BILINGUALISM AND
DIGLOSSIA IN SPAIN
Defining Individual Bilingualism
What is bilingualism?
Definitions:
– Weinreich (1968) “The practise of alternately using two languages will
be called bilingualism, and the person involved, bilingual.”
– Diebold (1964) “Incipient bilingualism”
– Bloomfield (1933) “In the cases where this perfect foreign-language
learning is not accompanied by loss of the native language, it results in
‘bilingualism’, native like control of two languages.”
– Mackey (1970) “It seems obvious that if we are to study the
phenomenon of bilingualism we are forced to consider it as something
entirely relative…We shall therefore consider bilingualism as the
alternate use of two or more languages by the same individual.”
Factors to take into account (Mackey):
– Degree, function, alternation, interference.
Examples
1. A 2yo who is beginning to talk, speaking English to one parent and Welsh to
the other.
2. A Danish immigrant in New Zealand who has not had contact with Danish
for the last 40 years.
3. A schoolchild from an Italian immigrant family in the USA who increasingly
uses English both at home and outside but whose older relatives address
him in Italian only.
4. A young graduate who has been studying French for eleven years.
5. A personal interpreter of an important public figure.
6. The Turkish wife of a Turkish immigrant in Germany who can converse
orally in German but cannot read or write it.
7. A Japanese airline pilot who uses English for most of his professional
communication.
8. A fervent Catalanist who uses Catalan at home and work, but is exposed to
Spanish in the media etc and is fully conversant in both.
Bilingualism as a CONTINUUM
Describing Individual Bilingualism
AGE
– Early bilingualism, late bilingualism
CONTEXT
– Natural/ascribed bilingualism, achieved/secondary bilingualism
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SIGN AND MEANING
– Coordinated bilingualism, subordinate bilingualism, compound
bilingualism
ORDER AND CONSEQUENCE
– Incipient and ascendant bilingualism, recessive bilingualism
COMPETENCE
– Maximalist/minimalist views, semilingualism
USE/FUNCTION
ATTITUDE
– Consciousness of Bilingualism
Societal Multilingualism
Historical Factors:
–
–
–
–
–
Military conquest, occupation, annexation
Political marriages and succession arrangements
Colonisation
Migrations and immigration
Federation
Contemporary Factors
–
–
–
–
Neo-colonialism
Present-day Immigration
Language Promotion
Internationalisation
Societal Bilingualism Cont.
Horizontal Bilingualism
Territorial monolingualism
Territorial bilingualism
Instability
Diglossia & Charles Ferguson
Diglossia – basic definition:
Use of two languages/varieties of a language in one speech
community but in different situations.
Charles A. Ferguson (Word, 1959) – created English word ‘diglossia’ from
French ‘diglossie’ (no English word before this to separate diglossia from
standard bilingualism)
FERGUSON’S CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF DIGLOSSIA
FUNCTION:
• Which language is used when
• High language (‘H’) – e.g. Church sermon, political speech, news broadcast
• Low language (‘L’) – e.g. conversations amongst family/friends, cartoon strip
• Mixing up the uses  speaker becomes object of ridicule.
PRESTIGE:
• H seen as superior (more beautiful & logical) maybe as religious texts were written in it
• Can lead to snobbery. Contemporary writers use words of old H to sound intellectual
Acquisition:
L taught at home – mother tongue
H is taught in formal education – superposed
 children can speak L better than H and write H better than
L!
Before standardisation at least, H has dictionaries,
vocabulary guides and a set grammar; L has no unified
grammar and may have lots of varieties within it
 Grammar & vocabulary range of H, even after
standardisation = more complex
Stability of Diglossia:
• With illiteracy in society, diglossia can live for centuries /
forever
• Widespread literacy can lead to unification of the 2
languages  problem - which one to choose as base?
