Sociolinguistics Diglossia and Polyglossia

DIGLOSSIA AND POLYGLOSSIA

qDiglossia: 

* A characteristic of speech communities rather than individuals. 

* A situation where different society is diglossic, two languages are required to cover the full range of domains, and (most) individuals are bilingual.

* Situations where individuals are bilingual, but there is no community-wide functional differentiation in the use of their languages. 

* The situation of politically united groups where two languages are used for different functions, but by largely different speech communities. 

* The situation of monolingual groups, it is typically of isolated ethnic communities where there is little contact with other linguistic groups.

* Attitudes to H vs L in a diglossia situation:

•H variety: admired, respectful, prestigious, high status, standardized, fixed, wirtten in grammar books and dictionaries.

•L variety: not worth describing, varied, ambivalent, low status, has not been standardized or fixed, not written in both grammar books and dictionaries. 

* The presence in a language of two standards.

•A “high” language used for formal occasions and in written texts

•A “low” language used in colloquial conversation or informal context.

* In the narrow and original sense of the term, diglossia has three (3) crucial features:

1.Two distinct varieties of the same language are used in the community, with one regarded as a high (H) variety and the other a low (L) variety.

2.Each variety is used for quite distinct functions; H and L complement each other.

3.No one uses the H variety in everyday conversation.

Polyglossia:

* A term for describing situations where more than two distinct codes or varieties are used for clearly distinct purposes or in clearly disctinguishable situations.

* A  term describing a community regularly uses more than two languages

Sociolinguistics

What is a sociolinguistic

Ø It is a person who studies the relationship between language and society.

Ø It is a person who is interested in explaining why we speak differently in different social contexts, and concerned with identifying the social functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social meaning.

Ø It is a person who is interested in the different types of linguistic variation used to express and reflect social factors.

Ø It is a person who studies languages scientifically and  uses it in different situation. 

Ø It is a person who aims to describe sociolinguistic variation and, if possible explain why it happens.

Ø It is a person who studies language function in a society. 

 

The Function of Language

 

Ø Language is not simply of means of communicating information but it is also a means of establishing and maintaining relationship with other people.

Ø Language serves a range of functions. We use language to ask for and give people information. We use it to express indignation and annoyance, as well as admiration and respect.

Ø Languages provide a variety ways of saying the same thing-addressing and greeting others, describing thing, paying compliments. 

 

Why do we say the same thing in different ways ? 

Ø Depends upon the situation.

Ø According to the person whom we speak to:

* To greet our superior  : standard language

* To greet our subordinate : non-standard language (someone with      whom is intimate)

      Example:

      a) In Javanese : (ngoko, madya, kromo and kromo inggil)

          - To our superior         :  panjenengan/sampeyan/andika

          - To our subordinate   :  kowe

          - To our superior         :  Menapo sami sugeng?

          - To our subordinate   :  Apo podo slamet?

     * You will be honored by people if you speak higher variation of  language (for Javanese)

b) British       :  I have got       British       :  lift

     American :  I have gotten   American :  elevator

    North        :  You need your hair cutting

    South        :  You need your hair cut

    Scottish :  It needs washed 

    English  :  It needs washing

c)            Speaker A                          Speaker B

           I done it yesterday                   I did it yesterday

           He ain’t got it                          He hasn’t got it

      He was her what said it                It was her that said it

   

Ø Social factors which relate to the uses of language:

* The participants:

a.who is speaking  (addressor)

b.who are they speaking to (addressee)

* The setting or social context of the interaction: where are they speaking?

* The topic: What is being talked about?

* The function: Why are they speaking?

 

ØSocial dimensions:

      It is also useful to take account of four (4) different dimensions for analysis which relate to be the social factors:

      1. A social distance scale: participant relationships  (solidarity)

      2. A status scale: participant relationships

      3. A formality scale: setting or type of interaction

      4. Two functional scales (the referential & affective function scale):

          the purposes or topic of interaction.

  

  WHY DO WE SAY TH

E SAME THING IN DIFFERENT WAYS?