Section outline

  • This lesson provides a brief overview of diglossia as a sociolinguistic notion, beginning with Ferguson's classical definition and highlighting the characteristics of H and L varieties through examples from Greek, Arabic, and Tamil. It then provides Fishman's extension to bilingual communities and Fasold's concept of broad diglossia.

    Objectives of the course

    of

    • Enabling  students to define diglossia and identify High (H) and Low (L) varieties in a given speech community.

    • Helping  students describe the functional distribution of H and L varieties across domains (education, religion, home, media, administration, etc.).

    • Developing students’ ability to analyse real examples from their own environment and recognise when and why speakers choose H or L.

    • Encouraging students to discuss the social and educational implications of diglossia, including issues of prestige, stigma, identity, and access to literacy/schooling.

    • Training students to use appropriate sociolinguistic terminology (diglossia, H/L variety, domain, prestige, standard, vernacular) in oral and written work.

    • Fostering  critical reflection on language attitudes and language policy in diglossic societies, particularly in their own national/contextual setting.