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"Diglossia"
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Playing with languages
Over several generations villagers of Dominica have been shifting from Patwa, an Afro-French creole, to English, the official language. Despite government efforts at Patwa revitalization and cultural heritage tourism, rural caregivers and teachers prohibit children from speaking Patwa in their presence. Drawing on detailed ethnographic fieldwork and analysis of video-recorded social interaction in naturalistic home, school, village and urban settings, the study explores this paradox and examines the role of children and their social worlds. It offers much-needed insights into the study of language socialization, language shift and Caribbean children's agency and social lives, contributing to the burgeoning interdisciplinary study of children's cultures. Further, it demonstrates the critical role played by children in the transmission and transformation of linguistic practices, which ultimately may determine the fate of a language.
eBook
Reading Comprehension in the Arabic Diglossia: The SVR Between the Spoken and Literary Varieties
This study aimed to examine the validity of the “simple view of reading” (SVR) model in the diglossic Arabic language. Using a longitudinal design, we tested whether decoding and listening comprehension (LC) in kindergarten can later predict reading comprehension (RC) in the first grade and whether the contribution of LC to RC differs between the spoken and literary varieties of Arabic. The participants were 261 kindergartners who were followed to the first grade. Our results from separate SEM analysis for the spoken and literary varieties revealed some similarity between the explained variance in the spoken (52%) and literary (48%) variety models. However, while the contribution of LC to RC was higher than the contribution of decoding in the spoken variety model, an opposite pattern was observed in the literary variety model. The results are discussed in light of the diglossia phenomenon and its impact on comprehension skills in Arabic, with theoretical and pedagogical implications.
Journal Article
When Developmental Language Disorder Meets Diglossia: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Listening Comprehension Among Native Arabic-Speaking Preschoolers
Diglossia in the Arabic language refers to the existence of two varieties of the same language: the Spoken Arabic (SA) and the Literary Arabic (LA). This study examined the development of listening comprehension (LC) among diglossic Arabic K1–K3. For this purpose, a large sample of typically developing (TD; N = 210) and developmental language disorder children (DLD; N = 118) were examined using SA and LA texts. The analysis of variance conducted on their performance in LC revealed significant effects of K-level, group (TD vs. DLD) and text affiliation (SA vs. LA): higher scores in TD and in SA. A significant interaction between text affiliation and K-level was observed among the TD but not the DLD group. This interaction indicated that the gap in LC between the SA and LA varieties decreased with age only among TD children. The theoretical and pedagogical implications of these results are discussed.
Journal Article
Sacred Speech and Written Word: Hebrew–Yiddish Diglossia in Hasidic Homiletics
This article examines the complex linguistic phenomenon of Hebrew–Yiddish diglossia within Hasidic homiletic literature, particularly focussing on sermons from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While previous scholarship has emphasised Hebrew’s dominance in Hasidic written works, this study demonstrates how Yiddish has played a crucial role in preserving and transmitting Hasidic teachings. Through analysis of primary sources, three distinct models of Hebrew–Yiddish integration are identified: parallel texts in both languages within the same volume, limited Yiddish passages integrated within predominantly Hebrew texts, and a complete amalgamation where the languages become nearly inseparable. Analysis indicates that Hasidic authors and editors deliberately preserved Yiddish elements to maintain the authenticity of the tzaddik’s original oral teachings while adhering to Hebrew’s traditional status in religious literature. This linguistic practice elevated Eastern Yiddish’s cultural position concurrent with similar (but different) developments in Haskalah literature. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how Hasidic literature’s incorporation of spoken Yiddish into sacred texts contributed to the language’s legitimisation as a medium for religious discourse. This examination offers new perspectives on linguistic hierarchies in religious Jewish texts and illuminates how Hasidic literature developed innovative solutions to balance authenticity and tradition in religious writing.
Journal Article
When diglossia meets dyslexia: The effect of diglossia on voweled and unvoweled word reading among native Arabic-speaking dyslexic children
Native Arabic speakers read in a language variety that is different from the one they use for everyday speech. The aim of the present study was: (1) to examine Spoken Arabic (SpA) and Standard Arabic (StA) voweled and unvoweled word reading among native-speaking sixth graders with developmental dyslexia; and (2) to determine whether SpA reading ability among children with dyslexia predicts StA reading fluency in the two orthographies: voweled and unvoweled. A comparison was made to three age groups of typically developing children: a group matched by chronological age, a group of children who are two years younger, and a group of children who are 4 years younger. Findings show that diglossia has a strong impact on reading ability in dyslexic children. Moreover, vowelization plays a pivotal role in the reading ability of Arabic-speaking children with dyslexia in both SpA and StA. This role is evident in the different performance patterns of dyslexic participants as compared with controls on word-reading accuracy and fluency for SpA versus StA. Finally, StA word-reading fluency appears to depend on and to be reliably and powerfully predicted by SpA word-level reading ability. These results underscore the role of diglossia and vowelization in the manifestation of dyslexia in Arabic-speaking children.
