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Linguistic Factors Of Diglossia

Decent Essays

The contact between languages is one of the various fields investigated by socio-linguistics. Commonly it is thought that monolingualism is the most usual linguistic behaviour but language studies disprove this belief showing that all speech communities and individuals hold a rich linguistic repertoire which may include two or more distinct languages, different varieties of the same language and a wide range of registers, styles, social codes etc.
The concept of linguistic repertoire is not to be intended as a mere sum of linguistic codes since it also concerns the way such codes interact with one another, their hierarchy and the rules running their use. In order to clear up the logic underlying the relations emerging from the steady contact among languages sociolinguistics introduced concepts such as diglossia code-switching, bilingualism, dilalia etc.
In the following essay the focus will essentially be on the difference between the concepts of diglossia and code-switching alongside with the description of some examples supported by an attempt to identify the non-linguistic factors which affect speakers' linguistic choices.
The first scholar to introduce the term diglossia was …show more content…

A significant example of classic diglossia is the allocation of varieties in the Arabic-speaking world. Classical Arabic is the H variety used for very formal interactions, in writing, university lectures and is revered as the language of the Koran. Whereas for most everyday conversations people use the various regional L varieties. (Holmes 2001: 29) To be acquainted with the principles determining the choice of the appropriate variety in the right context is relevant in so far as it signals the speaker's belonging to and understanding of a linguistic culture . In fact the ignorance of such principles is considered a real social gaffe and is responsible for the stigmatisation of the speakers who are not able to use the H and L

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