diglossia: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples

No. Bilingualism refers to an individual's ability to use two languages. Diglossia is a societal pattern where two language varieties have separate, hierarchical functions. A diglossic community may be bilingual, but not all bilingual situations are diglossic.

The classic definition by Ferguson involves two varieties of the same language (e.g., Arabic). Later scholars (Fishman) broadened it to include two genetically unrelated languages (e.g., Spanish and Guarani in Paraguay), where one is the H variety and the other is L.

Linguistically, it is a descriptive, neutral term for a stable arrangement. However, it can have negative social implications if the L variety is stigmatised or if access to the H variety (and thus education/power) is restricted to an elite.

Code-switching is the alternation between languages or varieties within a single conversation or utterance by an individual. Diglossia is the broader, stable societal framework that assigns each variety to specific domains (e.g., home vs. school), which may make code-switching predictable when those domains overlap.

A sociolinguistic situation where two distinct varieties of the same language are used in a community, each with separate, complementary functions (e.

Diglossia is usually academic, technical, formal in register.

Diglossia: in British English it is pronounced /daɪˈɡlɒs.i.ə/, and in American English it is pronounced /daɪˈɡlɑː.si.ə/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.