Definition:
The variety of the English language that is generally used in professional writing in Britain (or in England or in southeast England) and taught in British schools. See also:
Observations:
- "[D]uring the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries publishers and educationalists defined a set of grammatical and lexical features which they regarded as correct, and the variety characterized by these features later came to be known as Standard English. Since English had, by the nineteenth century, two centres, Standard English came to exist in two varieties: British and US. These were widely different in pronunciation, very close in grammar, and characterized by small but noticeable differences in spelling and vocabulary. There were thus two more or less equally valid varieties of Standard English--British Standard and US Standard. . . .
"[T]here is no such thing (at present) as a Standard English which is not British or American or Australian, etc. There is no International Standard (yet), in the sense that publishers cannot currently aim at a standard which is not locally bound."
(Gunnel Melchers and Philip Shaw, World Englishes: An Introduction. Arnold, 2003) - "Both British Standard English (BrSE) and American Standard English (AmSE) are generally regarded as distinct from other varieties within their respective national ranges, such as dialect or slang. However, norm-sustaining varieties in real life share an imprecise border area with 'non-standard' or 'sub-standard' or 'dialect' varieties, whose elements can also on occasion migrate into a standard text for stylistic or other effect."
(Tom McArthur, The Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford University Press, 2002)
Also Known As: British Standard English, BrSE, English, language, usage, descriptive grammar
