"Standard language (also standard variety, standard dialect, and standard) is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage..."
Refers to the variety of a language that is considered the norm or standard for writing, education, and official purposes, and its relationship with non-standard dialects.
Linguistic variation: The study of differences in language use across different regions, social groups, and time periods. This includes discussing factors that influence variation such as geography, culture, and socio-economic status.
Dialect: A linguistic variety of a language spoken by a specific group of people that differs from the standard variety in terms of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
Standard language: A variety of language that is based on a prestige dialect and is used in writing, the media, and other formal situations.
Prestige dialect: A dialect that is considered the most esteemed and socially privileged within a linguistic community. People who speak this dialect are typically viewed as having higher social status.
Nonstandard dialect: A dialect that does not conform to the prestige dialect and is often associated with lower social status or informal settings.
Regional dialect: A dialect that is associated with a particular geographic region.
Accent: The specific pronunciation features that distinguish one group of speakers from another. This can include differences in vowel sound or intonation patterns.
Idiolect: The individual speech characteristics of a single speaker.
Sociolinguistics: The study of the relationship between language and social behavior. This includes analyzing patterns of language use in social interactions and exploring the role that language plays in constructing and reinforcing social identities.
Language change: The process by which a language evolves over time. This can include changes in vocabulary, pronunciation, or grammar.
Language contact: The study of how languages interact with one another and the social and linguistic consequences of this interaction.
Code-switching: The practice of alternating between two or more languages or dialects within a single conversation.
Language standardization: The process by which a dialect is selected as the basis for a standard language and the methods used to promote its use.
Language revival: The attempt to revitalize a language or dialect that has fallen out of use or is at risk of disappearing.
Language planning: The deliberate attempt to influence the development or use of a language or dialect, often for political or social purposes.
Standard Arabic: Used across the Arab world, it is based on Classical Arabic and is an official language of the United Nations.
Standard Mandarin: The official language of China, it is based on the Beijing dialect and is spoken by over a billion people worldwide.
Standard English: Spoken in many countries worldwide, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is based on the dialect of southern England.
Standard French: The official language of France and many Francophone countries. It is based on the dialect of Paris.
Standard Spanish: The official language of Spain and many South American countries. It is based on the Castilian dialect.
Standard German: The official language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, it is based on the High German dialect.
Standard Italian: The official language of Italy, it is based on the Florentine dialect.
Standard Portuguese: The official language of Portugal, Brazil, and many other countries. It is based on the dialect of Lisbon.
Standard Japanese: The official language of Japan, it is based on the Tokyo dialect.
Standard Russian: The official language of Russia and many other countries, it is based on the Moscow dialect.
"Typically, the language varieties that undergo substantive standardization are the dialects associated with centers of commerce and government."
"As a sociological effect of these processes, most users of this language come to believe that the standard language is inherently superior or consider it the linguistic baseline against which to judge other varieties of language."
"The standardization of a language is a continual process because a language-in-use cannot be permanently standardized like the parts of a machine."
"Typically, standardization processes include efforts to stabilize the spelling of the prestige dialect, to codify usages and particular (denotative) meanings through formal grammars and dictionaries, and to encourage public acceptance of the codifications as intrinsically correct."
"In that vein, a pluricentric language has interacting standard varieties; examples are English, French, and Portuguese, German, Korean, and Serbo-Croatian, Spanish and Swedish, Armenian and Mandarin Chinese; whereas monocentric languages, such as Russian and Japanese, have one standardized idiom."
"In Europe, a standardized written language is sometimes identified with the German word Schriftsprache (written language)."
"In contemporary linguistic usage, the terms standard dialect and standard variety are neutral synonyms for the term standard language..."
"...usages which indicate that the standard language is one of many dialects and varieties of a language, rather than the totality of the language..."
"...whilst minimizing the negative implication of social subordination that the standard is the only idiom worthy of the appellation 'language'."