Dialects—Two Tongues in One Mouth

In most Arabic-speaking countries, the Arabic of public use (the media, speeches, writing) is essentially a different language from the one used casually and learned from parents. This phenomenon is called diglossia and is common worldwide. Swiss German speakers only occasionally see the language they speak on the page, where High German is required. Different languages are also often used in diglossic relationships: the Tanzanian often uses English and Swahili at work and a local native language at home. Diglossia is the template within which 6,000 languages and countless dialects share space on a planet with only 200-odd nations.

The nonstandard dialect and the standard one often coexist in a structured relationship in a society. The standard or “high” (H) variety is used in formal situations, while the nonstandard or “low” (L) variety is used in informal ones. This is called diglossia, Greek for “two tongues.”

Typical examples: Modern Standard Arabic versus Egyptian Arabic; High German versus Swiss German in Switzerland; Katharévousa versus Dhimotikí in Greece.