Sociolinguistics

DiglossiaBilingualism/multilingualism

Code-switching

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What is Diglossia?What is Diglossia?

• Term originally introduced by Charles Ferguson (1959) (based on Marçais 1932-33)

• A case “where two varieties of a language exist side by side throughout the community, with each having a definite role to play” (Ferguson 1972:232).

• Term originally introduced by Charles Ferguson (1959) (based on Marçais 1932-33)

• A case “where two varieties of a language exist side by side throughout the community, with each having a definite role to play” (Ferguson 1972:232).

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High and Low varieties

• H (“High”) is the prestigious form• L (“Low”) is the non-prestigious form• Alternate terms: – Acrolect = H– Basilect = L

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Each variety has distinct functions

HSermonsFormal lettersSpeeches & lecturesNews broadcasts‘High’ poetry

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Each variety has distinct functions

LConversation with family & friendsRadio serialsSports broadcastsPolitical cartoons“Folk” poetry etc.

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Examples of Diglossia

Region/Country H L

Switzerland Standard German Local Swiss German dialects

Middle East Classical ArabicLocal Arabic dialects (Iraqi, Moroccan, Egyptian, etc.)

GreeceKatharévusa (‘puristic’)

Dhimotiki (‘demotic, popular’)

Haiti French Haitian Creole

Tamil Nadu Literary Colloquial

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Characteristics of Diglossic situations (1)• Function: – H – formal use, L – informal use– Little overlap in functions

• Prestige: – H has higher prestige than L. H is more elegant and

more beautiful– L is inferior to H, and is not appropriate for any

formal usage.• Literary Heritage: – Generally, H has the greater literary tradition

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Characteristics of Diglossic situations (2)

• Acquisition– L is learned– H is taught

• Standardization– H is standardized through dictionaries, grammars,

etc. – L may be less standardized or not at all (may or may

not be codified).• Grammar– Grammar of H is usually more complex; – Grammar of L is usually simpler

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Characteristics of Diglossic situations (3)

• Lexicon– Most of the vocabulary is shared by both varieties.– Some terms may occur in one variety but not in the

other • Phonology: – Usually the same, but H may be more conservative

and resistant to change.• Stability– Diglossia can be very stable, if H and L each has its

own range of functions.

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Question• If someone were to tell you that diglossia is but a

simple reflection of the social, cultural, or political oppression of a people, how might you answer?

• How ‘diglossic’ are classroom situations in which children who come to school speaking only a regional or social variety of English well removed from the standard variety are taught the standard variety and its various uses, particularly its use in writing?

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• Would you say that diglossia is found in Chiang Mai? Why or why not?

• Is there a form of diglossia in your home community? Why or why not?

• Are there any signs of diglossia breaking down? What are these? Are people concerned about these changes?

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•The history of English in the three centuries after 1066 is of considerable interest. The Norman Conquest established Norman French as the H variety and English as the L variety. What caused English eventually to triumph and French to be eliminated from use in England (except as a clearly marked ‘foreign’ language)? Where did Latin fit into the overall picture?

•For full details: http://colfa.utsa.edu/tillery/notes.html

•The history of English in the three centuries after 1066 is of considerable interest. The Norman Conquest established Norman French as the H variety and English as the L variety. What caused English eventually to triumph and French to be eliminated from use in England (except as a clearly marked ‘foreign’ language)? Where did Latin fit into the overall picture?

•For full details: http://colfa.utsa.edu/tillery/notes.html

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Bilingualism and Multilingualism

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What is multilingualism?

• Personal level--how many languages can an individual communicate in?

• National level--how many languages are in use in a particular country?

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“How many languages do you speak?”

