contact

minority aspirations and educational provisions; it also appears to strengthen the links betwen minority group members. In Chapter 6 the rationales for policy making on minority education are discussed. Governments generally base policy development on considerations of costs (in terms of public opinion, cost accounting and of ‘opportunity costs’) and of long-run societal goals. These goals are, of course, connected with the policy responses in Chapter 3 (e.g. whether it is desirable for the minority to integrate into majority society; whether the majority is expected to adapt also; whether minority members are regarded as permanent residents or expected to leave). The upshot of all this is that modern societies have, apparently, made their own policy choices which fit into a general model. To quote from the summary chapter: