Vol. 20:1 (2010) ► pp.124–151
Diglossia in East Asia
This article examines the most extensive case of diglossia in history, that of diglossia in East Asia. In pre-modern times, Classical Chinese functioned as the high (H) language variety in not only China, but also Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and this entire region can arguably be viewed as a single instance of diglossia in the sense that the rise and eventual decline of diglossia in these societies followed similar patterns, and changes in one society often affected the others. Examination of diglossia in East Asia shows that even during long centuries of apparent stability, gradual changes were always underway, hence supporting Hudson’s (2002) view that stability in diglossic patterns is at best relative. The East Asian case also supports Coulmas’ (2002) view that writing is pivotal to any theory of diglossia, in that the division of roles between H and L in East Asia was essentially one of written/spoken language. Finally, the case of East Asia suggests that there are two essentially different kinds of diglossia, a traditional kind which is common in pre-modern societies and in which H is what Anderson (2006) calls a “sacred language,” and a less common modern kind in which H is a modern standard language.
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.20.1.10sno
Cited by
Cited by 7 other publications
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.