• L1: the first language, the “Mother Tongue”

• L2: a second language

• L3, L4, …

We’ll use “bilingualism” to cover bi-, tri-, multi-lingualism

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The Mother Tongue (L1)

• Origin– the language one learned first

• Competence– the language one knows best

• Function– the language one uses most

• Attitudes– the language one identifies with or is identified as a

native speaker of by other people

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Definitions of Bilingualism• Weinrich (1957)– alternate use of two languages

• Haugen (1959)– ability to produce complete and meaningful utterances in

two languages

• Hymes (1964)– knowing the appropriate way of speaking in a particular

situation– what a speaker “must learn about a group’s verbal

behavior in order to participate appropriately and effectively in its activities.”

Types of Bilingualism

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Simultaneous vs. Successive

• SIMULTANEOUS BILINGUALISM: – Two languages acquired before the age of 3

• SUCCESSIVE BILINGUALISM: – Two languages acquired, one after the age of 3

Additive vs. Subtractive

• ADDITIVE BILINGUALISM: – L2 is acquired in addition to L1

• SUBTRACTIVE BILINGUALISM:– L2 replaces L1 (Lambert 1967)

Balanced vs. Dominant

• BALANCED BILINGUALISM: – Equal competence in both languages

• DOMINANT BILINGUALISM:– Greater competence in L1 or L2– the stronger is said to be dominant

Compound vs. Coordinate

• COMPOUND BILINGUALISM: – Primary cognitive activity is in L1

• COORDINATE BILINGUALISM:– Cognitive development is in both languages (Fishman 1965)– Example "While she was raised to speak English, her new

position in Miami, Florida would require she use the Spanish she had learned, rendering her a coordinate bilingual five days a week."

Source: Psychology Dictionary

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Active vs. Passive

• ACTIVE BILINGUALISM: – the person can both speak and understand L2

• PASSIVE BILINGUALISM: – the person can only understand L2

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Example: A Thai Trilingual

Sudrutai Arunsirot writes: I can speak 3 languages. They are Northern Thai, Central Thai and English. I have spoken Northern Thai since I was born. When I was five years old, I began learning to speak English and Central Thai. So my bilingualism can be classified as successive, additive and active. My competence in speaking Northern Thai is stronger than the others. So it is said to be dominant.

Question

• The term bilingual is used in describing countries such as Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland (also multilingual in this case). What kind of bilingualism (or multilingualism) is this?

• A speaker of English who wants to learn another language, particularly an ‘exotic’ one, may find the task difficult. Speakers of that other language may insist on using what little English they know rather than their own language, and there may also be compelling social reasons that prevent the would-be learner from achieving any but a most rudimentary knowledge of the target

language. What factors contribute to this kind of situation? How might you seek to avoid it?

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Is it possible to have a society in which everyone is completely bilingual in the same two languages and there is no diglossia? How stable would sucha situation be?

Some communities regard bilingualism as a serious threat; it has even been referred to as a ‘Trojan horse,’ initially attractive but ultimately fatal. Whymight this be so? (Consider the experience of migration and also the sorry state of many minority languages in the world.)

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Code Choice in a Multilingual Context

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• Interlocutor

• Role relationship

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

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• DomainDomain

• TopicTopic

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

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• VenueVenue

• Channel of CommunicationChannel of Communication

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

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• Type of interactionType of interaction

• Phatic functionPhatic function

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

A Multilingual’s choice of languages is determined by…

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“Code switching”

• Monica Heller 1988 “the use of more than one language in the course of a single communicative episode”

• Carol Myers-Scotton 1993 mentions “the use of two or more languages in the same conversation.”

• Gumperz (1982) defines code-switching as “the juxtaposition within the same speech exchange of passages of speech belonging to two different grammatical systems or subsystems” (p. 59).

Situational and Metaphorical

• Blom and Gumperz (1972) distinguish two types of code switching: - Situational code-switching is related to achange in situation, for instance, when a new participant joins the activity, or a change in the conversation topic or setting.

- Metaphorical code-switching is often used as a conversational strategy to enhance or mitigate conversational acts such as requests, denials, topic shifts, elaborations or clarifications.

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Question

• Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have code-switched or code-mixed?

• When you visit a foreign country whose language you know either well or poorly, when do you use that language and when do you not? What factors

govern your choice?

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