Standard language

People use many ways to talk. A standard language is one special way. It is used in schools and news.

This way of talking is often used by leaders. It helps people in a country share ideas. Many people use it for work and trade.

Rules help make this language stay the same. Books called dictionaries show the right words. Grammar books show the right way to speak.

Some lands have only one standard way. Other lands have more than one. This can happen if a land has many groups.

Languages are always changing. A standard language can change too. It helps many people understand each other.

People speak many ways. A standard language is one way that is very organized. It has set rules for grammar and spelling. It also has set rules for words. This is called standardization.

Standard languages often have high status. This means people see them as important. They are used in schools and on the news. They are also used in government and business. This helps people from different places understand each other. Some languages have only one standard. These are called monocentric languages. Examples are Russian and Japanese. Other languages have more than one standard. These are called pluricentric languages. English and French are examples.

Rules for these languages are often found in books. Dictionaries show the right words to use. Grammar books show the right way to build sentences. These books help keep the language stable. This makes it easier to teach new learners. However, language is always changing. A standard can never stay the same forever. Most of the 7,000 languages in the world do not have a standard way.

A standard language is a way of speaking and writing that follows set rules. These rules cover grammar, spelling, and the words people use. In many communities, a standard variety is seen as having high status or prestige. This means it is often viewed as an important or official way to communicate. People use these standard forms in schools, news broadcasts, and government offices. This helps people from different places share information more easily.

Making a language standard is a process called standardization. It usually starts when one specific way of speaking is chosen. This variety is often used by people in centers of business or government. Once it is selected, leaders help spread it to other people. They might use grammar books or dictionaries to show the correct way to use the language. These books act as a guide for everyone to follow. This process helps make the written form of a language more uniform.

History shows that different countries create standards in different ways. In the United Kingdom, Standard English grew from the language used in medieval courts. By the 1700s, it became the norm for the upper class. In France and Spain, the government helped create standards through official institutions. For example, the Royal Spanish Academy helps guide the Spanish language. Some languages, like English, grew more informally over a long time. This shows that how a language becomes standard depends on its history.

There are many different types of standard languages in the world. Some languages are called monocentric, which means they have only one standard. Russian and Japanese are two examples of this type. Other languages are pluricentric, meaning they have more than one standard variety. English, French, and Spanish are examples of pluricentric languages. In China, Standard Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect. It is also called Pǔtōnghuà, which means "common speech."

Standard languages are very useful, but they are not the only way people speak. Many people use other dialects, which are often called nonstandard or vernacular dialects. While a standard language can help a nation feel united, it is always changing. Language is a living thing that never stays perfectly still. Most of the 7,000 languages spoken today do not even have a formal standard. This reminds us that every way of speaking is part of a rich human story.

A standard language is a specific variety of a language that has undergone substantial codification. Codification means the language has been organized into formal rules for grammar, vocabulary, and writing systems. In a community, a standard variety usually holds the highest social status or prestige. It often serves as the official language for an entire country. This variety is frequently used in government, news broadcasting, and education. Because it is taught in schools, it becomes a common way for people to communicate across different regions.

The process of creating these rules is called standardization. This process typically begins when one particular variety is selected from many related dialects. This selection often happens because the variety is used in important centers of commerce or government. Once a variety is chosen, it is spread socially and culturally through influential people. To maintain the standard, linguists and scholars create formal grammars and dictionaries. These reference works stabilize spelling and define specific meanings for words. This helps ensure that the written form of the language remains uniform and recognizable to everyone.

Standardization can follow different paths depending on the culture and the state. In some cases, like Standard English, the process happens informally and in small pieces over time. In other cases, like French or Spanish, the process is formal and directed by institutions. For example, the Royal Spanish Academy is an organization that helps guide the Spanish language. These institutions produce official guides, such as "El buen español," to set linguistic norms. Other varieties might be developed through deliberate social action to unify an ethnic or cultural group. In some instances, like Modern Hebrew, specific linguistic features are chosen from existing dialects to build a new standard.

Linguists categorize languages based on how many standard varieties they possess. A monocentric language is one that has only one standardized idiom. Russian and Japanese are examples of monocentric languages. In contrast, a pluricentric language has multiple interacting standard varieties. English, French, Portuguese, German, and Spanish are all pluricentric. These languages may have different standards used in different countries. Even within a single language, these standards can differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, or spelling.

Standardization also has significant political and social effects. When a new nation-state is formed, creating a standard variety can help establish a shared culture. This can link different social and economic groups together. However, standard languages are not always seen as superior for objective reasons. The belief that a standard is "better" is actually rooted in social perceptions. Varieties that do not have high social status are often called nonstandard or vernacular dialects. This can lead to social subordination, where certain ways of speaking are viewed as less worthy.

History provides fascinating examples of how standards are shaped by politics. When Norway became independent from Denmark in 1814, the written language was Danish. This led to the development of two different Norwegian standards. One, called Bokmål, was based on the speech of urban areas like Oslo. The other, called Nynorsk, was developed by Ivar Aasen based on western Norwegian dialects. Similarly, in Yugoslavia, Standard Macedonian was developed using western dialects. This was done to make it linguistically distinct from Bulgarian.

In China, the development of Standard Chinese shows how a language can transform. For two millennia, formal writing used Classical Chinese, which was very different from spoken speech. In the early 20th century, intellectuals pushed for a standardized spoken and written form. By the 1930s, Standard Chinese was adopted with pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect. It is now called Pǔtōnghuà, or "common speech," in the People's Republic of China. This standard now dominates public life and is studied more than any other Chinese variety.

It is important to remember that standardization is a continual, never-ending process. Because human language is always changing, a language cannot be permanently fixed in one state. Even the most established standards are not perfectly uniform or fully stabilized in their spoken forms. Out of the approximately 7,000 contemporary spoken languages in the world, most do not have a codified standard. This means that the majority of human communication happens through diverse, living varieties that exist outside of formal rulebooks.