Diglosia, Bilingualism and Multilingualism

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 15
At a glance
Powered by AI
The key takeaways are the definitions and concepts of diglossia, bilingualism, multilingualism and their relationships.

Diglossia refers to a situation where two varieties of the same language are used under different conditions within a community, with one variety used for casual everyday interactions and the other for more formal contexts.

The two varieties of language in diglossia are the high variety and the low variety. The low variety is used for casual conversations while the high variety is used for formal situations.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. BACKGROUND
In linguistics, first language acquisition is closely related to the
concept of a "native speaker". According to a view widely held by
linguists, a native speaker of a given language has in some respects a level
of skill which a second (or subsequent) language learner can hardly
reliably accomplish. Consequently, descriptive empirical studies of
languages are usually carried out using only native speakers as informants.
This view is, however, slightly problematic, particularly as many non-
native speakers demonstrably not only successfully engage with and in
their non-native language societies, but in fact may become culturally and
even linguistically important contributors (as, for example, writers,
politicians and performing artists) in their non-native language.
In recent years, linguistic research has focused attention on the use
of widely known world languages such as English as lingua franca, or the
shared common language of professional and commercial communities.

B. PROBLEM STATEMENT
1. What is the definition of Diglossia
2. What kinds of Diglossia
3. What is the definition of Bilingualism and Multilingualism
4. What types of Bilingualism
5. What causes of Multilingualism
6. What the relation between Diglossia and Bilingualism

C. PURPOSES
1. To understand the definition of Diglossia
2. To understand the kinds of Diglossia
3. To understand the definition of Bilingualism and Multilingualism

1
4. To understand the types of Bilingualism
5. To understand the causes of Multilingualism
6. To understand the relation between Diglossia and Bilingualism

2
CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION

A. DIGLOSSIA
The diglossia comes from French diglossie, which was once used by
Marcais, a French linguist. But the term became famous in linguistic
studies after being used by a scholar from Stanford University, namely
C.A. Ferguson in 1958 in a symposium on "Urbanization and standard
languages" organized by the American Anthropological Association in
Washignton DC. Then Ferguson made it even more famous with an article
entitled "Diglossia" which was published in the 1959 Word magazine.
Ferguson's article was seen as a classic reference to diglossia.
Diglossia is a situation in which two varieties of the same language
are used under different conditions within a community. The way it works
is that one dialect or language is used for a casual, everyday interaction
and a different standard language is used for more official, formal
purposes.
The dialect or language that is used for daily communication is a low
variety. The speakers don’t formally learn its grammar or how to write in
that language. It’s merely learned as a spoken language.
1. Kinds of Diglossia
There are two kinds of Diglossia :
a. Low Variety
The form of language of low variety is flexible and is more
likely to change over time because it is not restricted by the rules
of the High language.
Example :
Low variety is used in casual conversations, meaning that we are
allowed to use informal expressions, slang words, and
grammatically not correct sentences.

3
Ex : The man asked the woman “what’s up” is the informal term
of “what is going on”.
b. High Variety
High variety is the language used for formal situation. This
language is learned at school, formally. Speakers learn how to
write in that language and they learn its formal grammar rules.
In many cases, the community considers High variety to be
the pure or correct form of the language. They want to keep it
the same and not let it change, unlike the Low variety that is
flexible and changes over time. The criteria of high are
grammatically correct and using formal words. As we can see,
his speech was beautifully structured and was very well-
organized.

From the explanation above, the problems involving diglossia are


dialect issues found in speech society, for example in a language there are
two variations of language, each of which has certain roles and functions.
The use of various variations depends on the situation.

However, according to Fishman in Sumarsono (2007: 39), the notion


of diglossia as discussed above is a theory that has been considered classic.
Then Fishman developed the idea of the role or function to a wider area.
According to him, diglossia is an object of sociolinguistics which refers to
the distribution of more than one variety of languages or languages that
have different communication tasks in a society. Fishman refers to
linguistic differences, regardless of their form and form, from differences
in style in one language to the use of two very different languages.
According to Fishman, what is important in this case is that each variety
has different functions and in different domains.

