Standardization or standardization is a process that takes place in stages; was not completely finished. For instance, the use of double negatives – ‘that won’t do you no good’ – is deemed confusing, redundant and incorrect by the masses. These steps or stages in corpus development are also seen as paralleled by policy development, and some analysts enumerate these steps in language policy planning (Eastman 1983:12): . There are different regional dialects, class dialects, situationalvarieties. Learn more. Located in northern Spain, the community saw themselves as autonomous given their diverse historical roots and cultural groups within the country. Once it has gained general approval, the standard language is rigorously maintained through several means. Milroy, James. Hence the prestige and legitimacy of a ‘standard’ does not in the first instance, as Language standardization is the process by which conventional forms of a language are established and maintained. The basic objectives of the academy were: In a further effort to standardise the language of the country, Koldo Mitxelena proposed a set of guidelines for the new language standard in 1968. Linguists commonly use language variety (or simply variety) as a cover term for any of the overlapping subcategories of a language, including dialect, register, jargon, and … Language can have scores of characteristics but the following are the most important ones: language is arbitrary, productive, creative, systematic, vocalic, social, non-instinctive and conventional. Thus, it is crucial to understand that the standard language forms are not universal, and they can still have varieties across different regions. It is the choices societies make that result in differing languages. But when Charlemagne conquered his huge kingdom in 800, he brought in Alcuin from England. Fairclough, Norman. Formulation: setting the goals of the policy. Accessed 1 April 2017. Language standardization is the process by which conventional forms of a language are established and maintained. Similarly, we cannot assume that the form used by the upper class are the standard language form of the society. Societies themselves pick their own standard forms of language, and hence, different societies in different places, and of different cultures, can all pick vastly different (or even somewhat similar) language forms to adhere to. With every generation, new words are constantly invented and introduced into the language lexicon, which may then be taught to the next generation (Crystal 132). The Basque case study is significant not only for the fact that it is relatively recent but that it also reflects Milroy & Milroy’s conception that a language standard is not an end-product to be achieved, but rather, it is a process of development that the society embarks on. In sociolinguistics, language variety—also called lect—is a general term for any distinctive form of a language or linguistic expression. This cultural evolution gives rise to an interesting phenomenon known as ‘language standardisation’. Language standardisation begins by selecting one of the many forms of language that exist in a society to be the standard. by Sally Johnson and Tommaso M. Milani. Language unification, standardization and corpus development imply a sophisticated national or collective effort which has to deal with philosophical, political — and technical — issues. Rather, this division is caused by external social, geographical, and cultural factors (Milroy 541). Another quality of a good assessment is standardization. Learning about the standardization of languages, or how languages get formalized and codified in one specific way, offers insight into the overlap between linguistics, culture and politics. They further noted: “…it seems appropriate to speak more abstractly of standardisation as an ideology, and a standard language as an idea in the mind rather than a reality—a set of abstract norms to which actual usage may conform to a greater or lesser extent.” (p. 19). Journal of, Thomas, Tiffany. The intentionality of reforming the spelling was not to simply standardise the language but to also unify all Basque under a common understanding. language standardization, ther efore, is less about language itself as function and structure, than it is about ideologies and hegemonies about lang uage, or what is called “language ideology”. Oure language is also so dyuerse in it selfe that the commen maner of spekynge in Englysshe of some contre can skante [= scarcely] be vnderstondid in som other contre of the same lond (Lydgate, 1530) And certaynly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre [ far ] from that whiche was vsed and spoken whan I … Finally, we must be wary of automatically forming relations between the upper class and standard forms of language. Despite being associated with the upper class and being well-educated, most recent reports suggest that this form is practiced by a mere 2% of the population (British Library Board). Here’s the formula for standardization: Deumert, Ana. Of course this language standardization work is highly technical, but it involves a lot more than technical work alone. A&C Black. It is important to note that these stages are hypothetical, and can sometimes overlap with one another. John Benjamins Publishing, 2004. Development in these areas create pressure to establish regularity in other areas, such as currency and language, to facilitate and increase efficiency in communication between countries. Such system is then regarded as the absolute legitimate and “correct” standard of language, and hence, is esteemed above everyday speakers of the language. Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia, M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester, B.A., English, State University of New York. For many newer countries, though, the development of a standard language has had to take place fairly rapidly, and government intervention has therefore been necessary. Ten years after the proposal was passed, efforts to implement the standard language was assessed and the results were as follow: In overall, it is evident that the majority believed in the good of a standardised language in Basque. One example of this is British Received Pronunciation, which some scholars deem the ‘standard’ form of English in the United Kingdom (Milroy 532-533). Oxford University Press, 2012, Ana Deumert, Language Standardization, and Language Change: The Dynamics of Cape Dutch. Those whom have accepted and are familiarised with the standard language can engage in discourse (Deumert 2), so to generate knowledge about communicative methods and processes. Variability is a fact of life for almost all languages. John Benjamins, 2004. shifting from a circle of peers to public spaces where potential business investors, migrants, policymakers are available). James and Lesley Milroy expressed that language standardisation does not symbolise an actual end-product, but rather, a significant process with no completion. The growth in industrial technologies signified a great deal of cooperation between individuals of different skillsets, and effective collaboration could only occur when both parties speak and write the same standard language. Software languages will evolve over time just like software applications do. However, this ‘superiority’ may be a social construct, attributed to certain language forms because of the social standing of their speakers (Milroy 532). In line with the said, the stands of several linguists about the a/s phenomena are presented as the Language Ideologies and Media Discourse: Texts, Practices, Politics, ed. Instead of appointing one language form as the standard, Joanes Leizarrage developed a new language – one that was a combination of the various dialects he observed – that he believed would be understood by the general population (Elkartea 