According to the material, is English considered a diglossic language?

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Only in Some Regions
• D. It Depends

Answer: (B)

Diglossia involves two distinct language varieties used by a community for different social purposes—one high variety for formal writing and official speech, and one low variety for everyday conversation, with limited mutual intelligibility between them. English is not considered diglossic because, although there are many registers and regional dialects, these do not form a strict high/low pair that is separated by function and status. People may switch styles from formal Standard English to informal spoken English, but both forms are varieties of the same language and are generally mutually intelligible, lacking the clear, codified high variety that diglossia requires. Therefore, according to the material, English is not diglossic.