Deglossing
Deglossation is a linguistic term used to describe the end or fading of a diglossia . People living in a diglossia situation use two languages in their everyday life that are responsible for clearly separated areas of life. For example, the German-speaking population in Switzerland usually speaks in their respective Swiss-German dialect in everyday life , but writes and reads almost exclusively standard German .
A de-digitization ends this functional specialization of language ability.
This can happen, for example, through the emergence of a dialect-standard continuum in which a smooth transition between the two language varieties develops if both are sufficiently closely related.
Another option is to give up one of the languages. This is the case in many immigrant groups who use the language of their old homeland in their early days, but after a few generations it is hardly used and is then no longer learned and passed on by the younger members.
The end of a diglossia can also occur when the functional separation between languages disappears. When the linguistic domains of usage converge and mix, the languages are no longer used diglossically, but more freely. Normal multilingualism then develops , which is characterized by parallel use, language changes and possibly a beginning mixing of languages.
