Social Bilingualism

What is Diglossia?

The term diglossia is a Greek word meaning “two languages.” Charles Ferguson first described diglossia as referring to two varieties of the same language or dialects. Following Ferguson, the sociologist Joshua A. Fishman extended the concept of diglossia to refer to two languages of differing prestige found in a geographical area. The languages, each of which is associated with a higher or lower degree of prestige, have different functions and purposes. The higher-prestige one, designated as H, is used in formal texts and institutions such as by the government, in religion, education, high culture, business, and commerce. Often, this language is learned later in life in a formal institution outside the home, which makes it differentially accessible depending on the availability of access to such institutions. Additionally, the higher-status language is considered the gateway to educational and economic success and, thus, is viewed as the more desirable and powerful one. It follows, then, that the high language allows for social mobility.

In contrast, the lower-prestige language, designated as L, is the one that is used in daily life, the home and family, social and cultural activity in the community, and in communication with family and friends. Using the low variety in a situation where the high variety is the norm is unexpected and can mark [Page 750]the user as an outsider, uneducated, or of a lower class. Low languages or varieties can be stigmatized, and sometimes speakers of the high variety will deny speaking the lesser-prestige language for fear of negative consequences. The high-low binary can also be described as between a majority (higher prestige) and minority (lower prestige) language within a country. Genetically related languages can be closely related, or more distantly related, depending on how directly they trace back to a common source.

Diglossia can manifest itself in different forms. Fishman explains the various linguistic relationships between the high- and low-status languages, taking into consideration whether H and L are genetically related or not (tracing back to a common source/ language family): First is the case where the two languages are genetically related, and H is a classical language, and L is the vernacular. An example of this situation can be found in previous centuries when Latin was the high language preferred by Western European scholars and clergy, over the Romance-language spoken idiom of everyday use. The second is exemplified in European Judaic culture, in which Hebrew/Aramaic (H) remained the written language of religious discourse and ritual, and Yiddish (L), a High German language, was the medium of everyday speech among Jews. In this case, the classical (H) and the vernacular (L) are genetically unrelated. The third situation is found in Paraguay, where Spanish (H) is written and spoken formally but Guaraní (L), which is spoken by the indigenous Guaraní people, constitutes the vernacular. Here both H and L are genetically unrelated. The fourth case comprises a high language that is written and formally spoken and a vernacular, both genetically related to each other. An example is the arrangement found in the Caribbean where standard English and Caribbean Creole are the H and L languages, respectively.

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