Journal Article
Exploring complex diglossia in Javanese society
This essay examines diglossia within the Javanese community, highlighting a complex, tiered language structure reflective of social hierarchies, expanding upon Fasold’s concept of double overlapping diglossia. Classic diglossia, as outlined by Ferguson, is contrasted with broader interpretations by Fishman, which have been criticized for overgeneralization. Javanese society showcases an intricate model of diglossia, where Bahasa Indonesia and various forms of Javanese are utilized across different social domains. The study explores the use of High and Low language varieties within Javanese society, specifically in educational and community settings. Research indicates that language use is adaptive, with choices reflecting the interplay between formality, social relationships, and educational contexts. Despite the depth of current studies, further exploration is needed to understand the impact of global languages on traditional diglossic practices, especially among the youth. This essay proposes investigating how global trends and digital communication influence the Javanese language’s future trajectory, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of linguistic evolution in Javanese society amid globalization.
Journal Article
O dyglosji w powiesci na przykladzie Dnia sadu Salvatorego Satty/On Diglossia in Literature: Example of Salvatore Satta's Il giorno del giudizio
Sardian language appears in special communicative contests in which Italian results inadequate, despite all its richness and cultural heritage. In the novel relatively few and repetitive words of foreign origin are inserted, and the author involves himself in almost simultaneous translation. Any attempt directed to find adequate linguistic analogies between the phenomena of a given social group in a different language results in failure. Nazwy wlasne osób, zawodów, zjawisk, czynnosci, sprawowanych funkcji: - così si chiamava la serva, sa teracca (Satta 1979: 57) /tak nazywala sic sruza^ca, sa teracca (Satta 1982: 60); - amicos de posada (Satta 1979: 35) /przyjaciele od stohi (Satta 1982: 34); - sa Tataja (che vuol dire la balia) (Satta 1979: 132) / zjawila sic sa Tataja (co znaczy: mamka) (Satta 1982: 145); - boeporporì, boe montadì (bue di porpora, bue mantellato) (Satta 1 979: 30) / wole brunatny, wole zaprzçgowy! (Satta 1982: 28); - tittiu (così si chiamava in famiglia lo zio prete) (Satta 1979: 194) / tittiu (tak w rodzinie nazywano wuja ksiçdza) (Satta 1982: 216); - ziu Poddanzu, il suo fedele alternos (Satta 1979: 70) /ziu Poddanzu, jego wierny alter ego (Satta 1982: 74); - Sebbene nessuna chiesa vi sia di questo nome San Pietro, Santu Predu (Satta 1 979: 31)/ zaden kosciól nie nosil tu imienia swiçtego Piotra, Santu Predu (Satta 1982: 29); - scesero dalla corriera sas surbiles, le streghe che popolavano le montagne del Gennargentu (Satta 1979: 236) / wyszry ? omnibusu sas surbiles, wiedzmy zamieszkuja^ce góry Gennargentu (Satta 1982: 263); - «Ghettadommos, ghettadomos!» (distruggicase) (Satta 1979: 247) / «Ghettadommos, ghettadomos!» (burzysz nasz dorn!) (Satta 1982: 275); - uscirono per la strada urlando: \"a su connottu\" (\"al conosciuto\") (Satta 1979: 180) / wyszli na drogç, krzycza^c: a su connottu (precz wiadomo zkim) (Satta 1982: 199); - l'anno s'annu e su connottu (Satta 1979: 180) / \"rok wiadomo kogo\" (s 'annue su connottu) (Satta 1982: 199); - vestiva da cosinu (Satta 1979: 131) / ubieral sic jak cosinu (Satta 1982: 144).
Journal Article
Phonological awareness in Arabic: the role of phonological distance, phonological-unit size, and SES
The study tested phonological awareness in a cross-sectional sample of 200 Arabic-speaking 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th graders from low and mid-high Socio-Economic Status (SES). Participants were native speakers of a local dialect of Palestinian Arabic spoken in the north of Israel. Twelve phonological awareness tasks were administered: six of them included stimuli that have an identical form in Standard Arabic and in the spoken dialect (hereafter, SpA words; e.g., /sɑʒɑd/ ‘knelt’) and six used StA words with a unique form different from the one used in the dialect (hereafter, StA words; e.g., /ʔɑχɑð/ ‘took’). Three tasks (blending, segmentation, deletion) were developed for each set of words to test syllable awareness and three additional ones to test phoneme awareness. Repeated measure ANOVAs showed a cross-sectional growth in syllable and phoneme awareness across grades, as well as significant differences between children from low versus mid-high SES. The results also showed a consistent effect of phonological distance on phonological awareness across all tasks and in both groups with awareness of SpA words higher than StA words. At the same time, the impact of phonological distance was more prominent in children from low SES as against mid-high SES, in phoneme awareness as against syllable awareness, and in segmentation and deletion tasks as against blending tasks. The results underscore the roles of item-based properties of phonological distance and phonological-unit size, as well as the role of participant-based characteristics of SES in phonological awareness in Arabic diglossia.
Journal Article
Diglossia in Ancient Hebrew
The present article summarizes the research assembled in my book Diglossia in Ancient Hebrew (1990), which in turn was based on my doctoral dissertation of a decade earlier, “Evidence for Spoken Hebrew in Biblical Times” (1980). The following linguistic issues are surveyed: gender neutralization (in both verbs and pronouns), the merger of III-ʾ and III-y verbs, the adjectival clause, and the genitive exponent.
Journal Article