diglossia (n.)

A term used in SOCIOLINGUISTICS to refer to a situation where two very different VARIETIES of a LANGUAGE CO-OCCUR throughout a SPEECH community, each with a distinct range of social function. Both varieties are STANDARDIZED to some degree, are felt to be alternatives by NATIVE-SPEAKERS and usually have special names. Sociolinguists usually talk in terms of a high (H) variety and a low (L) variety, corresponding broadly to a difference in FORMALITY: the high variety is learnt in school and tends to be used in church, on radio programs, in serious literature, etc., and as a consequence has greater social prestige; the low variety tends to be used in family conversations, and other relatively informal settings. Diglossic situations may be found, for example, in Greek (High: Katharevousa; Low: Dhimotiki), Arabic (High: Classical; Low: Colloquial), and some varieties of German (H: Hochdeutsch; L: Schweizerdeutsch, in Switzerland). A situation where three varieties or languages are used with distinct functions within a community is called triglossia. An example of a triglossic situation is the use of French, Classical Arabic and Colloquial Tunisian Arabic in Tunisia, the first two being rated H and the last L.