The Future of Bilingualism: An Application of the Baggs and Freedman Model

The original paper (Baggs and Freedman, 1990) gave a model of the interaction of a bilingual with a unilingual population. This paper examines the original in an exhaustive fashion and identifies four possible scenarios in the long-term future of the bilingual population. Equilibrium points are found in a manner conducive to practical interpretation, and their stability is investigated. The original model is then applied to the situation in modern Wales and more briefly to that in Scotland, Ireland and Brittany. In conclusion the capacity of the model to inform policy is considered, and an amended model is suggested.