3.Bilingualism and Diaglossia, definition, relationship between them, type of Diaglossia.

Bilingualism:

Bilingualism refers to the ability to speak two languages fluently. What is important to note about
bilingualism is that it is an individual experience - simply existing in a bilingual family or community does
not guarantee bilingualism. Likewise, being born in a monolingual family or community does not prevent
one from learning another language and becoming bilingual.

Bloomfield, 1933: “Bilingualism is the native-like control of two languages”

Haugen, 1953: bilingualism begins “at the point where the speaker of one language can produce
complete meaningful utterances in the other language”

So, it is the state of having two languages. Canada - English and French.

It has a feature of minority group, they have to learn the language., welsh in Britain, Spanish in US.

Levels of Bilingualism:

1.Individual Level

Weinreich (1967)

Coordinate bilingualism

The learning of two languages in two different settings

the words of the languages are kept completely separated

each word has its own independent meaning

E.g. school bilingualism: an English student studying Spanish at school = 2 languages, 2 different
contexts.

Book .v. libro

Compound bilingualism

The learning of two languages in the same context, used at the same time

The two languages have an amalgamated representation: inter-reliant

Loewe (1888) “two-member system of the same language”

E.g., cultural bilingualism: an individual at home who has an English mother and Spanish father and
speaks the two languages with their parents.

Sub-coordinate bilingualism

Individual interpreting the words of his weaker language via the words of his/her stronger language
The bilingual has one set of meanings established through his/her first language, with a different
linguistic system attached to them.
E.g. a Spanish person hears the word “book” in English, relates the word to their stronger language
(libro) inducing the meaning of the word in English.

2.Social Level (diglossia)

Fisherman et al. (1966)

Typologies of bilingualism based on societal variables focusing on the prestige and status of the
languages involved.

Elite

folk

Diglossia: is the term to describe a situation in which there are two distinct codes with clear functional
separation; that is, one code is employed in one set of circumstances and the other in an entirely
different set.

Diglossia is a community experience. It cannot be experienced by an individual. So, there are two
varieties in Diglossia. One of these languages/dialects is the formal, and one is the informal. The formal,
also known as the High language, is what is used by speakers in writing, and only in the most formal
spoken situations. The informal, also known as the Low language, is the most spoken language and is
used only in writing designed to communicate informally.

Variety: High variety, low variety. Arab.

High usages: Standard

sermon in church/mosque
personal letter
speech in parliament/political speech
university lecture
news broadcast
newspaper editorial, news story
poetry

Low usages: Non-Standard

instructions to waiters
conversations with family, friends, colleagues
radio soap opera
caption on political cartoon
folk literature
Prestige

Prestige

Speakers consider High as the more powerful to Low in a number of respects.

E.g. High variety is more beautiful, logical and expressive than the Low variety.

Acquisition

Low is usually used by adults while speaking to children and children use it among each other.

The High variety is ‗taught‘, whereas the L variety is ‗learned‘.

Standardization

There are usually no comparable grammars, dictionaries and standardized texts for the Low variety,
and any view of that variety is likely to be highly pejorative in nature.

There is an established norm for pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary which allows variation only
within certain limits.

Grammar

The grammar of the Low variety is generally simpler. For instance, fewer distinctions in the L variety are
marked by the use of grammatical suffixed. There are also major differences in the vocabulary of the
two varieties. E.g. Standard German has four cases in the noun; Swiss German has only three cases in
the noun. 12

Lexicon

Most of the vocabulary between the High and Low varieties is shared, with some variations in form and
with several differences in use and meaning. For the most part, the High variety will contain technical
terms and more learned expressions.

Phonology The sound systems of High and Low constitute a single phonological structure of which the
Low variety phonology is the basic system, and the divergent features of the High phonology are either a
subsystem or a Para system

Relationship:

Bilingualism is a characterization of individual linguistic behavior whereas diglossia is a characterization

of linguistic organization at the socio-cultural level. (Fish man, 1967)

Both bilingualism and diglossia require code-switching: the ability to judge an environment and
determine which language/dialect is appropriate. This is something that speakers of any language
already do when deciding between formal and informal conversation.

4 situation:

Neither diaglossia nor bilingualism

Bilingualism without diglossia - pidginization

Diaglossia without bilingualism

Both diaglossia and bilingualism

- heritage speakers

- parents vs peers vs classroom

- when you're angry