2. The Differences between the High and Low Varieties

4
In addition to the major difference between the (H) and (L) varieties
concerning using one of them in formal situation and the other in informal
ones, there are other differences. The (H) variety is more prestigious and
powerful than the (L) one. It seems to be more beautiful, logical and
expressive than the (L) that is why it is used for literary and religious
purposes. Translations are done in (H) varieties rather than (L). There
might be a considerable and widespread resistance to translate certain
books into the L variety, for example, the holly Qur`an into a colloquial
variety or the Bible into Haitian creole. Most of literary works are written
in (H) prestigious variety and few works are written in (L) and such works
can be transmitted into (H) by those who are well experienced in (H)
variety ( Wardhaugh, 2010:86)

B. BILINGUALISM AND MULTILINGUALISM

1. Concept of Bilingualism
Bilingualism which is related to the use of two languages or two
language codes. Sociolinguistically, bilingual is defined as the use of two
languages by a speaker in his interactions with others alternately (Mackey
1992: 12, Fishman 1997: 73). To be able to use two languages, one must
certainly master the two languages. First, his own language or first
language (abbreviated as L1), and the second is another language which
becomes his second language (abbreviated as L2). People who can use
both languages are called bilingual people. While the ability to use two
languages is called bilingualism.
A person using or able to use two languages especially with equal
fluency and the origin of the word is from Latin bilinguis, from bi + lingua
(tongue) and its First Known Use: 1829 (Webster's dictionary :1961).
The general sense of this term a person who can speak two languages,
it contrasts with monolingual. The focus of attention has been on the many
kinds and degrees of bilingualism and bilingual situations which exist.

5
Definitions of bilingualism reflect assumptions about the degree of
proficiency people must achieve before they qualify as bilingual (whether
comparable to a monolingual native-speaker, or something less than this,
even to the extent of minimal knowledge of a second language, A
balanced bilingual is someone whose command of both languages is
equivalent (Crystal : 2008 ).
Mastering L1 well rather than L2 is a good thing, because L1 is the
mother tongue. If someone has more control over the L2 because he is in
the stage of learning L2, then he will say L1 with language and accent
similar to L2. For example, people who are studying L2, namely English
and L1 are Indonesian, so he will say the word "saya" to "syaya" because
in English, the letter "s" says it rather thickly. However, in general L2 is
more often affected by L1 because it is the native language.
2. Types of Bilingualism
Bilingualism has two types, namely parallel and multiple qualities. A
person who is able to use two languages in full and balanced is called
bilingualitas parallel. Whereas, someone who is studying B2 after
mastering B1 well, and B1 influences the B2 learning process, this is
called compound bilinguality.
3. Concept of Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple
languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers.
Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's
population.
Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the
needs of globalization and cultural openness. Thanks to the ease of access
to information facilitated by the Internet, individuals' exposure to multiple
languages is getting more and more frequent, and triggering therefore the
need to acquire more and more languages. A multilingual person, in a
broad definition, is one who can communicate in more than one language,
be it actively (through speaking, writing, or signing) or passively (through

6
listening, reading, or perceiving). More specifically, the terms bilingual
and trilingual are used to describe comparable situations in which two or
three languages are involved. A multilingual person is generally referred to
as a polyglot. Poly (Greek: πολύς) means "many", glot (Greek: γλώττα)
means "language". Multilingual speakers have acquired and maintained at
least one language during childhood, these-called first language (L1). The
first language (sometimes also referred to as the mother tongue) is
acquired without formal education, by mechanisms heavily disputed.
Children acquiring two languages in this way are called simultaneous
bilinguals. Even in the case of simultaneous bilinguals one language
usually dominates over the other. A further possibility is that a child may
become naturally trilingual by having a mother and father with separate
languages being brought up in a third language environment. An example
of this may be an English-speaking father married to a Mandarin Chinese
speaking mother with the family living in Hong Kong, where the
community language (and primary language of education) is Cantonese. If
the child goes to a Cantonese medium school from a young age, then
trilingualism will result.
 A term used in sociolinguistics to refer to the individual speakers who have this ability
to use t w o or more languages ; it contrasts with monolingual.
Multilingualism (or Plurilingualism). Multilingual abilities demonstrated are of several
levels of proficiency. (Crystal : 2008 )
 The term “multilingualism” can refer to either the language use or the
competence of an individual or to the language situation in an entire nation or society.
However, at the individual level it is generally subsumed under
“bilingualism.”(MICHAEL CLYNE: 2002)
All these definitions, which range from a native-like competence in two languages
to a minimal proficiency in a second language, raise a number of theoretical and
methodological difficulties. On the one hand, they lack precision they do not
specify what is meant by native like competence, nor by minimal proficiency in
a second language, nor by obeying the concepts and structures of that second language.

