Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to find out what speakers of the English language think of as authoritative sources for ‘correct’ or ‘standard’ English, which is of course difficult to define, and when and in what way they refer to these sources. The study is based on a survey of the students of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, conducted by the author in February, 2002. The survey reveals that the authority of ‘Standard English’ is clearly declining among young educated people in the UK. It also shows that authority is not found in only one source, such as BBC English, and that they think Standard English should be defined as whatever the majority of people think it is. Moreover, the data indicates that the aspect of language considered most important is grammar rather than pronunciation.