Examining Diglossic Status in Political Domain: A Case Study of Ekiti State 2014 Governoship Election Campaign

Abstract

The traditional linguistic situation of a diglossic community posits by Ferguson (1959) is a stable one. However, several scholars have attempted to redefine and modify Ferguson’s concept of diglossia by examining the linguistic status of the language varieties used within a speech community or a nation and their functionality. The aim of this study include, to establish the political domain classification for possible ascertaining of the variety mostly suitable for use; to investigate the stability of the diglossic status of the varieties in use in political domain, and to investigate if there is a common ground (a domain), in which both High (H) and Low (L) varieties can function simultaneously. The data for this study was collected through tape recording of the campaign rallies of the three leading political parties that participated in the 2014 Èkìtì State governorship election and through participant observation. The political parties are All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), and Labour Party (LP). We found out in this study that Ferguson’s functionality parameter for High and Low varieties in diglossic situation cannot be generalized in all sociolinguistic domains. For instance, in political domains especially, when it comes to language use in political campaigns; and as such, there is room for differentiating between formal and informal domains. Consequently, politicians result to the use of both the standard language (High variety) and its various dialect(s) (Low varieties) to communicate their intentions.