As a pure linguistic phenomenon, language standardization as such is achieved when a code establishes itself though a long period of usage and acquires universality of form and function amongst its speakers. The quality of universality enables the code to be used and understood in the same form and meaning (function) by its speakers throughout the speech area. It also follows the code, having thus received a social acceptance, becomes the part of the language heritage and tradition and passes on to the posterity on to the standard. The code in this sense may be a language or any of its components - speech-sound, script, lexicon, grammar, meaning, sentence and discourse.
The linguistic irony is that the code once standardization is not eternal. The dynamics of history under pressure from geographical, social, economic, political and cultural forces influence, and at times upset the norms of standards over a period of time and often lead to innovations. For instance, Brajbhasha, the standard literary language of Western Uttar Pradesh spoken by about 10 million north Indians around Mathura-Agra, found itself reduced to a non-standard towards the beginning of twentieth century and about the same time, Khariboli, a non-standard dialect of neighbouring area around Meerut-Delhi rose to the status of a standard literary language, i.e., Hindi, now the official language of the Indian Union. Similarly, the one time standard retroflex pronunciation of Sanskrit vowel 'Ri' has become obsolescent today in the way it is pronounced by the present day native speakers of Hindi and other Indian languages it is indistinguishable form the pronunciation of 'ri'. Obsolescence and innovations are catalysts of fresh standards in the history of language. |
