Standard English

American  

[stan-derd ing-glish, -lish] / ˈstæn dərd ˈɪŋ glɪʃ, -lɪʃ /

noun

1. the English language in its most widely accepted form, adhering to fixed academic norms of spelling, grammar, and usage in written and spoken contexts, and neutralizing nonstandard dialectal variation.

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Etymology

Origin of Standard English

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Standard English punctuation is still alive and well; in the online world, nonstandard punctuation is alive and well.…

From The New Yorker • Dec. 10, 2015

Remember, for many Americans, Standard English is only used in formal settings—business and school, but not home.

From Slate • Oct. 1, 2014

Grammarians push Standard English at the expense of other forms, he asserts.

From BBC • May 13, 2013

Standard English was all very well for Anglophone societies, but out there in the wider world, a non-native "decaffeinated English", declared Nerriere, was becoming the new global phenomenon.

From The Guardian • Mar. 29, 2010

Just now she sat blushing deeply and crushing in her hand a note which had appeared mysteriously between the pages of her Selections from the Standard English Poets.

From The Camp Fire Girls' Larks and Pranks or, The House of the Open Door by Frey, Hildegard G. (Hildegard Gertrude)