Standard language

A standard language is a special version of a language that has been carefully organized and given special importance. This usually happens in places with lots of trade, government, and education. People often write books about its rules and teach it in schools. Because of this, many people think this version of the language is better or more correct than other versions, even though this idea is more about social beliefs than facts.

In the study of language, making a language standard is called standardization. This process helps make writing and speaking more the same across a big group of people. For example, Standard English is a well-known standard language. Standardization can include making spelling, meanings, and grammar rules clear and widely accepted.

Many languages have more than one standard version, known as pluricentric languages. Examples include English, French, Portuguese, German, Korean, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swedish, Armenian, and Mandarin Chinese. Other languages, like Russian and Japanese, have just one main standard version.

Sometimes, the idea of a standard language also means the whole language, including its standard form. In Europe, people might call this a Schriftsprache, which means "written language." The words standard dialect and standard variety are also used to describe this idea, showing that the standard language is just one type among many types of the language.

Linguistic standardization

A standard language is a special version of a language that is used widely in writing and speaking. It is chosen and agreed upon by many people in a community, often because it is used in important places like schools, books, and government offices. This helps everyone understand each other better.

Sometimes, this standard language is created by groups of experts who decide on the best ways to write and speak. Other times, it grows naturally from how people talk and write over many years. Either way, the standard language usually has books and rules that tell us how to use it correctly. This makes it easier for everyone to learn and use the language properly.

Examples

Chinese

Chinese has many local varieties, often not understood by each other, grouped into major types such as Mandarin, Wu, Yue, Hakka, and Min. For centuries, formal writing used Classical Chinese, quite different from everyday speech. Officials used a common language based on Mandarin.

In the early 1900s, Chinese leaders wanted one standard language. By the 1920s, written Chinese changed to written vernacular Chinese based on Mandarin. In the 1930s, Standard Chinese was adopted, using the Beijing dialect for pronunciation. Today, it is the official language in the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and Singapore, widely used and studied.

English in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the standard language is British English, based on the old court language of England and Wales. By the late 1600s and early 1700s, Standard English became the norm for the upper class. Speaking with the right accent showed a good education and high social prestige. In England and Wales, this is often Received Pronunciation, but other countries have their own accents, like Australian, Canadian, American, and Scottish.

Greek

The standard form of Modern Greek comes from Southern dialects spoken in places like the Peloponnese, the Ionian Islands, Attica, Crete, and the Cyclades.

Hindi–Urdu

India has two official versions of the Hindustani language: Standard Hindi and Urdu. Pakistan uses Urdu as its official language. People often call Hindustani "Hindi-Urdu".

Irish

Main article: An Caighdeán Oifigiúil

An Caighdeán Oifigiúil is the official standard of the Irish language. First published in the 1950s, it was updated in 2013 to better match how people in Gaeltacht areas speak.

Italian

Standard Italian comes from the Tuscan dialect, especially from Florence. Famous Florentine writers like Dante Alighieri helped make this dialect the basis for Italy's standard language. After Italy unified, it became the national language.

Latin

In the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, the standard language was Classical Latin, used by the upper classes. Everyday speakers used Vulgar Latin, which was different.

Portuguese

Brazil

In Brazil, a spoken standard for Brazilian Portuguese comes from middle-class dialects of Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, now including urban pronunciations from the southeast. This accent is called sotaque neutro. In this standard, certain letters have specific sounds.

The prestige accent in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, is closest to sotaque neutro.

Africa and Europe

European and African dialects pronounce certain sounds differently from Brazilian dialects.

Serbo-Croatian

Four standard versions of pluricentric Serbo-Croatian are spoken in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. All are based on the same dialect (Štokavian) and are very similar, though each country names the language differently.

Somali

In Somalia, Standard Somali is based on Northern Somali, especially the Mudug dialect of the Darod clan. It is used by poets and leaders, giving it prestige.

Encoding

Unicode and the Common Locale Data Repository use 001 as a special code for a standard version of a language. For example, ar-001 stands for the standard form of Modern Standard Arabic.