Diglossia is when a region uses two languages or dialects.

Bilingualism & multilingualism refers to when a person speaks two or more languages themselves. Code switching is when a person switches between two different languages while they are talking. An example of this would be speaking 'Spanglish'.

One - I'd say - "traditional" definition of diglossia is a situation of two varieties of a language are spoken within one linguistic community and with the addition that one of the two varieties is a so-called "high" variety and the other one a "low" variety. The "H language" is used for writing, literature, formal situations and considered as prestigious, the "L language" is used for informal talk and carries no prestige. An exemple would be the situation in Germany today where the standardized German is the high variety and the spoken German dialects the low variety. However, this definition is considered as obsolete by many linguists. A more modern definition proposes to consider diaglossia as a functional division of language use, not necessary with a distinction of "high" and "low", and including not only varieties of one language but also separate language in contact within one community. In German-speaking Switzerland e.g. the language for everyday use is Swiss German (German dialect) and there exists also a standardized German variety used in newspapers and in formal situations. But none of these two varieties would be considered by the speakers themselves as "higher" or "more prestigious" than the other one. The division of the varieties only lies in their function, the situations they are used in. It is also possible to think of a division of use of three languages (triglossia) or more (polyglossia). In Medieval England e.g. you can find a situation of triglossia between English, French and Latin.

When finishing the chapter 1 of Mesthries Introducing Sociolinguistics, there is a big question in my mind about diglossia. This question comes into mind when I think about my dialect in my home country, Indonesia. I was brought up in a town in Birds head peninsula in West Papua, Indonesia, and when I was a child, I thought that I spoke Indonesian language. However, in fact, the language that I have spoken that merely a dialect called Papuan Malay; this term coined several years ago when there were some linguistic researches about the language spoken in my area. For your information, in West Papua area, I study the national language known as Bahasa Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia, to some extent, is known as the modern modified Malay with abundantly loanwords from Sanskrit, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Arabic, English, and other tribal languages. I have studied and learned Bahasa Indonesia since I was in primary school, while when I was at home, my family and I as well as the community around me spoke the dialect known as Papuan Malay; it has served as the lingua franca of trading in the area to communicate with tribes in West Papua since circa 17th centuries or before the integration to Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia, otherwise, is the language used at school, government, and any formal situation especially concerning to academic writing.

Mesthries explanation about Fergusons Diglossia and Fishmans extension (Mesthrie, 2009: 39 40), to some extent, makes me think about my dialect and national language Bahasa Indonesia, whether Papuan Malay is simply a dialect in terms of standard versus dialect arrangement or the situation when the diglossia occurs? I also wonder about the possibility that one dialect, at first is just a dialect in such non-diglossic society but when there is a change in society, lets say because of political circumstance leading to diglossia occurrence, or vice versa. Is that possible?

Regarding to the hints in the textbook, the two distinctions proposed by Ferguson about diglossia can be used to describe the situation of the dialect used in my area especially the second hint that mentions the relationship between standard and dialect is typically a close one, and it is not always easy to draw the line between the two. Again, in contrast the H and L forms of diglossia have distinct grammars which are almost like those of different language. (Mesthrie, 1999: 39). It is because, in the case of Papuan Malay comparing to Bahasa Indonesia, it is so easy to distinguish between the standard and dialect, for example in terms of its morpho-syntactical structure. It is really clear, letsay, when addressing question to another person as well in addressing the possession of someone.

To illustrate my questions, I would like to give two simple sentences and its literal gloss written in my dialect and in Bahasa Indonesia (both formal and informal) about the case of interrogative form and possessive pronoun. In my dialect, we cannot form any question without using double-pronoun.

Example #1. Papuan Malay (*) ko mo pi kemana? Or (*) ko pi mana?

(*) you want go where?

( ) you go where?

Bahasa Indonesia (formal form) Ke mana kau akan/hendak pergi?

Where you will go?

Or

(**) ke mana kau akan/ hendak pergi? (**)

(**) Where you will go

Bahasa Indonesia (informal form) Mau ke mana, (kamu**)?

