Diglossic is an adjective that means tending to speak in different dialects in different settings. The Greek prefix D-I means ‘two,’ while glossa (GLOW sah) means ‘language.’ But diglossic doesn’t strictly mean bilingual or ‘having two languages.’ Instead it means ‘having two versions of the same language.’ More specifically, it refers to having a tendency to use one version of a language in some contexts and another in different contexts. Growing up with parents who spoke a ‘low’ version of Arabic at home while having a boss who spoke ‘high’ Arabic meant that Mahmoud had to become diglossic in his approach to language.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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