In this electure, i discuss ferguson s classical article called diglossia published in 1959. Arabic largely exists in a diglossic situation, which is manifested through the coexistence of standard arabic and colloquial arabic ferguson, 1959. May 16, 2018 until the late 19th century, bilingualism and diglossia were synonymous. 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 superposed variety, the. Ferguson s concept of diglossia is examined with a view to dedetermining its applicability to creole continua.
Charles albert ferguson july 6, 1921 september 2, 1998 was an american linguist who taught at stanford university. Hence the present chapter is concerned with diglossia. Diglossia is a linguistic phenomenon found in many multilingual speech communities. Problems of teaching languages with diglossia, in report of the thirteenth annual round table meeting on linguistics and language studies, edited by elisabeth woodworth and robert dipietro. Ferguson has shown on a number of occasions the extent to which myths build up about the excellence of the prestigious usage e. Ferguson in many speech communities two or more varieties of the same language are used by some speakers under different conditions. The classic instance of diglossia in english may have occurred in the period following the norman conquest of england, during which time a ruling class that increasingly spoke a mixture of french and english among themselves also communicated with commoners, who discoursed in old englishmiddle english in their millieu and often never learned french. Since the 1960s, when the dominant sense of diglossia was the complementary sociofunctional distribution of two varieties of the same language, the term has been applied often controversially to a growing number of diverse sociolinguistic situations. Often, one form is the literary or prestige dialect, and the other is a common dialect spoken by most of the population. In charles ferguson s article diglossia in the journal word 1959, diglossia was described as a kind of bilingualism in a given society in which one of the languages is h, i. Modelled on the french diglossie, the original concept of diglossia goes back to charles ferguson. In addition to the communitys everyday or vernacular language variety labeled l or low variety, a second, highly codified lect labeled h or high is used in certain situations such as literature, formal education, or other specific settings, but. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Diglossia one linguistic variety, the high variety hvariety, is the prestige variety generally a standard variety and is typically reserved for official functions in more formal speech situations in the public sphere e.
Diglossia definition of diglossia by the free dictionary. By way of a summary, ferguson gave the following definition of diglossia. The main point of discussion is the validity of the defining cases of diglossia selected. The term diglossia was first introduced in english by charles a. The impact of diglossia in teachinglearning the arabic.
The article addresses the issue of diglossia in its original and extended definition. Consequently, linguists and scholars have made various efforts and studies on this phenomenon. Pdf arabic diglossia has great impact on the field of education in general and teaching the arabic course in particular. Of the language there is a divergent highly codified superposed variety which is learn largely by formal education and is used for most written and formal spoken purpose. Another comment on group standards that sprott 1958 makes may be quoted in this regard.
Classical vs vernacular chinese classic diglossia classical chinese. Andrew freemans perspectives on arabic diglossia dec. Diglossia definition of diglossia by merriamwebster. Click to increase image sizeclick to decrease image size free. Charles ferguson is credited with first using the term diglossia in an article which he wrote in 1959 called diglossia. Ferguson introduced the english equivalent diglossia in 1959, using the word as the title of an article. One is used in one set of circumstances and the other in an entirely different set. Definition and examples of diglossia sociolinguistics. Jul 12, 20 of the language there is a divergent highly codified superposed variety which is learn largely by formal education and is used for most written and formal spoken purpose. The concept of diglossia in caribbean creole situations. Ferguson in a famous article, diglossia,1 which appeared in the word journal in 1959, in which he. Diglossia is a global language company dedicated to changing lives by fostering language development and literacy throughout the world.
An american scientist called charles ferguson introduced this term into english in 1959. Diglossia with and without bilingualism ferguson sdefinition 1959. Notions of power and prestige have a significant bearing on this process. The middle way david deterding introduction the concept of diglossia was developed by ferguson 1959.
Ferguson in an article, which has by now become a classic. In sociolinguistics, diglossia is a situation in which two distinct varieties of a language are spoken within the same speech community. Diglossia language registers and types of diglossia. Schiffman 1111 introduction introduction introduction the sociolinguistic condition known as diglossia has attracted wide attention since the publication of ferguson s seminal article 1959. One of the most distinctive features of the arabic language is the existence of diglossia. A description of diglossia essay example graduateway. Modelled on the french diglossie, the original concept of diglossia goes back to charles ferguson 1959.