Want where (you)?

Or

Kamu mau (pergi***) ke mana?

You want where?

English Where do you go?/ Where are you going?

Notes:

*: In my dialect, the (*) refers to any name of the addressee or socially accepted term we can use to address i.e. uncle, sister and so forth

** In this example refers to the addressee (name or socially accepted addressee term). It can be put in the initial position or in the final position.

*** In this example the words ke mana where embedded the meaning of go.

Example #2 The possessive pronoun in use

a. Singular form

Papuan Malay Ini sa pu buku.

This/ it I have book

Bahasa Indonesia (formal form) Ini bukuku.

This /it book.poss.1Sg

Or

Ini buku saya/ aku (informal form)

It is book 1st sing.

b. Plural form

Papuan Malay Ini dorang/ dong pu buku.

This/ it they have book

Bahasa Indonesia (formal and informal) Ini buku mereka.

This /it book.poss.3

In sociolinguistics, a situation in which two distinct varieties of a language are spoken within the same speech community. Adjective: diglossic. Bilingual diglossia is a type of diglossia in which one language is used for writing and another for speech.

See also:

Bilingualism Code Switching Dialect Linguistic Variation

Etymology:

From the Greek, "speaking two languages." The term was first used in English by linguist Charles Ferguson in 1959.

Examples and Observations:

"In the classic diglossic situation, two varieties of a language, such as standard French and Haitian creole French, exist alongside each other in a single society. Each variety has its own fixed functions--one a 'high,' prestigious variety, and one a 'low,' orcolloquial, one. Using the wrong variety in the wrong situation would be socially inappropriate, almost on the level of delivering the BBC's nightly news in broad Scots. "Children learn the low variety as a native language; in diglossic cultures, it is the language of home, the family, the streets and marketplaces, friendship, and solidarity. By contrast, the high variety is spoken by few or none as a first language. It must be taught in school. The high variety is used for public speaking, formal lectures and higher education, television broadcasts, sermons, liturgies, and writing. (Often the low variety has no written form.)" (Robert Lane Greene, You Are What You Speak. Delacorte, 2011)

High (H) and Low (L) Varieties "A very significant aspect of diglossia is the different patterns of language acquisitionassociated with the High [H] and Low [L] dialects. . . . Most reasonably well-educated people in diglossic communities can recite the rules of H grammar, but not the rules for L. On the other hand, they unconsciously apply the grammatical rules of L in their normal speech with near

perfection, whereas the corresponding ability in H is limited. In many diglossic communities, if speakers are asked, they will tell you L has no grammar, and that L speech is the result of the failure to follow the rules of H grammar." (Ralph W. Fasold, Introduction to Sociolinguistics: The Sociolinguistics of Society, Basil Blackwell, 1984)

"Diglossia reinforces social distinctions. It is used to assert social position and to keep people in their place, particularly those at the lower end of the social hierarchy. 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." (Ronald Wardhaugh, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 5th ed. Blackwell, 2006)

Diglossia in the U.S. "Ethnicity typically includes a heritage language, particularly among groups whose members include recent arrivals. A heritage language can play a significant role in a community despite the fact that not all members actually speak it. Relatively balanced, native bilinguals, though being designated native speakers of English, may have younger siblings or other family members who speak little or no English. Consequently, they may not use English all the time, particularly in situations of diglossia in which language varieties are compartmentalized according to situations of usage. "The home is also one likely place for a social dialect (or vernacular) to develop that can, consequently, spread throughout the community. Children will undoubtedly bring that language variety with them into the classroom. Consequently, educators need to consider the relationship of SAE and nonstandard varieties of English such as Ebonics (African American Vernacular English--AAVE), Chicano English (ChE), and Vietnamese English (VE), all recognized social dialects. Children speaking these varieties may be counted as native speakers of English, despite the fact that they may also be considered LM [language minority] students entitled to certain rights as a result." (Fredric Field, Bilingualism in the USA: The Case of the Chicano-Latino Community. John Benjamins, 2011) Pronunciation: di-GLO-see-eh