57

on the notion of diglossia and the unfortunate opposition between « high » and « low » : its causes and its consequences Two aspects of the adjectives « high » and « low » applied to diglossic situations are discussed here : their meaning changes due to being associated with the notion of diglossia between 1928 (by J. Psichari), 1959 (by C. Ferguson) and more recent years (by other authors); and the consequences of qualifying them thus, which Ferguson suggested is an element of the general typology of sociolinguistic situations. The present article seeks to illustrate the contrary, namely that the heterogeneous and complex situations of today rarely fit in with such a narrow and rigid terminology.