Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

LANGUAGES IN CONTACTDIGLOSSIA

Dr. K. Lakehal-AyatMentouri University Constantine

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

Language Contact

• The existence of 2 varieties (or 2 languages) side by side in the SAME community raises a number of interesting issues concerning

Their functions

Their relation to each other

Why they are kept separate

Where and how they mix

What results from their mixture

Diglossia

Bilingualism

Code-Switching

Pidgins and Creoles

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

Diglossia (Definition)

Diglossia

Variety 1 Functions 1

Variety 2 Functions 2

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

These varieties

Coexist in the whole

community

Not only in one particular group

or class

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

Charles Ferguson (1921-1998)

Diglossia is a relatively stable language situation in which, in addition to the primary dialects of the language (which may include a standard or regional standards), there is a very divergent, highly codified (often grammatically more complex) variety, the vehicle of a large and respected body of written literature, either of an earlier period or in another speech community, which is learned largely by formal education and is used for most written and formal spoken purposes, but is not used by any sector of the community for ordinary conversation. (1959:435)

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

Diglossia

• Related languages (Arabic & Algerian)

“Extended” diglossia

• Unrelated languages (Alsacian French & French) or Sanskrit and Kannnada

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

Examples of Diglossic situations

• Switzerland : Standard German and Swiss German

• Haiti: Standard French and Haitian Creole• Greece: Attic and Demotik • Arab world : Algerian, Morrocan, Tunisian, etc.

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

Varieties in the Arab World• Standard Arabic• Formal speeches, religious sermons,

broadcasting news, and literature.

H (High)

• Spoken form• Conversations, informal contexts (radio

and TV series, folk literature), informal writing L (Low)

Language

Dialect

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

HNot a

mother tongue

Codified variety (taught

at school)

Prestigious

L

Deviation

Without structure

Symbol of national unification

Associated with Islam and the Holy Koran

Perfect , more logical, and more beautiful

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat

Dr. K. Lakehal-Ayat