Standardisation and Codification

The idea that there is — or should be — a single "correct" form of English is so deeply embedded in modern culture that it seems natural and inevitable. In fact, the concept of a standard language is the product of specific historical, political, and technological developments. Understanding how and why standardisation occurred is essential for A-Level English Language because it underpins debates about "correct" usage, linguistic inequality, and attitudes to language change.

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What Is Standardisation?

Standardisation is the process by which one variety of a language is selected and promoted as the norm for public and formal use, while other varieties are correspondingly marginalised.

It is crucial to understand that a standard language is not linguistically superior to non-standard varieties. All dialects are fully functional linguistic systems with their own consistent rules. Standardisation is a social and political process, not a linguistic one.

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Haugen's Four Stages of Standardisation

The Norwegian-American linguist Einar Haugen (1906–1994) proposed a widely used model identifying four stages of standardisation. His framework, first outlined in 1966, remains the standard analytical tool for understanding how standard languages emerge:

1. Selection

One variety is selected as the basis for the standard, typically because of the political, economic, or cultural power of its speakers.

Factor	How It Applied to English
Political power	The East Midland dialect was spoken in London, the capital and centre of political power
Economic importance	London was the hub of trade and commerce; the wool-producing East Midlands were economically vital
Cultural prestige	Oxford and Cambridge universities were in the East Midland area
Literary tradition	Chaucer wrote in the London/East Midland dialect, giving it literary prestige

The selection of the East Midland/London dialect was not the result of any official decree. It was a gradual process driven by the concentration of power, wealth, and culture in the south-east of England. Other dialects — such as the West Midland dialect of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight — were equally sophisticated but lacked the institutional support to become the standard.

2. Codification

Codification is the process of recording the standard in dictionaries, grammars, and spelling guides, thereby giving it an explicit, authoritative form.

Tool of Codification	Key Examples	Date
Spelling guides	Mulcaster's Elementarie	1582
Dictionaries	Cawdrey's Table Alphabeticall	1604
	Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language	1755
	Webster's American Dictionary	1828
	Murray's Oxford English Dictionary (first fascicle)	1884
Grammars	Bullokar's Pamphlet for Grammar	1586
	Lowth's Short Introduction to English Grammar	1762
	Murray's English Grammar	1795
Style guides	Fowler's Modern English Usage	1926

Each of these works contributed to the fixation of English — the creation of a written record that could serve as a reference point for "correct" usage. However, codification always involves choices and judgements. When Johnson defined words, he chose which meanings to include and which to exclude. When Lowth wrote grammar rules, he imposed Latin-based standards on a Germanic language.

3. Elaboration (or Elaboration of Function)

Elaboration is the process by which the standard variety is developed to serve all the functions required of a national language — government, law, science, literature, education, and so on.

Before the ME period, English had been elaborated to serve these functions under Alfred the Great. After the Norman Conquest, it lost these roles to French and Latin. The re-elaboration of English occurred gradually between the 14th and 17th centuries:

Domain	Replaced	Date
Parliament	French	1362 (Statute of Pleading)
Law courts	French	1362 (official), but gradual in practice
Literature	French	14th century (Chaucer, Gower, Langland)
Science	Latin	17th century (Royal Society, est. 1660, promoted English for scientific writing)
The Church	Latin	16th century (Reformation; Bible translations by Tyndale, Coverdale; Book of Common Prayer, 1549)

4. Implementation (or Acceptance)

Implementation is the process by which the standard variety is adopted by the population, typically through education, the media, and institutional use.

Mechanism	Role in Implementation
Education	Schools teach Standard English as the norm; non-standard forms are corrected
Printing	Printed texts use standardised spelling and grammar, reinforcing the norm
Broadcasting	The BBC adopted RP as its standard accent from the 1920s; "BBC English" became a prestige norm
Government	Official documents use Standard English
Social pressure	Non-standard usage is stigmatised in many contexts; standard usage is associated with education and social status

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The Role of the Printing Press

The printing press, introduced to England by William Caxton in 1476, is often described as the single most important technological factor in the standardisation of English. Its effects were multiple and reinforcing:

1. Fixation of spelling: Printers needed consistent spelling. Over time, conventions stabilised, and variant spellings were eliminated. However, this process was slow and inconsistent — Caxton himself used different spellings for the same word.