Diglosia
/id/Source Language: The language or dialect this term originates from (ID).Definition & Context
NounNoun
A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.
A sociolinguistic phenomenon in which a speech community uses two language varieties side by side, namely a “high variety” and a “low variety”, each serving distinct and complementary social functions.
Synonyms & Variants
bilingualisme
Closely related but conceptually distinct. Bilingualism refers to individual ability, whereas diglossia refers to the functional distribution at the community level.
kedwibahasaan
The use of two languages or two language varieties alternately by a speaker in social interaction.
pembakuan bahasa
The process of selecting and establishing one language variety as a standard which often creates diglossic conditions.
situasi kebahasaan
The condition of language use in a society that includes the division of functions between formal and informal varieties.
dwibahasaan fungsional
A descriptive equivalent in standard Indonesian capturing the core concept of diglossia, though less precise than the technical term.
stratifikasi bahasa
A broader concept encompassing social language hierarchy in general, with diglossia representing one of its most structured forms.
variasi bahasa
A broader and more general term in sociolinguistics, encompassing diglossia as one of its manifestations.
alih kode
Code-switching is a phenomenon that frequently occurs as a consequence of diglossic situations, yet the two remain linguistically distinct concepts.
Usage Notes or Etymology
The term diglossia derives from the Greek diglōssos, meaning “two languages” or “two tongues”, a compound of di- (two) and glōssa (tongue, language). The concept was popularized in modern linguistics by Charles A. Ferguson through his seminal 1959 article titled Diglossia, published in the journal Word. Ferguson defined diglossia as a situation in which two related language varieties coexist within a single speech community. The “high variety” (H) is reserved for formal contexts such as education, religion, and government, while the “low variety” (L) is used in everyday conversation and informal settings. In the Indonesian context, diglossia is clearly observable in Javanese, where the krama register functions as the high variety and ngoko as the low variety. More broadly, the use of standard Indonesian in formal domains alongside regional languages or colloquial slang in informal domains also reflects a widespread diglossic pattern.
Real-world Usage
Diglosia masih sangat terasa dalam kehidupan masyarakat Jawa sehari-hari.
English Translation
Representative of real-world usage and contextual accuracy.