Diglossia: In a bilingual community, in which two languages or dialects are used differently according to different social situations.
Janet Holmes defines diglossia as having three crucial features:
- In the same language, used in the same community, there are two distinct varieties. One is regarded as high (H) and the other low (L).
- Each is used for distinct functions.
- No one uses the high (H) in everyday conversation.
In the following example it is easy to tell which variety you will use given the social situations:
- Telling a joke
- Interviewing for a job
- Giving a speech for a charity event
- Giving a speech for a friend for his/her birthday
- Cafeteria