25). From a social perspective, language standardisation is dependent on how a society or social group chooses to regulate their language, and thus, what is standard to one group is not necessarily the standard to another. Leith, Dick. A social history of English. Thus, those who refuse or cannot acquire the standard language properly are marginalised in the society, further widening the language gap. Another interesting point relates to the superiority of specific language forms. Therefore, it is evident that it does not represent the consensus of the United Kingdom. Hence, the dispersal of a language must be credited to its respective speakers—people, and their practices and customs—and not the core of language itself. Secondly, the language then gains prestige within the society for being associated with those of high social status. Is the process of development of a standard for written and/or oral language It occurs in a specific manner that depends on the community and the social, historical and geographic aspects involved. Such networks proved particularly important for innovations requiring collaboration. British Library Board. Crystal, David. "Standardization is concerned with linguistic forms (corpus planning, i.e. Language standardisation and language change: The dynamics of Cape Dutch. What is language standardisation? In the end, Mitxelena reasoned that “the young are always right” (Elkartea 36), and since the young writers were in favour of the letter ‘h’, the spelling reformation was ruled. The confluence of diverse cultures and perspectives within a territory serves as one explanation for the evolution of language. implementation and elaboration). Primarily concerned with the evolution of specific human languages, standardisation can only occur when a society has an existing cultivation of their own language and communicative methods. Latin didn't diverge much till the end of the Roman empire in the fifth century, but then as it lived on as the spoken language throughout Europe, it began to diverge somewhat into multiple 'Latins.' These characteristics of language set human language apart from animal communication. Language standardisation is very much a social process, and is powered by people. Particularly the older, conservative delegates believed it to be a pointless addition of an alphabet that could not be pronounced (Elkartea 34). We need not thinkof them as being chronological. However, as the use of ‘h’ were valued by the northern Basque writers and speakers, Mitxelena saw the importance of its inclusion in the standard language. "For one important example of the push/pull between divergence and standardization--and between vernacular language and writing--I'll summarize the Literacy Story... about Charlemagne, Alcuin, and Latin. would be the ones to spread the use of this standard language. Among, 431 publications made between 1967 and 1977, only 3.3% of books published in 1967 had incorporated the new rules of spelling, declined and conjugated forms. creating a type-able Unicode). 19. New versions with new features will be released, and software teams will need to make important decisions. Accessed 10 March 2017. Hence in 1919, a Basque Language Academy, Euskaltzaindia, was established with the primary aim of formulating a standardwritten language. Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. What Is Koineization (or Dialect Mixing)? The process of standardisation involves both ‘ruler-makers’ and ‘rule-breakers’; the former makes the rules for spelling and pronunciation, in addition to selecting/eliminating the meaning of commonly used words. First, he nominated the central dialect as the standard language of the country as he believed it to be “where the heart of [the] country is, and because it has played a dynamic role in the history of [their] literature” (Elkartea 32). Language varieties gain prestige when its speakers possess high social standing. in aspects of writing, reading, and speaking), while 80% agreed that learning and using the standard Basque was necessary for work and for everyday life. Thus, we should remember that language standardisation is a process aimed at creating one standard, cohesive language in a society, although (due to the dynamic nature of society) it generally does not achieve this goal. Language standardization is essential in development of the language but the process has been applied for other varied reason. Some might feel that the standard form of a society was chosen because it is superior to all other options. Overall, the whole process aims to create a ‘melting pot’ environment, homogenising a certain culture that comes with the language. ", "English, of course, developed a standard variety by relatively 'natural' means, over the centuries, out of a kind of consensus, due to various social factors. The concern surrounding language variation dates back to the 16th century, where the first attempt for language standardisation was made. Getting It: Language standardisation and the Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, it creates a sort of ignorance towards other dialects and ways of speaking. This means that the mean of the attribute becomes zero and the resultant distribution has a unit standard deviation. Unaware of the existence of such slang, fans and music critics alike were quick to deem the song complete ‘gibberish’, despite its lyrics possessing proper meaning and semantics (Thomas). It is an ongoing historical process that develops a standard written and oral language to be practiced by everyone in a society. The confluence of diverse cultures and perspectives within a territory serves as one explanation for the evolution of language. Fast-forwarding to the nineteenth century, the people pf Basque expressed an increasing desire to preserve the nation’s language culture with all its diversities. Pop quiz: Do you know the difference between an interpreter and a translator?It’s a foundational definition in the language industry, but the two can be easy to mix up. The effects of language standardization on acceptance and use are explored using the four constructs of Venkatesh et al.’s (2003) Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) – effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions – as a conceptual framework and guide in the analysis. For instance, the maintenance stage can start quite early in the process, and continues throughout (Milroy 23). A Little Book of Language. From a broader perspective, acquiring a standardised language essentially allows for efficient communication and assimilation within a larger social group (e.g. Primarily concerned with the evolution of specific human languages, standardisation can only occur when a socie… Standardization is another scaling technique where the values are centered around the mean with a unit standard deviation. The goal of standardization is to ensure uniformity to certain practices within the industry. standardization definition: 1. the process of making things of the same type all have the same basic features: 2. the process…. Having earned a BA in linguistics some time ago, and having made use of a lot of linguistic information in 23 years as a speech/language therapist, I have to disagree with a number of others who have answered this question. Prof Feng’s presentation put this kind of standardization policy in context, explaining that minority language standardization itself follows a standard (and not necessarily responsive) procedure in China. Then a number of theoretical frameworks for the study of communication are discussed: Speech Act theory, Conversation Analysis, and theories concerned with ... Natural language facilitates communication in several other respects, be- One point to note is that human language does not necessarily need to divide into different forms. 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