DIGLOSSIA:
‘a relatively stable language situation in which, in
addition to the primary dialects of the language
(which may include a standard or regional
standards), there is a very divergent, highly
codified (often grammatically more complex)
superposed variety, the vehicle of a large and
respected body of written literature, either of an
earlier period or in another speech community,
which is learned largely by formal education and
is used for most written and formal spoken
purposes but is not used by any sector of the
community for ordinary conversation’
Charles A. Ferguson
Other Theorists’ views / Types of Diglossia
Ferguson’s ideas mainly still stand some outdated and have been expanded


Joshua Fishman
biglossia – diglossia involving two completely separate languages
digraphia – H is for written use, L is for conversational use
•
Pauwels
 interlingual diglossia - 2 different languages
 intralingual diglossia - both derived from same language
 diglossia as a ‘continuum’ – ranging from rigid diglossia (clearly defined
codes/situations for use) to fluid diglossia (lots of overlapping of use)
•

Fasold
Double-nested diglossia – two Hs, one L (‘lower’ H acts as H and L)
•
•
Polyglossia – more than 2 languages
(Code-switching – 2 languages used in one situation/sentence)
Language Choice and Domains
(Ferguson would argue this is ‘societal bilingualism’ and not diglossia)
LANGUAGE CHOICE:
GROUP – age, religion, sex…
SITUATION – formality-informality, status equality-inequality…
ROLE RELATIONS – e.g. mother-daughter (both as speaker & listener)
TOPIC – can overrule the 3 factors above
 DOMAINS:
•
e.g. family, playground and street, school, church, military (Schmidt-Rohr)
 LANGUAGE SHIFT:
•
can occur with socio-political changes over time
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BILINGUALISM & DIGLOSSIA
(Joshua Fishman)
BILINGUALISM AND DIGLOSSIA:
occurs when definite roles (of prestige) are established in a society
everyone understands both (generally)
DIGLOSSIA WITHOUT BILINGUALISM:
in past or in less developed countries with great social divide
each group doesn’t fully understand the other but have no need to
BILINGUALISM WITHOUT DIGLOSSIA:
in societies with social unrest or change (e.g. immigrant influx in Western
society during industrialization era)
taught native language for work – this used at home and their native
language bought to work
 ‘pidgin’ versions of both languages; inevitable language shift
NEITHER BILINGUALISM NOR DIGLOSSIA:
in small, isolated communities (but rare) with no social hierarchy or
immigration
still words people don’t recognize (e.g. words used by young people to old
people)
Galician History
12th – 14th century ‘Golden Years’, present
in all formal domains
16th – 18th century ‘ Dark Ages’, entirely
absent from formal domains
19th century Renaissance, won back some
areas of formal use
1983 Statute of Autonomy and Law of
Linguistic Normalisation, officially present
alongside Spanish in all formal domains
Galician Speakers
Highly proficient
Galician the language of preference
Only in oral communication
Written communication improving through
education
Old, lower classes, rural, less educated
Negative image
Less social success
Galician Usage
Code change
– Education
– Professional/economic interest
– Respect/courtesy
– Social prestige
Informal/unofficial social contexts
Classic diglossic situation
Education, Church, Media
Education
– Increased Galician language proficiency
– Degalicianise Galician speakers
– Though important for status and survival
Church
– Prestige and influence
– Mass predominantly taken in Spanish
Media
–
–
–
–
–
Reflect and condition sociolinguistic behaviour
State-owned TV/radio Spanish
Local TV/radio Galician
Daily press Spanish
Advertising Spanish
Conclusion
Classic example Diglossia
Legal provisions → ↑ proficiency and
positive attitude
Galician still seen as the low language (L)
and Spanish the high language (H)
Sociolinguistic inequality
Outlook bleak
Examples of bilingualism
and diglossia in the Basque
Country
Euskalherria consists of three
principal areas:
•the Basque Autonomous
Community (BAC), made up of
Gipuzkoa, Araba, Bizkaia
•Navarra
•the three French provinces of
Iparralde.
•The Basque Autonomous Community Statute of Autonomy 1979
– Castilian and Basque share co-official status
•High rate of bilingualism, encouraged by institutions such as the
education system,
•However, the majority language of the BAC is Castilian.
Basque
Castilian
•family and friends
•high-status situations
that required a degree
of formality
•predominantly oral
situations,
•e.g. academic spheres.
•used informally and
daily
repression under the
regime
urbanisation
immigration
…mean that the diglossic
situation has changed.
‘The situation in the BAC could be best
described as fragmentary bilingualism
with residual diglossia in the Basque
speaking districts of the BAC.’
2001
BAC
Navarra
Iparralde
Euskaldunes
29.4%
10.3%
24.7%
Cuasi-euskaldunes
11.4%
6.6%
11.9%
Erdaldunes (Castilian
59.2%
83.1%
63.4
or French speaking)
•Euskaldunes: capaces de entender y hablar euskera
•Cuasi-euskaldunes: Con alguna competencia activa o simplemente pasiva
en euskera
•Erdaldunes – Sin ninguna competencia en euskera’
•Since 1991 there has been an increase of 5.3% in the number of
euskaldunes in the BAC
•an increase of 25% in 1991 to 48% in 2001 of basque speakers in the age
range 16 – 24
•‘In times of rapid urbanisation, it was seen rather as an
annoying obstacle to geographical and social mobility.’
•Suffered harsh repression under Franco’s regime
•Immigration - Castilians entered the BAC in the
industrial revolution
•Drop in number of Basque speakers, in favour of
Castilian
• Basque became the language of the
rural poor, came to represent
‘backwardness’ in an era of progress
•Ikastolas – private schools to promote
the basque language in 1960s
•1982 the Law of Normalisation of the
Use of the Basque Language
•Bilingualism Decree of 1983
In the BAC, there are three different
models of bilingual education.
Model A
the language of instruction is Castilian
Basque is taught as a second
language for 3 to 5 hours a week.
Model B
Basque and Castilian are both used
as languages of instruction
Model D
Basque is used as the language of
instruction
Castilian is taught as a subject.
