Introduction
English is one of the widely spoken, written and read languages in the world. The language’s attainment of a global stature becomes evident as people watch their daily doses of news. When world events are being report, they are being delivered in English. Interviews are being conducted using the English Language. It is also being used in more than ninety countries as an official or semi-official language. Research physicists and chemists uses English as a working language. Currently, it has been estimated that more than one billion are learning the English language.
In the case of Europe, many European nations are beginning to take action to make English their lingua franca. The language is spreading across Europe. From the north to the southern parts, English is now well-established as a second language in countries like Denmark, Sweden and Netherlands. Even though, English is only considered as a second language in these countries, it is still most likely that many of their people are adept at conversing using the English Language.
For example, in Sweden greater than 89 percent of the population claims that they can speak English. This figure is part of the 2001 survey as part of the European Year of Languages. The repost also yielded that English is the widely known language in Europe.
As the English Language continues to evolve to meet the needs of its users, it tends to veer away from its original form, while retaining characteristics that will allow people to associate it back to the original. This means that the language changes yet people are still able to recognize as part of the English Language.
Given that people we use the language are separated both geographically and culturally, it is inevitable that as the language is being taught and learned by one nation certain local flavors will be added to it to make it fit within the cultural context of the new users. This means that non-native English learners tend to make the language their own and thus create varieties that make it distinguishable form other varieties of the language.
This means that the users of the English language have performed the task of formulating their own versions of the language based on their culture. This can prove to be problematic since the proliferation of the use of the language aims to promote a kind of language that can be understood by its users regardless of their cultural background. In order for this to be achieved, a language should have a standardized form that will be taught and learned by the speakers.
As such, there is a need to understand the underlying perceptions regarding Standardized English since it is being pushed that Standardized English should be promoted to ensure the universality of the language. The process of standardizing the English language has been in progress for many centuries.
The process of standardization can be traced to the steady development in the direction of uniformity in written English. Another premise for standardizing a language or a variety of the language for that matter is to determine its correct and incorrect usage as well as the superiority or inferiority of the language, may it be conscious or otherwise. For example, double negatives are considered to be incorrect yet it is very common. If people think of them as mistakes, is it accidental that many people share the same mistakes about the use of the language?
This paper will be investigating the definition of Standard English in the context of the Modern Britain. However, the paper realizes that the task at hand is not simple. This is the case since language is a complex phenomenon. For if it was not, then linguists themselves should not be facing complications regarding the definition of Standard English. Given the nature of the paper, the works of Peter Trugill will be used as the basis for the definition of Standard English. AS such, the formula used by Trugill in Standard English will also be used in this paper.
This means that this paper will also be identifying what Stand English is not in order to determine what it is. Characteristics of Standard English will be presented in order to complete a picture of what comprises Standard English. The characterization of Standard English will also be able to determine it nature in order to understand the underlying perceptions about the topic.
Standard English
Based on the tem itself it can be stipulated that Standard English is the type of English, speech or written, that can be comprehended by most users. Trugill define standardization as a process that involves determination, codification and stabilization, where determination is the selection of a language or variety for a specific use within a society or nation, codification is the acquisition of a publicly known as well as fixed form and stabilization is the focusing of a diffused variety on a fixed along with stable form. In other words, standardization can be understood as the formulation of a publicly known and fixed form of language or variety that has a specific use within a given context.
In this case English can be considered as a standard if it has a publicly recognized and stable form that is of use for a specific purpose within a specific context. If this holds true then why is there confusion among English-speaking countries regarding Standard English?
This maybe brought about by the presence of numerous English varieties as stated earlier. In order, to complete the process of standardization, it is important to determine what variety of English will be used, for what purpose and what context. This is were the work of Trugill will come into play. To be able to supply the needed information regarding the definition of Standard English, it is important that the information be sorted out to know what goes were and what does and does not belong.
Standard English is [not]…
There are a number of misconceptions about Standard English. One of which is the notion that Standard English is the standard language. It ahs been stated earlier that the process of standardization involves the selection of the languages or variety of the language that will be used. Since the English language has many varieties, it is not safe to assume readily that Standard English pertains to the language itself.
If the notion that Standard English is a misconception, it is only logical to assume that it is a variety of the English language. Standard English the variety of the language widely used in writing most especially printing. Standard English is also wide used in education and thus it has been referred to as the variety spoken by the educated people. Standard English is being taught to non-native English speakers since is has been mentioned that the question of standardization deals with the correct and incorrect usage of the language or variety.
