If the ideal of this pattern is that languages in contact meet along the diagonal line of the coordinates, i.e. that a language has the status it merits –given its corpus– there are three possible theoretical possibilities (CALVET: 1996: 34):

1) that the languages meet at the diagonal axis, status=corpus. The height of the diagonal axis will depend on its level of national or regional unification.

2) that the languages meet above the diagonal axis and therefore have an overvalued status.

3) that the languages meet above the diagonal axis and therefore have an overvalued status.

Visualizing these coordinates thus allows us to:

-see the contradictions between the levels of use and the acknowledgement of the given languages. Thus, they become a basis of reflection for language planning.

-diachronically-speaking, the evolution can be seen after planning intervention (id.38).

In his study on the sociolinguistic situation of the Island of Mauritius, Robillard (1989b: 145) clarifies the definition of status, partly paraphrasing Juan Cobarrubias in his article published with Fishman, "Ethical Issues in Status Planning".1983. Progress in Language Planning. New York, Berlin, Amsterdam: Mouton.11-85:

"Le statut ne peut se concevir in vacuo, indépendamment d’une société précise, comme s’il s’agissait d’un concept "en soi", universel et invariable, mais d’indiquer qu’ici il s’agira de statut à l’échelle nationale, ce qui lève au moins une partie de l’ambiguité. [Propone] que la fonction soit définie comme le fait pour un code (varieté ou langue) de servir à véhiculer un certain type de communication (étendue cette fois au sens large): commerciale, religieuse, amicale, hiérarchique, identitaire (dans la mesure où l’on "communique" son identité par un choix de code) etc."

In this clarification, the functions describe the use of languages at "infranational level" (intersubjectif, communauté villageoise, entreprise, quartier, club etc...), whilst status is presented as a less complex and more abstract form at national level, taking into consideration two criteria that create two types of status:

-"le statut explicite (ou de droit) conféré par des textes législatifs et officiels, il relève de la sphère du légal (avec par exemple, des sanctions formelles en cas de violation).

-le statut implicite (ou de fait), décelable à l’examen des attitudes et comportements des acteurs sociaux, y compris l’État (...), il relève du légitime, et ne peut donner lieu, en cas de violation, qu’à des sanctions informelles: ostracisme, rejet, réprimandes verbales, etc..."(íd.).

Thus, in order to create a model capable of demonstrating the complexity of the situations, we must, according to CALVET (1998.41-42), bear in mind a number of types of data:

1) quantitative: how many languages, how many speakers for each of these.

2) legal: status of the languages present, acknowledgement or otherwise by the Constitution, their use or lack of use in the mass media, teaching, etc.

3) functional: vehicular languages and their percentage of "véhicularité", transnational languages spoken in different bordering countries, gregarious languages, languages of religious use, etc.

4) diachronic: expansion of the languages, percentage of transmission from generation to generation, etc.

5) symbolic: prestige of the languages present, linguistic sentiments, communication strategies, etc.

6) conflictive: types of relationships between languages, complementariness or functional competition, etc.

Finally, a number of conditions must be present if a language policy is to work, i.e. if a language is to be considered a national language:

-the language must be spoken by the majority of the population.

-it must be accepted as a symbol of national unity, without offending to anybody. (The most appropriate is the vehicular language, such as Swahili in Tanzania).

-it must be equipped and able to carry out the functions that are delegated to it. If this is not the case, the situation must be rectified before the language is promoted.

-the language policy must be explained to the population and the latter must accept it.

Professor CALVET’s conclusion (1996: 124), influenced more by historical experience of language policies than pure sociolinguistic reflection, adds another important element to bear in mind:

"En fait, nous avons vu que les politiques linguistiques fonctionnent sur le mode du mime, qu’elles tentent de reproduire in vitro ce qui s’est produit des milliers de fois in vivo, dans l’histoire des langues. Mais nous avons vu aussi que, parfois, ces politiques échouent, qu’elles se heurtent à des difficultés pratiques: le mime atteint alors ses limites. Et ce principe d’évolution tendancielle vers un niveau d’inefficacité pourrait être une sorte de vengeance des langues, c’est-à-dire des locuteurs, sur ceux qui prétendent leur dicter une évolution".