Evolution of the three linguistic models at pre-university level
1983 - 84
1990 - 91
1996 - 97
2002 - 03
Model A %
72.8
50.6
31.5
30.6
Model B %
10.5
24.9
27.7
22.5
Model D %
16.5
24.4
40.7
46.4
•Model A – decline in number of students
•Models B and D – increase in popularity
Diglossia
•In theory, Basque can be used in all
levels of society.
•However, in practice, the majority of all
daily interactions take place in Castilian
Many don’t use Basque, even if they
have the capability to.
Keeping it in the family
2006
Basque
Autonomous
Community %
What language do you speak in with your friends?
Most often in Basque
46
Both in Basque and in Castilian
19
Mainly in Castilian
35
What language do you speak in in neighbourhood shops?
Most often in Basque
41
Both in Basque and in Castilian
17
Mainly in Castilian
42
What language do you speak in in banks?
Most often in Basque
51
Both in Basque and in Castilian
10
Mainly in Castilian
39
What language do you speak in in the health centre?
Most often in Basque
37
Both in Basque and in Castilian
14
Mainly in Castilian
49
What language do you speak in with your partner?
Most often in Basque
47
Both in Basque and in Castilian
9
Mainly in Castilian
44
What language do you speak in with your children?
Most often in Basque
69
Both in Basque and in Castilian
12
Mainly in Castilian
19
What language do you speak in at home?
Most often in Basque
44
Both in Basque and in Castilian
12
Mainly in Castilian
44
‘…the linguistic behaviour of Basque
speakers has changed: they now use their
own language in more diverse social
contexts than ever before. This, together
with the language promotion efforts made
by many different institutions, has
contributed to an improvement in the
perceived social status of Basque.’
Catalonia
Population: 6,343,110
GDP :196,546€million (18.7% of total
Spanish GDP)
Officially Bilingual –
– Catalan is the official language of Catalonia,
together with Castilian, the official language of the
Spanish State. All persons have the right to use
the two official languages and citizens of
Catalonia have the right and the duty to know
them.
How Many People Understand
Catalan?
Diglossia in Catalonia
Historically
– Industrialisation
– Franco Dictatorship
Current situation : “the diglossic situation that was,
in the past, attributed to Catalonia, has ceased to exist”
Biglossia as opposed to Diglossia
Catalan or not Catalan? – That is
the Question!
In-group/ intergroup interaction
It is proper to Speak Catalan only to those
who are know to be Catalan
– Location
– Apperence
– Accent
Fa cara de català?
Bilingualism in catalonia
Involuntary Bilingualism
– Prefer to use their own language but can
speak Castilian
Natural Bilingualism
Achieved / Secondary Bilingualism
Passive bilingualism
Conclusions
Catalonia is a bilingual region – re-enforced
by the state (language planning)
Probably more appropriate to talk about
biglossia or interlingual diglossia
Natural, achieved/secondary, passive and
involuntary bilingualism.
Catalan is a language of prestige and is
promoted as such by the Catalan people.
Standardised form of Catalan – Some slight
regional variation but there is a standard form
which also prevents diglossia.
Conclusion
Bilingualism
Individual
Societal
There is no single definition but instead a
scale of different interpretations of what
constitutes bilingualism
Diglossia
Two languages co existing within a society
with completely separate functions
Different statuses for the two languages
Spanish Examples
Only truly a state of diglossia in Galicia
Less distinction between Castilian and the
minority language in Catalonia and the
Basque Country
Galicia – the language with the least
prestige. Perhaps why it is in the most
danger?
Bibliography
Hoffman, C. (1991) An Introduction to Bilingualism (Longman : New York)
Romaine, S. (1995) Bilingualism Second Edition (Blackwell Publishing : Oxford)
Wei, L. (2000) The Bilingualism Reader (Routledge : London)
Hudson, A. (2002) Outline of a Theory of Diglossia in International Journal of the Sociology of
Language – www.international .ucla.edu
Pradilla, M. (2001) The Catalan-speaking Communities in Mulitilinguaism in Spain ed. Turell, M
(Multilingual Matters: Clevedon)
Woolard, K. (1989) Double Talk: Bilingualism and the Politics of Ethnicity in Catalonia (Stanford
University Press : Stanford)
Beswick, J (2007) Regional Nationalism In Spain: Language Use and Ethnic Identity in Galicia
(Multilingual Matters : Clevedon)
2001 Spanish Census www.ine.es
Lasangabaster, D. and Huguet, A. (2007) Multilingualism in European Bilingual Contexts –
Language Use and Attitudes (Multilingual Matters : Clevedon)
Wright, S. (1996) Monolingualism and Bilingualism – Lessons from Canada and Spain
(Multilingual Matters : Clevedon)
www.eustat.es
Etxebarria, M El Bilinguismo En El Estado Español (Bilbao)
Skutnabb-Kangas, T (1981) Bilingualism or not: The Education of Minorities (Multilingual Matters:
Clevedon)