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STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH. There is no single, universally accepted standard for how to speak or write American English; The term “Standard American English “ is highly elastic and variable;
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There is no single, universally accepted standard for how to speak or write American English; • The term “Standard American English “ is highly elastic and variable; • What counts as standard English depends on the locality and the particular varieties it is contrasted with; “The American Heritage Dictionary “
The unaccented variety that is sometimes called “Standard American” is an idealized one; • it is not spoken anywhere, but instead it is acquired through professional training; • “Standard Speech” is based on PR ( British Received Pronunciation) which was adopted with American Alterations at the beginning of the 20th century by linguist William Tilly; “Standard Speech”- unaccented variety
There are innumerable ways to pronounce English in existence ( the variety of English spoken in the Nation’s Midland area is often pointed to as sounding most neutral- it is often identified as “vox media”, the speech of broadcasters); • School systems, professional communicators , businesses… all have standards; • The rules (at least for grammar) do not vary much from place to place;
Does it make sense to continue to have no official standard for American English ?