Language and Social Context

Topic 8
8. Diglossia
Within a given society, two languages may be given very different functions. When we have
more than two dialects or languages in use in a society we talk about a diglossia. Diglossia
reflects how two varieties come in contact but one is given a higher status than the other.

o Illustration 08Page

o Interaction 08Forum

o Reflection 08

Illustration 08

Illustration
Investigate the use of Spanish and Guaraní in Paraguay. Do they reflect different language uses?
What are those uses?

Through examining Arabic, modern Greek, Swiss German and Haitian Creole, Ferguson
discusses diglossia in terms of language function, prestige, literary heritage, acquisition,
standardisation, stability, grammar, lexicon and phonology.

Reading No. 14: Ferguson C.A, (1959), "Diglossia", in Giglioli Pier Paolo (1972), Language
and Social Context, London: Penguin.

Schiffman goes beyond Ferguson’s original concept of diglossia and extends the concept to cover
a wider range of languages and makes close associations between diglossia and power and
solidarity.

Reading No. 15: Schiffman H. (1997), "Diglossia as a Sociolinguistic Situation", in Coulmas F.

(ed.), The Handbook of Sociolinguistics, Oxford: Blackwell.

Interaction
Diglossia may not seem to be immediately relevant to second- language teaching. Discuss with
another course member the possible relevance of diglossia in ELT.

I think that diglossia is relevant in ELT because whenever the students go to another country
they will realize that people who speak H variant will be considered more intellectual than the
ones that speak L. So using the H people will have more prestige. On the other hand when
someone decides to use L this can mean that he’s trying to be more friendly by using the dialect.

I think that H and L should be taught only to advanced students who are going to an English
speaking country soon. Beginners level should be taught standard English for the first years of
study
 Reflection 08

Reflection
Fishman (1972) extends the concept of diglossia include the functional use of different varieties,
dialects or registers within a single society or what Corder calls ‘dialectal diglossia’ (1973: 207).
Is it feasible to teach English-language varieties in terms of ‘high’ and ‘low’ varieties?

Send your reflection in a Word document.

Lamguage Acquisition

o Conditions for Second Language Acquisition

o Illustration 04CPage

o Interaction 04CForum

o Reflection 04C

Illustration 04C

Illustration
In the following reading, Klein describes six conditions he considers necessary for second
language learning to take place.

Reading 14. Klein, W. (1986). “Ch. 2: Six Dimensions of Language Acquisition” in Second
Language Acquisition. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. Pp/ 33-52.

Interaction
Analyze your current teaching situation and decide if it provides students with the conditions
necessary to acquire their second language. Explain what conditions are met and which are not.

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Reflection 04C

Reflection
How can you provide your students with the conditions that Klein discusses in his book?
Provide some possible solutions ( a minimum of 4 well sustained arguments).