DIGLOSSIA

Department of English KFUEIT.

Introduction
What is DIGLOSSIA?
The term was first used in English by linguist Charles Ferguson
in 1959.
In sociolinguistics, it is used for the use of two varieties of
language for different purposes in the same community. Or the
coexistence of two varieties of the same language throughout a
speech community.
The varieties are called H ("high" variety), and L ("low"
variety), the first being generally a standard variety used for
'high' purposes and the second often a 'low' spoken vernacular.
In Egypt, classical Arabic is H and local colloquial Arabic is L.
The most important hallmark of diglossia is specialization, H
being appropriate in one set of situations, L in another:
reading a newspaper aloud in H, but discussing its contents in
L.
What are 2 main characteristics of diglossia?
There are three crucial features of diglossia
Two distinct varieties of the same language are used in the
community, with one regarded as high (or H) variety
and the other a low (or L) variety.
Each variety is used for quite distinct functions; H and L
complement each other.
What are the major features of diglossia?
Function. One of the most important features of
diglossia is the specialization of function for H and L.
In one set of situations only H is appropriate and in
another only L, with the two sets overlapping only very
slightly.

Functions generally reserved for H include sermons,

political speeches, university lectures, and news
broadcasts, while those reserved for L include everyday
conversations, instructions to servants, and folk
literature.
(H) is usually the written language whereas (L) is the spoken
language.
In formal situations, (H) is used; in informal situations, (L) is
used.
One of the earliest known examples is Latin, Classical Latin
being the (H) and Vulgar Latin the (L).
Especially in endoglossia the (L) form may also be called
"basilect(a less prestigious dialect or variety of a particular
language.)", the (H) form "acrolect (the most prestigious
dialect or variety of a particular language.)", and an
intermediate form "mesolect". The varieties differ not only in
grammar, phonology, and vocabulary, but also with respect
to function, prestige, literary heritage, acquisition,
standardization, and stability.
L is typically acquired at home as a mother tongue and
continues to be so used throughout life. Its main uses
are familial and familiar.
H, on the other hand, is learned through schooling
and never at home, and is related to institutions
outside the home.
The separate domains in which H and L are acquired
provide them with separate systems of support.
Diglossic societies are marked not only by this
compartmentalization of varieties, but also by
restriction of access, especially to H. Entry to formal
institutions such as school and government requires
knowledge of H.
In England, from medieval times until the 18c, Latin
played an H role while English was L.
In many diglossic areas there is controversy and
polarization of opinions of native speakers regarding the
relationship between the two dialects and their
respective statuses. In cases where the "high" dialect is
objectively not intelligible to those exposed only to the
vernacular, some people insist that the two dialects are
nevertheless a common language.
H variety uses:
Higher Education
Business
Newspapers
Media Broadcasts
Sermons
Formal Lectures
Writing
L variety uses:
Everyday life
Home
Family
Street
Marketplace
Friends
Diglossia and the Social Hierarchy
"Diglossia reinforces social distinctions. It is used to
assert social position and to keep people in their place.
Particularly it keeps those at the lower end of the social
hierarchy in their place. Any move to extend the L variety
is likely to be perceived to be a direct threat to those who
want to maintain traditional relationships and the
existing power structure" (Wardhaugh, 2006).
Example can be given of Arabic speaking diglossia
community that has social status difference.
Extended Concept of Diglossia

Joshua Fishman presented a modification of Ferguson’s

(1959) original concept and rather strict definition of
diglossia in (1967). He proposed an expansion of
Ferguson's definition of diglossia in two respects. 1. A
diglossic speech community is not characterized by the
use of two language varieties only. There may be more
than two language varieties used within a diglossic
community. 2. Diglossia refers to all kinds of language
varieties which show functional distribution in a speech
community. Diglossia, as a consequence, describes a
number of sociolinguistic situations, from stylistic
differences within one language or the use of separate
dialects to separate languages.
 Examples of Diglossia
The high variety may be an older stage of the same language
as in medieval Europe, where Latin remained in formal use
even as colloquial speech diverged. The high variety may be
an unrelated language, or a distinct yet closely related
present day dialect.
Example: Standard German alongside Low German.
Another example is of Chinese where with Mandarin as the
official, literary standard and local varieties of Chinese used
in everyday communication. Other examples may include
Literary Katharevousa versus spoken Demotic Greek;
Literary Tamil versus spoken Tamil; Indonesian, with its
Baku and Gaul forms; Literary versus spoken Welsh.
Diglossia and Language Shift
Diglossia has often been noted as a factor in language shift,
especially in speech communities where a minority
language is in a diglossic relationship with a majority
language. Fishman (1967, p. 36) noted that “Bilingualism
without diglossia tends to be transitional both in terms of
the linguistic repertoires of speech communities as well as
in terms of the speech varieties involved per se”. In this
regard Fishman (1967, p.36) noted that without separate
though complementary norms and values to establish and
maintain functional separatism of the speech varieties, that
language or variety which is fortunate enough to be
associated with the predominant drift of social forces tends
to displace the other(s)." In some regions or societies in the
world people need and/or use more than one language to
communicate for various purposes (Sankoff, 2002).
An example can be of Germany. In Germany the official
language is German, but people from different ethnic
backgrounds or countries such as Turkey, Poland as well
as Russia use their mother tongue in their social
community. In the case of Turkey the official language is
Turkish, and majority of Turkish population use Turkish
language in every aspect of their daily life. However,
some people living in the south-east of Turkey use
Kurdish or Arabic to communicate within their
community. Since languages do not take place in
vacuum, they are in constant contact and relation and
are never stable, and are affected by each other. Thus,
some influences occur, and some become stronger while
some diminish or even die due to various sociological
reasons (Baugh, 2011).
Majority population language puts pressures and affects
the minority languages. Thus, change is mostly
downwards (Milroy, 2004). For example: English
pressures Pennsylvania German of the Amish society.
Language change, also called “language shift”, refers to a
downwards movement. By the same token, Baker (2011)
points out: “there is a reduction in the number of
speakers of a language, a decreasing saturation of
language speakers in the population, a loss in language
proficiency, or a decreasing use of that language in
different domains.