What is an assimilationist language policy?
A policy of assimilation is one that uses measures to accelerate the downsizing of one or more linguistic minority group(s). The ultimate goal of such policies is to foster national unity inside a state (based on the idea that a single language in the country will favor that end). It is based on the belief that every person in a given society should be able to function in the dominant language regardless of which language that person speaks. Jurisdictions having such a policy include the following: Afghanistan, Burma, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Pakistan, Syria, Thailand and Vietnam.