Such a situation exists in many speech communities throughout the worlde. In ferguson s definition, h and l are always closely related. Perhaps the most familiar example is the standard language and regional dialect as used, say, in italian or persian, where many speakers speak their local dialect at home or. His conceptualization of diglossia describes a society with more than one prevalent language or the high variety, which pertains to the language used in literature, newspapers, and other social institutions. Bilingual diglossia is a type of diglossia in which one language variety is used for writing and another for speech. Reality and facts abdellah chekayri al akhawayn university in ifrane arabic is the lingua franca of arabs. Before we come to fergusons complete definition of diglossia, it is important to note that h and l are not separate languages, but varieties of the same lan guage. He identified four languages, arabic, greek, haitian creole and swiss german as being prime examples of languages which fit into his. The toefl test was created under his leadership at the. In 1947, ferguson accepted a position at the newly. First, based on fergusons article on diglossia and subsequent interpretations and ramifications of the con cept and with a special focus on how language.
Today, the notion of diglossia occupies a prominent place in sociolinguistic research. Diglossia comes from the greek which reads literally as diglossia but is translated into english as bilingualism. Nov 30, 2017 according to the linguist, charles, a. Diglossia definition is the use of two varieties of the same language in different social contexts throughout a speech community. The term diglossia was introduced into the english language literature on sociolinguistic by charles a. Classical andor standard arabic casa is the prestigious register which conveys the words of the quran and the religious discourse in general. Fe rguson charles albert ferguson, better known to friends and colleagues as fergie, was born in philadelphia in 1921, and died in palo alto, california in 1998. These notions are intrinsic to the concept of diglossia. Diglossia describes a particular type of sociolinguistic situation in which there is a clear differentiation in function between the languages or language varieties used in a bilingualmultilingual community. He was one of the founders of sociolinguistics and is best known for his work on diglossia.
No discussion of arabic is complete without at least a cursory discussion of diglossia. Ferguson s nine characteristics of diglossia as a potentially open ended checklist of features or parameters of a sociolinguistic typology or have tended to focus their attentions on one. When people are bidialectal, they can use two dialects of the same language, based on their surroundings or different contexts where they use. Ferguson presented a seminal article entitled diglossia in 1959 that opened the door for many scholars to examine this phenomenon closely and develop it into a new field of study diglossia, nd. Diglossia and the variation of the colloquial arabic. The characteristics of classic instances of diglossia are subdivided into sociocultural and linguistic features, and these in turn are used as a basis for determining the extent to which different types of community might be fruitfully described as diglossic.
Diglossia is a relatively stable language situation in which, in addition to the primary dialects of the language, there is a divergent, highly codified superposed variety, the vehicle of a large and respected body of written. Perhaps the most familiar example is the standard language and regional dialect as used, say, in italian or persian, where many speakers speak their local dialect at home. An overview of the arabic situation morad alsahafi king abdulaziz university abstract. He is credited to be the first linguist who used the specific term, diglossia in his article. A key defining characteristic of diglossia is that two varieties are kept quite apart functionally. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Ferguson, diglossia is a situation wherein a language and a dialect are used for different purposes.
When ferguson introduced his paper on diglossia in 1959, he concluded with an appeal for further study of diglossic phenomenon and related ones ferguson, 1959. In his last major statement on the subject, ferguson himself was moved to comment on how research over the course of the preceding three decades had failed to adopt a. He will be long remembered not only as a major scholar in many fieldspsycholinguistics, socio. 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 superposed variety, the vehicle of a. Pdf the impact of diglossia in teaching and learning arabic. Please define and explain and give examples for diglossia. Ferguson diglossia 1 in many speech communities two or more varieties of the same language2 are used by some speakers under different conditions.
Diglossia, the coexistence of two varieties of the same language throughout a speech community. Introduction since ferguson published his famous paper on diglossia in 1959, a lot of scholars have tried to follow this scholarship by matching a lot of language situations against the principles of diglossia that he laid out. The author will then proceed to assess the impact of diglossia on arab youth, nowadays, with an eye on educational concerns, and will conclude with a tentative speculation on the future of arabic as a language, in hopes to. When people are bidialectal, they can use two dialects of the same language, based on their. Diglossia or triglossia in morocco reality and facts by ab. Then i go through its main features as introduced in his article. Ferguson referred to diglossia as a term meaning that the focus of two languages used in the same geographical region changes and impacts the sociolinguistic purpose of each language or dialect in society. It describes a situation where two languages or language varieties occur side by side in a community, and each has a clear range of functions. He identified four languages, arabic, greek, haitian creole and swiss. For instance, in many countries around the world, a standard language is utilized in formal settings like i. The perpetuation of diglossia rests to a very large extent on these myths and beliefs.