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Understanding Language Codes and Diglossia

This document discusses code choice and diglossia. Diglossia refers to a stable language situation where there are two distinct varieties that have clear functional separation. One variety, the "high" variety, is used for formal purposes like sermons, lectures, news broadcasts, and literature. The other variety, the "low" variety, is used for informal purposes like conversations and folk literature. Examples of diglossia include Classical Arabic vs. colloquial Arabic dialects, and standard German vs. Swiss German dialects. In diglossic communities, the high variety is taught in school while the low variety is learned at home from an early age.

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6 views2 pages

Understanding Language Codes and Diglossia

This document discusses code choice and diglossia. Diglossia refers to a stable language situation where there are two distinct varieties that have clear functional separation. One variety, the "high" variety, is used for formal purposes like sermons, lectures, news broadcasts, and literature. The other variety, the "low" variety, is used for informal purposes like conversations and folk literature. Examples of diglossia include Classical Arabic vs. colloquial Arabic dialects, and standard German vs. Swiss German dialects. In diglossic communities, the high variety is taught in school while the low variety is learned at home from an early age.

Uploaded by

Igb Oka Pramarta
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Choosing a Code

In this discussion we will discuss about the variety of a language as a “code”. This term is
useful because it is neutral because it doesn’t arouse emotions. Moreover, this code can be used
to refer to any kind of system that two or more people used for communication. It can be used as
a private code to protect certain secret. The code here means the way of expressing something
through a language using certain dialect, style, register or variety of a language.

We will look at the phenomena of code choice, code switching, and code mixing. We will
choose bilingual and multilingual situations because they can give us with fairly clear cases. The
following is a brief look of some types of bilingual situation and we will see why someone might
choose to use code X on one occasion, code Y on another occasion, and mix those codes into Z.

DIGLOSSIA

Diglossia is a relatively stable language situation in which there is a very divergent,


highly codified superposed variety which is learned largely by formal education and is used for
most written and formal spoken purposes. A diglossic situation exists in a society when it has
two distinct codes which show clear functional separation: that is, one is used in one set of
circumstances and the other in an entirely different set. According to Fergusson (1959), he
identifies four situation which show the major characteristics of this diglossic phenomenon:
Arabic, Swiss, German, Haitian, and Greek. In each situation, there is a ‘high’ variety (H) of
language and a ‘low’ variety (L). Each variety has special functions.

In Arabic there are two varieties such as Classical Arabic which has high variety, and
regional colloquial Arabic which has low variety. In Switzerland, it has standard German (H),
and Swiss German (L). Those varieties have different function, for example, the H varieties are
used for delivering sermons and formal lectures, for giving political speeches, for broadcasting
the news on radio and television, and for writing poetry, literature, and editorials in newspaper;
otherwise, the L varieties are used in giving instructions to workers in low prestige occupations
or to household servants, in conversation with familiars, in folk literature, etc. Someone will not
use H variety for addressing a servant, nor does one use L variety in writing a serious work of
literature.

Another important difference between the H and L varieties is that all children learn the L
variety. Some may concurrently learn the H variety, but many do not learn it at all. The H variety
is mostly learned in some kind of formal setting such in as classroom. To that extent, the H
variety is taught and L variety is learned.
People who live in a diglossic community do not usually regard diglossia as a problem,
but it becomes a problem when there is a growth of literacy or when there is a desire to decrease
regional or social barriers.

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