A Sociolinguistic Study of Diglossia in Iraqi Mosuli Arabic

Abstract

One of the most notable features in the speech community, especially in Arab society, is diglossia. The present study sheds light on the diglossia phenomenon among the interviewer and interviewees who represent the government and official bodies in a formal situation, in a radio broadcast (Sawt al Mouaten) aired on Radio AL-Ghad in Mosul. The researcher adopted an eclectic model consisting of Ferguson (1959) and Albirini (2011) to classify the Arabic language and examine the motivations under which this linguistic phenomenon is adopted. The study aims to investigate the motivations behind using two varieties, namely modern standard Arabic as a high variety and the Iraqi Mosuli Dialect as a low variety, among the interviewer and interviewees in a radio broadcast (Sawt al Mouaten). The findings indicate that diglossia is a communication strategy employed by the interviewer and interviewees to convey their message to various social segments of the audience, with fourteen motives behind its use. The most prominent of these are Prestige, which highlights the important aspects of discourse, formality, emphasis, the introduction of formulaic expressions, and daily-life sayings. Also, the participants have specific roles when using diglossia, such as adviser, preacher, expert, or efficient manager.