Diglossia refers to a stable language situation where there are two distinct varieties of the same language used by a language community. The high variety (H) is used in formal contexts like education and literature, while the low variety (L) is used for everyday conversation. Examples include Classical Arabic vs regional dialects, Standard German vs Swiss German, and Katharévousa vs Dhimotiki Greek.
Bilingualism is the ability to use two languages. Coordinate bilinguals are proficient in both languages, while subordinate bilinguals are dominant in one language. Incipient bilinguals have partial understanding of a second language. Causes of bilingualism include colonialism, trade, education, and migration
4. Diglossia
“Diglossia is a relatively stable language situation in which, in
addition to the primary dialects of the language (which may
include a standard or regional standards), there is a very
divergent, highly codified (often grammatically more
complex) superposed variety, the vehicle of a large and
respected body of written literature, either of an earlier period
or in another speech community, which is learned largely by
formal education and is used for most written and formal
spoken purposes but is not used by any sector of the
community for ordinary conversation” (Ferguson (1959, 336)).
From the book “An Introduction to Sociolinguistics” by Ronald Wardhaugh & Janet M.Fuller, Chapter 4
Languages in Contact: Multilingual Societies and Multilingual Discourse.
5. Two Varieties of Diglossia
High Variety (H)
Mostly used for more formal
situations and considered the
“correct” variety and prevented
from changing a lot.
The speakers learn how to write it,
its grammar, and grammar rules at
school.
Low Variety (L)
The one that we speak most of
our daily life or daily
communication.
The speakers do not formally
learn its grammar, it is learned as
a spoken language.
6. Two Varieties of Diglossia
● Third, Ferguson cites the language situation in Haiti, where the varieties are Standard French (H)
and Haitian Creole (L).
● The first situation is in Arabic-speaking countries, in which the two varieties
are Classical Arabic (H) and the various regional colloquial varieties (L).
● The second example is Standard German (H) and Swiss German (L) in Switzerland.
Each variety has its own specialized functions, and each is viewed
differently by those who are aware of both
● The fourth is found in Greece with Katharévousa (H) and Dhimotiki or Demotic (L) varieties
of Greek.
From the book “An Introduction to Sociolinguistics” by Ronald Wardhaugh & Janet M.Fuller, Chapter 4 Languages in
Contact: Multilingual Societies and Multilingual Discourse.
8. Bilingualism
➔ Bilinguals can be defined as individuals who have ‘native-like control of two languages’
(Bloomfield 1933: 56).
➔ Haugen defined bilinguals as individuals who are fluent in one language but who ‘can
produce complete meaningful utterances in the other language’ (1953: 7).
➔ Currently, many researchers employ a broader definition of bilinguals that includes
individuals who have various degrees of language abilities in different domains in both
languages, such as ‘those people who need and use two or more languages (or dialects)
in their everyday lives’ (Grosjean 2010: 4).
➔ Bilingual as ‘an individual [who] possesses more than one language competence’
(Valdés and Figueroa 1994: 8).
➔ While these broader definitions of bilinguals have a number of advantages, they have
also been criticized for implying that bilinguals include any individuals who are not
monolinguals. In other words, these definitions ‘effectively equates bilingualism with
multilingualism’ (De Angelis 2007: 8).
9. Types of Bilingualism
★ Coordinate Bilingualism
Coordinate bilingualism occurs when an individual has or possess the ability to use or speak the
two languages proficiently. Such an individual is a coordinate bilingual.
★ Subordinate Bilingualism
An individual is a subordinate bilingual when they are proficient in one of the two languages.
This language in which they are proficient is usually the mother tongue; then they can speak the
other language, but not with great proficiency as the other language.
★ Incipient Bilingualism
An incipient bilingual is just able to use one of the two languages proficiently and this is usually
the mother tongue, but with a partial understanding of the other language.
10. Causes of Bilingualism
➔ Colonialism
➔ Trade and Commerce
➔ Annexation
➔ Conquest
➔ Education
➔ Contiguity or Borderline
➔ Occupation
➔ War
➔ Migration
11. Effects of Bilingualism
Positive effects of bilingualism:
● It facilitates tourism
● It helps in job acquisition
● Bilingualism enriches the individual’s speech repertoire
● It aids participation in democracy
● It helps sporting activities
The negative effects of bilingualism:
● It erodes the culture of the people; a bilingual is also bicultural.
● Interference and transference. Interference can occur at lexical (borrowing),
semantic, phonological levels
● Linguistic Incompetence. It makes people subordinate or incipient
bilinguals.
14. Types of Multilingualism
Official Multilingualism
1
The selection of more than two
languages to be named official
languages of a given country.
2
De Facto
The existence of more than
the official languages
selected from a country.
15. References
Ronald Wardhaugh & Janet M.Fuller. 2015. An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics. United States: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Boanergez, J. 2018. What is Bilingualism? (Definiton, Types and Examples).
https:akademia.com.ng/what-is-bilingualism-and-disglossia/#google_vignette.
Diakses pada tanggal 12 Oktober 2022
