Standard English: History, present, future

​​In a nutshell

Standard English is a widely recognised form of the English language used as a norm for teaching and learning. It has traditionally been used as a written form, particularly in education and official documents and as a spoken form in formal settings. In the present day, Standard English continues to be widely used and is also becoming more inclusive of diverse English dialects. In the future, it is likely that Standard English will remain important but also become more open to the influence of other varieties of the language and the trend towards bidialectism.

The history of Standard English as a prestige written form

The codification of one dialect as a Standard form is only one piece to the puzzle: the final stage of establishing a Standard is for it to enter prestige status among speakers. Below is a brief history of this process for English.

The printing press and newspapers

The implementation of Standard English has largely been instigated in its written form. The advent of the printing press in the 15th century is the first obvious stage of acceleration toward a Standard form for English. As the volume of printed texts increased, with it came a perceptual shift in the shared written standards set by the presses over handwritten texts. The popularity of newspapers from the 18th century onwards also helped to establish this prestige form of English.

The impact of religion

The impact of organised religion was great in establishing a prestige written form of English. While Christian church services had previously been in Latin, from the 16th century onwards, English became the dominant language for proceedings. This culminated in the highly popular King James Bible of 1611, setting out words and phrases that are still used in the present day, whether they have a religious connotation or not.

Example

All things must pass. – Matthew 24:6

The root of the matter. – Job 19:28

Eat, drink, and be merry. – Ecclesiastes 8:15​

The impact of colonialism

Furthermore, the impact of colonialism cannot be understated in establishing the prestige form of English across the world. As Britain established colonies around the world, it brought English with them. English was the lingua franca for communication between the colonisers and the colonised and was also the language used for official communications and government. 

Example

In British India, English-language education was given to create a class of intermediaries between the colonial government and the local population, and those literate in Standard English were regarded as educated elites compared to the rest of the population, helping to cement Standard English as the prestige form.

Standard English and the spoken form

While Samuel Johnson's prescriptivism extended only to the written form, by the 18th century, prescriptivist scholars became more concerned with English pronunciation. Thomas Sheridan's "A Course of Lectures on Elocution" placed a higher value on the spoken language inside the court versus local or regional dialects.

It was not until the 1970s that the BBC's informal policy of requiring newscasters to speak RP (Received Pronunciation) was relaxed. Accent continues to be a status symbol up to the present day and this is supported by experimental evidence. Giles and Powesland (1975) conducted an experiment in which speakers of various accents were asked to read aloud the same piece of prose and other participants were asked to cast value judgements on the speakers. Speakers of RP were consistently awarded with the highest value judgement, with working-class accents of Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and London perceived as the least prestigious. Trudgill (2002) asserts that this perception and discrimination based on accent continues in the 21st century.​

Standard English in the present day

Sociolinguists document a phenomenon known as dialect levelling, which is where previously isolated regional dialects converge and become more similar over time. 

Example

One example of dialect levelling in England is the convergence of regional accents in the southeast of the country, which has been influenced by the growth of London as a major cultural and economic hub. The accent spoken in the southeast, known as "Estuary English," has become increasingly common in the region and is seen as a more neutral and prestige form of English.

Technology has had a significant influence on the way Standard English is used and perceived as a prestige form of the language in the modern day. It has made it easier for people to access resources for learning and improving their English skills and this has contributed to the spread and prestige of Standard English. There are now a wide range of online courses, language learning apps and other resources that teach Standard English and help people to develop their skills in the language.

The future of Standard English

Linguist David Crystal (2003) argues that the increasing trend towards bidialectism, or the use of multiple dialects or varieties of a language, will challenge the traditional notion of a single "standard" form of English. He suggests that people will increasingly use a range of dialects and accents depending on the context, and that this will lead to a more diverse and dynamic concept of Standard English. He argues that the increasing interconnectedness of the world and the spread of English as a global language, will lead to greater variation and diversity in the way English is spoken and written. This may lead to a more flexible and inclusive concept of Standard English.

References

Crystal, D. (2003). English as a Global Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Giles, H., & Powesland, P. F. (1975). Speech style and social evaluation. London: Academic Press.

Trudgill, P. (2002). Standard English: What it isn’t. In T. Bex & R. Watts (Eds.), Standard English: Widening the Debate. London: Routledge.