7
 Can we exclude from the definitions of bilingual someone who possesses a very
high competence in a second language without necessarily being perceived as a
native speaker on account of a foreign accent?
 Can a person who has followed one or two courses in a foreign language without being
able to use it in communication situations, or again someone who has studied Latin for
six years, legitimately be called bilingual?
On the other hand, these definitions refer to a single dimension of bilinguality,
namely the level of proficiency in both languages, thus ignoring non-linguistic
dimensions.
For example, Paradis (1986: xi), while suggesting that bilinguality should be depend
on a multidimensional continuum, reduces the latter to linguistic structure and
language skill. When definitions taking into account dimensions other than the linguistic
ones have been proposed, they too have been more often than not limited to a single
dimension. For example, Mohanty (1994: 13) limits the definition of bilingualism to its
social-communicative dimension, when he says that a bilingual persons or communities are
those with an ability to meet the communicative demands of the self and the society in their
normal functioning in two or more languages in their interaction with the other speakers of
any or all of these languages. More recent definitions insist on the specific characteristics of
the bilingual. For example, Grosjean (1985) defines a bilingual speaker as
more than the sum of two monolinguals in the sense that the bilingual has also developed
some unique language behavior. Equally for Ludi (1986) bilinguality is more than an
addition of two monolingual competences, but an extreme form of
polylectality. (Josiane F. Hamers and Michel H. A. Blanc:2004)
4. What causes Multilingualism?
A multilingual situation can develop for reasons which may be difficult to disentangle
because of their obscure historical origins. Often the situation is of the people's own
choosing; but it may also be forced upon them by other circumstances
 Politics: Annexation, resettlement, and other political or military acts can have
immediate linguistic effects. People may become refugees and have to learn the
language of their new homes. After a successful military invasion, the indigenous
population may have to learn the invader's language in order to prosper

8
 Religion: People may wish to live in a country because of its religious significance, or
to leave a country because of its religious oppression
In either case, a new language may have to be learned
 Culture: A desire to identify with a particular ethnic culture or social group usually
means learning the language of that group. Nationalistic factors are particularly
important
 Education: Learning another language may be the only means of obtaining access to
knowledge. This factor led to the universal use of Latin in the Middle Ages, and today
is one of the motivating factors behind the international use of English
 Economy: Very large numbers of people have migrated to find work and to improve
their standard of living. This factor alone accounts for most of the linguistic diversity
of the USA, and an increasing proportion of the bilingualism in present-day Europe
 Natural disaster: Floods, volcanic eruptions, famine, and other such
events can be the cause of major movements of population. New language contact
situations then emerge as people are resettled. (Crystal:2006)
The Benefits of being multilingual/ bilingual
Being multilingual/ bilingual person is something beneficial , not the contrary, as many
research conclude , so a multilingual/ bilingual person have an advantage in comparison with
monolingual person , many aspect of person life may developed through multilingualism/
bilingualism this paper listed few of them and there is a lot of other benefit this
paper cannot list them all .
1. Cognitive
Individuals who are bilingual switch between two different language systems. Their
brains are very active and flexible (Zelasko and Antunez, 2000). Research also shows
that bilingual people have an easier time for :
 Understanding math concepts and solving word problems more easily (Zelasko
and Antunez, 2000)
 Developing strong thinking skills (Kessler and Quinn, 1980)
 Using logic (Bialystok and Majumder as cited in Castro,
Ayankoya ,&Kasprzak, 2011)
 Focusing, remembering, and making decisions (Bialystok, 2001)

9
 Thinking about language (Castro et al learning other languages ( Jessner :2008)
 In addition, research indicates that bilingualism may delay the onset of
Alzheimer‟s disease (Dreifus: 2011).
2. Learning
School readiness and success for children who are dual language learners
(DLLs) is tied directly to mastery of their home language (Zelasko and Antunez,
2000). Bilingual children benefit academically in many ways. Because they are able
to switch between languages, they develop more flexible approaches to thinking
through problems. Their ability to read and think in two different languages promotes
higher levels of abstract thought, which is critically important in learning (Diaz, 1985).
The list of benefits of bilingualism is constantly growing. Current research shows that
people who use more than one language appear better at ignoring irrelevant
information, a benefit that seems to exist as early as seven months of age (Kovács and
Mehler, 2009). Thinking in a second language frees people from biases and limited
thinking (Keysar, Hayakawa, & An, 2011). Children who learn to read in their home
language have a strong foundation to build upon when they learn a second language.
They can easily transfer their knowledge about reading to their second language (Páez
and Rinaldi, 2006)
Individual vs. Societal Multilingualism /Bilingualism
Linguistics usually draw a distinction between individual and societal
multilingualism, although it is not always possible to maintain. Some countries
such as Canada, are officially bilingual in English and French, although not all
Canadians are bilingual. There are many more French-speaking Canadians who
learn English as a second language than English-speaking Canadians who learn
French. In other countries such as India, Singapore, and Papua New Guinea there
is a high degree of individual bilingualism with the average person knowing at
least two or more languages. In Singapore four languages, English, Mandarin,
Tamil, and Malay share co-official status, and most people are bilingual in
English and one of the other official languages.

