Standard language

A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a language variety used by a group of people as a lingua franca and in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works. Typically, varieties that become standardized are the local dialects spoken in the centers of commerce and government, where a need arises for a variety that will serve more than local needs. A standard language can be either pluricentric (e.g., Arabic, English, German, Persian, Serbo-Croatian, French, Portuguese and Spanish) or monocentric (e.g., Icelandic, Italian,Japanese, and Russian). A standard written language is sometimes termed by the German word Schriftsprache.

The only requirement for a variety to be standard is that it can frequently be used in public places or public discourse. The creation of a prescriptive standard language derives from a desire for national (cultural, political, and social) cohesion, with this considered requiring an agreed-upon, standardized language variety. Standard languages commonly feature:

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