Question

The term __________ refers to a situation where a speech community uses two varieties of a language for different functions.

• A. Bilingualism
• B. Diglossia
• C. Pidgins
• D. Creoles

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Diglossia

• Diglossia refers to a situation where a speech community uses two distinct varieties of the same language:

  • One (the “high” variety) for formal, official, or literary functions.

  • The other (the “low” variety) for everyday, casual conversation.

• Example: In many Arab countries, Classical Arabic (high variety) is used in writing and formal speech, while local dialects (low variety) are used in daily life.

👉 The other options:

• Bilingualism: The ability of an individual or community to use two different languages.

• Pidgins: Simplified languages that develop for communication between groups with no common language.

• Creoles: Stable, fully developed languages that evolved from pidgins.