Wald Paul, 'Diglossia in situation : duality of representations of the linguistic repertory of the Bangui Yakona'
Diglossia is distinct from bilingualism because of the fact that the relation of precedence is established between ways of speaking which are related for the speaker. It accounts for the delimitation of the varieties in a repertory that the speakers may conceive either as unitary or as dual, both positions being socially motivated. So, the situation of the Yakoma who are urbanized in Bangui, and whose language is at the origin of the urban vernacular (Sango) may be considered by the speakers either as belonging to an unitary model or as bilingualism. The role played by vernacular code-mixing and by functional alternation for the models of representation will be emphasized.