"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS

Language shift (shift away from use of one language to use of another) and resulting language death are increasing throughout the world, and this trend can be attributed not simply to the spread of English and other world languages, but to a larger phenomenon, a "new world order." Because of rapid change in language use and because the phenomenon of language loss is complex, linguists find it difficult to predict when a language will die. The model proposed here posits that industrialized countries are placing pressure on developing countries to accept the former's political and social values, and that this pressure is being manifested in patterns of migration, industrialization, school language use, urbanization, and population decline, all of which affect language use patterns. Until recently, it was feasible for a small speech community to survive in relative isolation, preserve its own language, and use a language of wider currency for communication with the outside world when necessary. However