10
Some of the connections between individual and societal bilingualism become
evident when we consider some of the reasons why certain individuals are or become
bilingual. Usually the more powerful groups in any society are able to force their language upon
the less powerful. If we take Finland as an example, we find that the Sami, Romanies, and
Swedes have to learn Finnish, but Finns do not have to learn any of these languages. Similarly, in
Britain, the child of English-speaking parents does not have to learn Panjabi or Welsh, but both
these groups are expected to learn English. In Papua New Guinea few children know English
before coming to school, yet most will still be educated in English because this language policy is
a legacy of the country's colonial heritage. The middle-class Anglophone (speaking English)
parents in Canada who send their child to a French immersion school are, however, by
contrast, under no obligation to do so. Many do so, however, as a means of enriching
their children's development and because they believe knowledge of another language is an
advantage. The co-official status that Singapore attaches to Tamil and Malay (also designated the
national language) is not matched by supportive language policies that guarantee their
transmission. School outcomes clearly reflect the advantages being given to the Chinese majority
(Gupta 1994). Even in countries where minority languages are recognized for some purposes,
what this means varies in practice. By “minority language” means one with a
relatively small number of speakers living within the domain of a more widely spoken language,
whose knowledge is usually necessary for full participation in society. Swedes in Finland
probably have the best legal protection of any minority group in the world. The next strongest
position is held by minority languages which have limited (often territorial) rights. This is the case
in Canada, where certain provinces are officially declared bilingual, and others, like
Ontario (where the national capital lies) are not. It would be naive, however, to assume that
bilingual countries were created to promote bilingualism, rather than to guarantee the legal right
to more than one language in a society.

We can distinguish between de facto (“by fact”) and de jure (“by law”)
bilingualism. There are often fewer bilingual individuals in de jure multilingual or
bilingual states than in those where de facto multilingualism or bilingualism occurs. A good
example is Switzerland, where territorial unilingualism exists under federal multilingualism.
Although Switzerland is widely cited as a successful example of multilingualism, only about 6
percent of Swiss citizens can be considered multilingual in the country's four official languages:

11
German, French, Italian, and Romantsch. English is much preferred over the other official
languages as a second language. Of the 26 cantons, 22 are officially monolingual.
Economic and political power is more greatly concentrated among German speakers.
(ROMAINE:2007).

5. RELATION BETWEEN DIGLOSSIA AND BILINGUALISM


When diglosia is interpreted as a differentiation of functions over
the use of language and bilingualism as the alternating use of two
languages in society, Fishman describes the diglossic relationship as
follows:
1. Bilingualism and diglosia
In a society that is characterized as a society that is bilingualism
and diglosia, almost everyone knows the variety or language of T and its
variety or language R. both types or languages will be used according to
their respective functions, which cannot be exchanged.
2. Bilingualism without diglosia
In societies that are bilingualist but not diverted there are a number
of bilingual individuals, but they do not limit the use of language to one
situation and another to another. So, they can use any language for any
situation or purpose.
3. Diglosia without bilingualism
In a society that has a diglosia but without bilingualism there are
two groups of speakers. The first group, which is usually more capable, is
a group of ruling groups that are only monasteries in the T language. The
second group which is usually larger, has no power in society, only speaks
the language R. Siatasi diglosia without bilingualism many of us met in
Europe before the first world war.
4. Not bilingualism and not diglosia
Communities that are not diglosia and not bilingual are of course
only one language and without variation and can be used for all purposes.
This situation is only possible in primitive or remote societies, which

12
today are certainly difficult to find. This non-diglocia and bilingual
community will melt if it has come into contact with other communities.

13
CHAPTER III

CLOSING

A. CONCLUSION
Diglossia refers to the existence of two varieties of a language; one
is a high variety and the other is a low one. In some societies the two
varieties are not of the same language like the Haitian Creole that is used
as a low variety and the standard French as a high prestigious variety.
There are a lot of differences between the H and L varieties. The H is
associated with social prestige, education, literature and formal use
whereas the L variety is related to everyday use and informal contexts.
Despite the differences between them, they share certain sets of
vocabularies. The use of one variety than the other depends on many
factors like the social distance between the speakers, formality of the
context and other factors.
Bilingualism or bilingualism is concerned with the use of two
languages or two language codes. In general, in sociolinguistics,
bilingualism is defined as the use of two languages by a speaker in
alternating with other people.
Multilingualism is shaped in different ways depending on a variety
of social and other factors which must be taken into account when trying
to assess the skills of speakers and how speakers use the languages they
know. It is possible ( or not according to some linguist ) for a bilingual to
be fluent in both languages taken together without being able to function
completely like a monolingual in either one on its own. The study of the
behavior of multilingual individuals and societies thus requires us to go
beyond many of the concepts and analytical techniques presently used
within linguistic theory which are designed for the description of
monolingual.

B. SUGGESTION

14
By reading this paper the author hopes that the readers can take
lessons so that they can be useful. And of course, I realize that in this
paper there are many weaknesses. Thus, it is a joy if there are many
criticisms and suggestions from the reader as consideration for future trips.

15

You might also like