Question:

Task: select a country or a community in which two or more languages are in a diglossic relationship. You may select any country/community that has been shown to have such a linguistic situation except for the ones extensively discussed in the textbook (Switzerland, Haiti, Greece). 
Research the existing literature on the country/community of your choice and write a report about the diglossic situation in it.
1. provide a summary of the major characteristics of diglossia in point form. The textbook must be used as the main source for this part. TEXT Book: Ronald WARDHAUGH. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 6th Edition. ISBN: 978-1-4051-8668-1, Wiley-Blackwell Publishers
2. Identify the country/community you are focusing on, what the languages are used in it as well as when, and by whom, in what domains, etc. 
3. Match the linguistic situation in the country/community you selected with the characteristics of diglossia you outlined in step 1. Which are satisfied? Which aren�t? 
4. Does the situation in the country/community resemble a �narrow� or �broad� diglossia? Is the diglossic situation �leaking� in any way? 
5. Trace the linguistic situation during the past century or so (you may go further back in time if sufficient data is available) and identify what changes have been taking place. Speculate how the linguistic situation may develop in the future.
The word limit for this assignment is 600 words (+/- 50). Please include the word count (for the discussion part only, excluding in-text references).

link for specific book:
http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=JELvevZ1q5UC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Answer:

Title: Diglossia

Diaglossia is a linguistic situation in which two distinct codes exist in a society, each of which is used in different sets of circumstances. In essence, there is a functional separation with regard to the use of the two codes in the society (Wardhaugh, 2010). Diglossia is best understood by analyzing its various characteristics.

1. One of the characteristics is the existence of two varieties whose functions are clearly separated (Wardhaugh, 2010). For example, variety H may be designated usages in more formal settings such as political speeches, in the mainstream news media, in the executive, judiciary, and legislature. Variety L, on the other hand, could be used for informal communications such as in dialogues among friends, giving instructions to workers in occupations of low prestige, and communication in popular radio and TV programs.
2. Another characteristic of diglossia is the way words are borrowed. Ordinarily, variety L tends to borrow some words from variety H. This occurs as speakers of variety L attempt to speak their code in a formal way. In some cases, some pairs of words may be distinctly different yet they are used to refer to commonly occurring concepts and objects.
3. In diaglossia, one variety, variety H in this case, tends to have been widely studies, such that dictionaries, grammars, and standardized texts are available. On the other hand, for variety L, no such texts are available and there is no standard form.

This paper highlights the case of Tamil community in South Asia. From a regional perspective, South Asia is known for its linguistic complexity and the existence of diglossic situations, and the situation in Tamil is no different. In Tamil, the equivalent of variety H is normally described using terms such as Classical Tamil, Cen Tamil, and Literary Tamil. On the other hand, variety L is represented by Colloquial Tamil, Pandit Tamil, and Kotun Tamil.

In the case of Tamil, diaglossia manifests itself in a system of varieties, commonly referred to as a diasystem (Matiki, 2010). Each of the diasystems constitutes a continuum of varies that share certain characteristics. Each of the aforementioned diasystems qualifies to be in the diaglossic situation by virtue of exhibiting at least two characteristics of diglossia. Classical Tamil, Cen Tamil, and Literary Tamil are considered to be of Tamil H variety because their functions are superimposed in comparison to those of other varieties (Matiki, 2010). This sets them apart from the varieties that constitute Tamil L.

In a typical display of diglossic situation, codes that belong to the Tamil H variety are used in situations that are more formal while those of Tamil L variety are used in everyday situations. For example, Cen Tamil, which is typically of the H variety, is used in more formal settings, specifically in education and religion (Matiki, 2010). On the other hand, Kotun Tamil, which is of the L variery, is less rigid in terms of domains of use. In this regard, it is commonly used in popular radio and TV programs and in prose fiction.

In the case of Cen Tamil, there is availability of standardized texts, grammars, and dictionaries. Many people learn Tamil H in school while Tamil L is usually learned as a first language. Moreover, Tamil H is considered more prestigious, as shown regarding the domains of use in Cen Tamil. This explains why most words tend to be borrowed from Kotun Tamil (an L variety) to Cen Tamil (an H variety) and not the other way round.  In essence, this example of diaglossia in the Tamil community satisfies all the aforementioned characteristics. Moreover, the language situation in the Tamil community is a manifestation of broad diglossia, whereby several varieties function as the community’s mother tongue. Each of these mother tongues is used by different segments of the community.

For centuries, an appropriate infrastructure has been in place for ensuring that Cen Tamil (typical Tamil H) is preserved. The main agents of this preservation in the course of this time include Tamil grammarians and priests. During the past century, many changes have been taking place in the linguistic situation of the Tamil community. The diaglossic situation is likely to persist over a very long time owing to the strong symbolic values attached to Tamil L and Tamil H. Moreover, Tamil orthography in its current form can only be used to represent Tamil H.

 

References

Matiki, A. (2010) A Case Review of Tamil Diglossia, Language In India, 10(11), 392-397.

Wardhaugh, R. (2010) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 6th Edition, London: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.