NON-STANDARD

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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.