Standard English - What Is It

By: Gabriel Rise
Submitted: 2007-01-17 11:29:09
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What is Standard English? It’s going to be pretty difficult to give a exact definition because the cultural values concerned are huge. Standard English could possibly be defined as the form of language considered to be the 'rule' to abide by when used as the means of communication in education, government and the law. These connections give the perception that Standard English is the prestigious language form, as it is also used in the financial world and in the Church. Therefore knowledge of Standard English is seen to be crucial.

Standard English is the country's universal language if you like, as speakers of all varieties of English can understand the standardized form therefore we generally hear Standard English spoken on the television and radio news shows. In its written form Standard English can be found in formal styles such as business letters and essays. Because of this unified understanding, this variety of English is taught to second-language speakers, which preserves its cultural value.

Standard English is also sometimes referred to as BBC English or the Queen's English.

The importance of Standard English in education was reinforced by the 1990s National Curriculum, which stated that Standard English was the language of social communication and that children should be taught that it was required in formal contexts.

Standard English is the variety of English with which other forms of English are compared. Those that differ grammatically and sometimes lexically are said to be non-standard varieties. Some people view these non-standard varieties as being inferior towards Standard English, but this is simply not the case. They are different but definitely not inferior. All dialects and languages are linguistically equal as each has the ability to become standardized. In some cases people make judgments about the users of the non-standard varieties, sometimes assuming that the non-standard users are inferior in some way. This could be why it has become so risqu? to try and complete a task such as defining Standard English, which would initially seem so simple.

Standard English is only one variety of English out of the many, even though it is often referred to as the 'standard language'. It is however seen as the most important variety because of its common comprehension.

'Standard English is thus not the English language but simply one variety of it.'

The term 'standard' implies that the variety is static, whereas 'non-standard' is adaptable to change. This is misleading as all varieties are subject to change, including Standard English.

Sometimes when people are considering Standard English, they mistake it with Standardized Southern British English. These people usually class all other varieties of English as dialects, when in fact Standardized Southern British English is actually a dialect itself. This dialect originated at about the end of the fifteenth century just after the Middle English period, within the Oxford, London and Cambridge triangle. This was due to the area's associations with intellectual and political factors because of the prestigious universities and the government residing in the area.

Across the world we can see that there is a 'competition' between Standardized Southern British English and Standardized American English for the Standard English that should be spoken in foreign countries.

Although Standard English originated in the South-East of England, it is no longer considered to be a geographical dialect as it is spoken throughout Britain and other English speaking countries. Therefore it can be said that Standard English is solely a social dialect, if an extraordinary one due to its cultural importance. It is also unusual in the sense that it has no associated accent.

In his book 'Standard English: the widening debate', Peter Trudgill offers that 'Standard English is a social dialect which is distinguished from other dialects of the language by its grammatical form.'

This was his conclusion to his extensive research into the classification of Standard English, and the problems arising during the process.

Stein and Quirk argue that Standard English is not a social class dialect because The Sun (a British tabloid newspaper) is written in Standard English, even though the majority of its readers belong to the working class. The statement is quite irrelevant because all newspapers that are written in English are written in Standard English, regardless of their readership.

The promotion of standardized English in Britain was influenced by some important historical factors: The introduction of the printing press in the late fifteenth century lead to the first published book written in English in England, the inauguration of grammar schools (English was used as the language of education which contributed to its acceptance as a standard language), the publication of dictionaries and grammar text-books in the eighteenth century and the introduction of mandatory state primary education in 1870.

In the nineteenth century the phrase 'Standard English' was used to describe the universal form of English because it was a recognized system of writing. In the early 1900's Standard English had become associated with social class as it was seen as the language of the educated.

Standardization applies rather differently to speech than written prose. We are all taught to write in Standard English but most of us continue to speak in regional dialect, or speak Standard English with an accent.

It is important not to confuse Standard English with Received Pronunciation, which is sometimes the case.

It has been suggested that Received Pronunciation is a standardized accent of English and not Standard English itself. Speakers of Standard English can be found in all English speaking countries, although it is spoken with many different non-RP accents. Received Pronunciation (RP) may be the standard form of pronunciation but the use of Standard English is ultimately more important due to the minority that speaks RP. Only 2%-3% of the British population speaks pure RP so it would be unobtainable for the majority of the population. The majority of RP speakers live in the Southeast but similarly to Standard English, it is not confined to a particular geographical region. In her book, 'Mastering Advanced English Language', Sara Thorne writes that RP is socially very highly respected and is associated with high social status and an excellent education. In education it is mostly associated with public schools. Although social respectability is becoming less of the case in modern days, as BBC presenters are modifying their use of RP by introducing their own regional dialects.

Whilst all RP speakers speak Standard English, the reverse is not necessarily the case.

Standard English has nothing to do with pronunciation. In spoken contexts, we adopt our language use depending on the formality of the situation we are in. Our speech may be more or less standardized depending on the circumstances. This is different towards our written approach, where we tend to write in Standard English for the majority of the time.

Trudgill suggests that perhaps 9%-12% of the population speak Standard English but with some form of regional accent.

In Peter Trudgill's report of 'What Standard English isn't', he states that Standard English is not a style and that the phonological sensitivity to stylistic context has no connection to Standard English since Standard English has no connection to phonology.

So, after many views of what Standard English is and is not, it can be said that it is definitely the language used by all English speakers in communication, in some way or another. Almost every English speaker who is literate will have to use Standard English at some point in his or her life, so this is why the variety remains the most important and respected in the English Language.

Article source: Expert Articles