The debates surrounding "Standard English", grammar and correctness are as intense in the late 1990s as ever and extend far beyond an academic context. This text draws together international scholars who confront the issues head on. Current debates about the teaching of English in the school curriculum and more general concerns about declining standards of English are placed in an historical, social and international context. It includes: tracing the notion of "Standard English" from its roots in the practices of late-17th century grammarians, through succeeding centuries to the present day; an exploration of the definitions of "Standard English", with particular attention paid to distinctions between spoken and written English; a demonstration that "Standard English" is viewed very differently in the US, the text reveals how it is used as a marker for different forms of social discrimination, and draws on similar issues such as the English Only movement and Ebonics.

Standard English draws together the leading international scholars in the field, who confront the debates surrounding 'Standard English', grammar and correctness head-on.
These debates are as intense today as ever and extend far beyond an academic context. Current debates about the teaching of English in the school curriculum and concerns about declining standards of English are placed in a historical, social and international context. Standard English:
* explores the definitions of 'Standard English', with particular attention to distinctions between spoken and written English
* traces the idea of 'Standard English' from its roots in the late seventeenth century through to the present day.
This is an accessible, seminal work which clarifies an increasingly confused topic. It includes contributions from: Ronald Carter, Jenny Cheshire, Tony Crowley, James Milroy, Lesley Milroy and Peter Trudgill.

Combining insight from a variety of linguistic perspectives including Hallidayan functional linguistics and relevance theory, Tony Bex demonstrates how written texts operate within society to convey meaning. This book:- * looks at a wide variety of written genres - advertisments, letters, poetry and literature * provides an accessible and comprehensive survey of genre theory * proposes a challenging new way of analysing genre which emphasises communicative function * unusually, considers the relevance of linguistic theories of genre to the study of literary texts. * includes numerous exercises and annotated bibliographies Variety in Written Discourse will be of interest to all students of language and communication. In addition, it will be an invaluable text for those interested in literature, as well as English for Specific Purposes.