Linguistic characteristics of standard English

Background

What does linguistics tell us about SE? SE plays a crucial role in our educational system as the kind of English that all children are expected to be able to use, in speaking as well as in writing, by the end of compulsory education. It is often mentioned in official documents such as the National Curriculum for England, but it is never defined, so teachers are left to interpret it as best they can. Linguistic and sociolinguistic scholarship (e.g. on processes of standardization, language variation and change) may usefully inform educational discussion of standard English (see bibliography).

 

The present status of SE is the result of a historic process of standardization. This process started many centuries ago, and is still continuing as part of the ongoing development of English as a whole. Set against the process of standardization are other linguistic processes such as the maintenance of features of non-standard varieties and ongoing change within and across all varieties.

 

In contemporary England and Wales there are now relatively few linguistic differences between standard and non-standard varieties of English, though SE can be combined with a wide range of different accents. The relationship between these varieties is, however, fairly complex, as we discuss below. The situation in Scotland and Northern Ireland is different again.

What is standard English?

Linguistic characteristics of standard English

SE is one variety of modern English, alongside a wide range of non-standard varieties. SE may be distinguished from non-standard varieties according to a relatively small number of linguistic features, exemplified in the following incomplete list:

standard	non-standard
I was, we were	I/we was or I/we were
those books	them books
the house that Jack built	the house what/as Jack built
He did it.	He done it.
He came yesterday.	He come yesterday. (and likewise for thirty or so other irregular verbs)
Nobody said anything.	Nobody said nothing.
He ran really quickly.	He ran real quick.
I didn't break it.	I never broke it.
He hasn't finished.	He ain't finished.

Almost all these differences consist of alternative ways of expressing the same meaning, and in almost every case the differences are linguistically trivial and show no communicative advantage either for standard or for non-standard. For example, the sentences He ain't done nothing and He hasn't done anything are different ways of expressing the same meaning, each of which follows a clear set of grammatical principles. It is not the case that non-standard shows worse logic or less care in speaking, any more than this would be true of (say) French. English and French are very different linguistic systems, and similarly, standard and non-standard varieties of English are slightly different linguistic systems.

 

In discussing language variation, it is conventional to distinguish between dialects (varieties that differ in terms of pronunciation, grammar, lexis, semantics) and accents (varieties that differ just in terms of pronunciation). According to this distinction, SE is a dialect that may be spoken in a range of accents, including received pronunciation (RP) and regional accents. A distinction may also be made between standard/nonstandard varieties (based on the social and regional background of speakers) and registers, associated with particular contexts of use (e.g. the language of law, education, casual chat between friends). There is however a relationship between these different dimensions of variation, in that SE is commonly associated with more formal registers such as those of law and education though it also has a range of casual registers like any other dialect.

 

While it is possible to identify some linguistic characteristics of standard and non-standard varieties of English, as in the list above, the relationship between these varieties is more complex than the list suggests:

 

· While some non-standard features are widespread (e.g. Nobody said nothing, He ran real quick), many are local so they vary from place to place (e.g. us for standard our, as in We had us tea, found in Yorkshire, Central and East Lancashire and parts of the East Midlands)

· Equally important is the regional variation in SE, with small but recognisable differences even between England/Wales and Scotland (e.g. standard Scottish English That mustn’t be true meaning the same as standard English English That may not be true), not to mention the international variation discussed below.

· Differences within SE also occur because informal SE is different from formal writing (e.g. There's about ten people outside). Equally there are hyper-correct forms such as between you and I, which are hard to classify as either standard or non-standard.

· Because differences between standard and nonstandard varieties are relatively small, there are also considerable overlaps between varieties.

· All varieties, including SE, change over time (e.g. the older Have you any children? is giving way to Have you got any children? or Do you have any children?).

· Individual speakers vary in the way they use language, and may also shift between varieties for stylistic effect.

 

Varieties of language, therefore, do not exist as discrete, fixed, unified entities, and indeed ‘SE’ may be better regarded linguistically as an idealization.