The Mandarin Onslaught

I read this article in The New York Times, which describes, if my understanding is correct, a good example of a "language punctuation" as outlined by the "punctuated equilibrium" model for languages. Proposed by R. M. W. Dixon, this model argues that the plights and fortunes of languages can be explained by great--sometimes even cataclysmic--"events", providing an alternative to the view that languages evolve as part of language "family trees." For those not familiar with the punctuated equilibrium model and are interested to know more, I strongly recommend Dixon's lucid, layman-friendly--I should know--and majestically titled book The Rise and Fall of Languages.

In the New York Times article, the immigration of Mandarin speakers is a great demographic event that upsets the previous linguistic equilibrium in Chinatown, paving the way for a new steady state that elevates Mandarin as a lingua franca at the expense of Cantonese.