LANE 424 / Chap 4
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Chap 4: Language in society (p. 68)

Bilinguals and multilinguals constitute between 1/2 to 2/3 of the world's population.

There is no language without a language community.

Majority language / Indigenous language / immigrant minority language

Diglossia refers to the situation where there are two varieties of the same language (a
high variety and a low variety) / or two different languages (a majority language [H]
and a minority language [L]) existing side by side within a geographical area.

Bilingualism is essentially a characterization of individual linguistic ability
whereas diglossia is a characterization of the societal allocation of functions to
different varieties/languages .

In diglossic communities different languages or varieties are used for different
functions; in different domains. (see the Table, p. 69)

The territorial principle is a claim to the right to a language within a geographical
area (e.g. the situation in Belgium: there are three different regions where Flemish,
French and German speakers have language rights inside their regions)

The personality principle: Status to the language is given to individuals or groups
whenever they travel in a country (e.g. Canada Francophones have the right to use
French wherever they travel across Canada).

What about the immigrant minority language? Language is an important marker of
identity and a reflection of the migrant original culture. How can the immigrant
community ensure the continuity of its mother tongue?
LANE 424 / Chap 4
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Chap 4: Language in society

Additive and subtractive bilingual contexts (p. 74):
o
o


Additive context is where the addition of a second language is unlikely to
replace the first language and culture. Each language has different functions
in the society. (e.g. Saudis who learn English as a second language will not
lose their Arabic but learn another language and some aspects of its culture.
Subtractive bilingualism occurs when the learning of a second language
means losing the first language. This form of bilingualism is common among
children of immigrants. This may relate to loss of cultural or ethnic identity.
Language shift (LS) and language maintenance (LM) (pp. 74-75):
o
LS and LM are two sides of the same coins. The two terms are usually used
to describe a minority language in relation to a majority language.
o
Language shift refers to a downwards language movement. LS refers to the
process whereby a family or speech community using one language shifts to
using another language due to language contact. The last stages of language
shift are called language death.
o
Language maintenance : The term LM is used to describe a situation in
which a speaker, a group of speakers, or a speech community continue to use
their language in some or all domains of language use despite competition
with the dominant or majority language. LM refers to relative language
stability in number of its speakers and its retention is specific domains (e.g.
home, school, religion).
Factors encouraging language shift/ maintenance (pp. 76-77):
Factors encouraging LS
Factors encouraging LM
A. Political, social and demographic factors
1. …
2.
3.
….
B. Cultural factors
1. …
2.
3.
…
C. Linguistic factors
1. …
2.
3.
…
LANE 424 / Chap 4
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