Standard English is also not an accent. This is an important aspect to be discussed especially in the case of Britain where widely described and high status is connected with accent called Received Pronunciation. In the British society, accents do not have a geographical reference. Instead, accent is associated with class. It is the case that all RP speakers are Standard English Speakers. However, not all Standard English Speakers are RP speakers. RP is considered as standardized. However, it is only a standardized accent of English and does not necessarily Standard English in itself.
This means that a speaker of Standard English is still considered as such even though his /her pronunciation is different form that of other Stand English speakers. This is verified by the presence of Stand English speakers in various countries around the world. Even though, they speak Standard English, their accents are still distinct more often based on their country or region of origin.
So far, the paper was able to identify that Standard English is neither a language nor an accent. It is also the case that Standard English is not a style or a register. Standard English as a style is also another common misconception. This means that there is also the notion that Standard English has everything to do with the choice of word or the formality of the style. Indeed, styles are varieties of languages that can be divided in formal or informal. Formal styles are employed during formal social situation, while informal styles are being used during informal social situations.
Nevertheless, speakers do not respond to the social situation based on its formality or lack of. Speakers are somehow able to change the degree of formality of a given social situation. They are able to do this by with the use of stylistic choices. Different languages also exhibit varying degrees of formality that represents different social situations and relations. This means that languages offer various degreed of formality to their speakers.
In the case of the English language is endowed with a full possible range of styles that can reflect the most or the least formal. However, not all speakers of the language have access to this range of styles. This can be due to their educational background or even cultural background. Based on the statements made above, Standard English should not be connoted as a style.
If Standard English is not a language, accent or style, then what is Standard English? Most British linguists agree that Standard English is a dialect. This has been evident in the discussions made above where it has been mentioned a number of times that Standard English is a variety of the English Language that is commonly understood by the majority of its speakers. In some ways Standard English is like other dialects like Cockney and Yorkshire and thus spelling it with capital letters.
However, Standard English as a dialect is unusual compared to other dialects. For one, Standard English do not have an associated accent that most dialects have. Therefore, Standard English is not readily distinguishable just by listening to its phonology and phonetics. Second, Standard English is considered important culturally, intellectually and socially. This means that the distinction between Standard English and other dialects it nor arbitrary, which is brought about by the process of standardization. In addition, there is no continuum that links Standard English with the other dialects due to codification that resulted in a feature or either being standard or not.
Due to these reasons, Standard English in the field of education is important since it allows the learners to become familiar with the variety of English that will allow them to go beyond the limitations of other English varieties such as accent. This also suggests that learners who are taught Standard English have greater chances of understanding a wide range of English speakers regardless of their origin. A Standard English speaker from India can understand a Standard English Speaker from Russia.
Uses of Standard English in Modern Britain
It has been stated that Standard English is widely used in spoken and written forms. This is the case since Standard English is the variety of the English language that allows its speaker to understand the majority of other English Speakers. This characteristic of Standard English allowed it to find its place in a number of social, intellectual and cultural activities.
For example, Standard English is commonly used in delivering news may it be in printed or spoken form. Many newspapers and television programs are using Standard English. This may very well be the effect of the characteristic of the variety that allows the majority of English speakers to comprehend it. After all, printed materials as well as information conveyed through other forms of media aims to rely their messages and as such, they aim to be understood. Since Standard English do not have any associated accent, its use can also convey that the news, for example, is not biased.
Since Standard Education plays a big role in intellectual activities, it should not come as a surprise that it is being used in schools. For the same reason that Standard English is being used in television and radio, it is being used in the educational system to ensure that the students will be able to understand their lessons and learn more from the experience.
Role of Local Dialect
Despite the benefits being offered by the use of Standard English, the importance of local dialects should not be cast into darkness. It is also important to note that local dialects were formed and are being used for a reason. Most of these reasons are aligned with the cultural importance of keeping the dialect alive. Otherwise, people would just do away with their respective dialects altogether.
Local Dialects reflects the cultural heritage of a specific group of people that uses them. Within the vocabulary of the local dialect signifiers can be found that tells the story of they became the way they are. Most important of all is the fact that their dialects express the way they view the world and everything in it, which when done using other dialects can result in a feeling of lack. Through the course of history of the people and the dialect itself, they were able to form words that are sometimes uniquely theirs, in terms of meaning and lexicography itself. These words are based on their experiences. As such, only these words will be able to express how they truly feel for a certain event or person.
Local dialects may not be as linguistically important as the formation or use of a standard one. However, it is important that existing local dialects be preserved and even promoted along side standardized language or varieties in order to ensure the all gaps of communication will and can be bridged.
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