Discrete bilectalism: towards co-overt prestige and diglossic shift in Cyprus

Abstract

This article explores the nuances in the type of diglossic society in Cyprus towards a characterization of the precise stage of diglossic progression that accurately describes the current sociolinguistic state of Greek-speaking Cyprus. The question concerns the identification of that status as diglossic, as standardwith-dialects (social dialectia), or as bidialectal. We propose that the society can be characterized as diglossic, likely moving towards diaglossia. The term co-overt prestige is also introduced here, juxtaposed both with canonical Bourdieuan overt prestige and with the concept of covert prestige (Trudgill 1972), a juxtaposition which drives the classification. This article also puts forth the notion of (discrete) bilectalism to capture the "linguality" of Greek Cypriot speakers, that is, bilectal in the local vernacular, the L variety (Cypriot Greek), and the superposed official language, the H variety (Standard Modern Greek), thereby refuting the notion of a continuum bridging the two varieties. The case is also made here that studying language acquisition and development in diglossic societies contributes to a better understanding of discrete linguistic systems in children and fully developed speakers alike.

Imperfect Acquisition of a Related Variety? Residual Clefting and What It Reveals about (Gradient) Bilectalism

“…Unlike other geographical Greek varieties, which have been leveled out or are undergoing sweeping processes of leveling (Contosopoulos, 1969), and despite the fact that diglossia between Cypriot and Standard Greek is still going strong (Papapavlou, 1998;Arvaniti, 2010;Hadjioannou et al, 2011;Tsiplakou, 2011;Rowe and Grohmann, 2013), Cypriot Greek is a variety that still by-and-large resists full dedialectalization (Tsiplakou, 2011(Tsiplakou, , 2014aRowe and Grohmann, 2013). 1 As has been argued in previous work, dense contact between Standard and Cypriot Greek as well as a host of historical, socio-political, economic, and demographic factors have spurred on currently ongoing processes of leveling of local varieties and the emergence of a pancypriot koine (Terkourafi, 2005;Tsiplakou, 2006Tsiplakou, , 2009aTsiplakou et al, 2006Tsiplakou and Kontogiorgi, 2016), which now stands in a diglossic relationship to Standard Modern Greek.…”

“…1 As has been argued in previous work, dense contact between Standard and Cypriot Greek as well as a host of historical, socio-political, economic, and demographic factors have spurred on currently ongoing processes of leveling of local varieties and the emergence of a pancypriot koine (Terkourafi, 2005;Tsiplakou, 2006Tsiplakou, , 2009aTsiplakou et al, 2006Tsiplakou and Kontogiorgi, 2016), which now stands in a diglossic relationship to Standard Modern Greek. The koine acts as a robust buffer against dedialectalization in virtue of the fact that it is (perceived as) a hybrid system, displaying strong structural influences from Standard Modern Greek; such standard-like structural aspects allow for what Rowe and Grohmann (2013) have aptly termed (co-)overt prestige to accrue to the koine, due to is perceived, if not actual, convergence with the standard variety (Tsiplakou, 2011(Tsiplakou, , 2014b.…”

“…The exploration of structural mixing within the Cypriot Greek koine (Tsiplakou, 2014a,b) points to "arrested" convergence to Standard Greek, the H variety in Cyprus's diglossic context. Alternatively put, in terms of acquisition of a second, related variety, it seems that the dialect speaker is not fully bilectal (Grohmann and Leivada, 2012;Rowe and Grohmann, 2013).…”

Back in the U.S.S.R: A Case Study of English/Russian bilingualism using the model of a flexible bilingual spectrum

“…Language attainment in this manner can also have economic undertones, as not every parent has the means to provide this type of elite language instruction to their children. Rowe and Grohmann (2013) look at the diglossic progression of language in Cyrus in their study and introduce in the context of Cyprus a factor of "prestige types" in language, explaining that "…prestige is felt both consciously and non-consciously by speakers entering or functioning in [that] society, and conformity is essentially automatic" (Rowe and Grohamann, 2013). The idea of languages having levels of "prestige" or an "elite" status can be seen as having an impact on language learning.…”

Acquiring Clitic Placement in Bilectal Settings: Interactions between Social Factors

“…In such a complex linguistic environment, the varieties do not have well-defined boundaries. Rowe and Grohmann (2013) suggest that because Greek Cypriots eventually tease apart the varieties and render complete compartmentalizations (able to distinguish between CSG and SMG), Cyprus is (still) diglossic. To capture the linguality of Greek Cypriots, Grohmann (2013, 2014) propose the notion of "(discrete) bilectalism. "…”