The concept of “diglossia” in Caribbean creole situations
- 1 September 1985
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Language in Society
- Vol. 14 (3) , 345-356
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0047404500011301
Abstract
Ferguson's concept of diglossia is examined with a view to dedetermining its applicability to creole continua. The characteristics of classic instances of diglossia are subdivided into sociocultural and linguistic features, and these in turn are used as a basis for determining the extent to which different types of community might be fruitfully described as diglossic. The conclusion is drawn that creole continua share far more in common with Ferguson's defining cases of diglossia than they do not, and far more than other types of speech community. (Diglossia, Creole continua, Typology of speech communities)Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The Creole Situation in the Context of Sociolinguistic StudiesPublished by John Benjamins Publishing Company ,1980