Language choice is a sociolinguistic phenomenon which refers to selecting languages for
different purposes in different contexts. The choice of languages might be conscious or
unconscious but it does not happen in a vacuum, rather, language operates in a context which is
situated in a speech community. This speech community may be diglossic, bilingual or
multilingual where languages have functional and contextual allocations. For instance, the
classical or standard or high variety (H) of Arabic is used for literacy, formal, public and official
uses whereas the vernacular, local or low variety (L) is used for informal purposes. Chatterjee
(1986) shows that the allocation of the two varieties of Bengali to different functional domains is
very strict, with no overlapping (cited in Coulmas, 2005:126). Fasold (1984) however talks about
a diglossic situation that involves one H and several L varieties, and he also mentions the
possibility of having different ‘layers’ of varieties where H and L forms overlap.
Multilingual societies inevitably face conflict over language choice. What makes this language
choice an obvious issue and concern in a multilingual society? Is the choice natural or forced?
What are the intentions of an individual when making a choice? What are the factors tha
influence the specific choice? In multilingual societies, language choice takes place on two