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The concept of “diglossia” in Caribbean creole situations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

Donald Winford
Donald Winford
Affiliation:
Department of Language and Linguistics, The University of the West Indies
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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)

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , September 1985 , pp. 345 - 356
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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