NON-STANDARD

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | 570 words | Copyright

NON-STANDARD, NONSTANDARD. A term for usages and varieties that are not part of a STANDARD language: such socially marked usages as He ain't comin', I seen him; such regionally marked usages as Ah dinnae ken (Scots: I don't know); such regional varieties of English as Geordie in England and Brooklynese in the US. The term has three uses: as a neutral alternative to sub-standard; as one in a set of three (standard, non-standard, sub-standard); as a EUPHEMISM for sub-standard. It is not always easy to establish which use is dominant in particular texts and contexts.

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TOM McARTHUR. "NON-STANDARD." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "NON-STANDARD." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-NONSTANDARD.html

TOM McARTHUR. "NON-STANDARD." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-NONSTANDARD.html

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