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Standard English versus Non-Standard English

Very few people seem to speak in Standard English in the world today. In many cultures,
the people have a variation of SE but it is considered Non-Standard English. Many times we can
find examples of non-standard English in novels by various authors. For example in the book,
Tess of the dUrbervilles, by Thomas Hardy, the dialogue is rich with forms of English that differ
from the standard form. These differences can be found primarily in the dialogue of the novel.
First off, in the beginning of the novel, the man with the basket starts off by saying, "Good
night t'ee (Hardy 5). Standard English has a change in second person pronouns, while this
speaker has the singular object form of you which is thee. Another example of Standard
English is the use of auxiliary verbs. In the book Tess of the dUrbervilles the man with the
basket remarks to another character . . . when I be plain Jack Durbeyfield, the haggler? (Hardy
5). In Standard English, they have an auxiliary verb that goes along with to be, whereas this
particular speaker has no auxiliary verb to go with I be. In SE, we would normally say, I am
(and some other name or occupation, or emotion). Past participles can be an indicator of
Standard English. For example, And how long hev this news about me been knowed, Pa'son
Tringham? (Hardy 6). In this example, the Standard English would have known as the correct
past participle, whereas this speaker has the incorrect form of the past participle of to know.
Double negation in many languages is not very common in the standard form. However, that
does not stop people from using it. One example of double negation in the novel Tess of the
dUrbervilles is No lands neither? (Hardy 7). Standard English has only one negative word in a
sentence, while this speaker has two negative words in one sentence. The two negative words
that are present are no and neither. In English, we use first person reflexive pronouns to show
when we are referring back to ourselves. However, some people use the incorrect form of the

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reflexive pronoun. An example of this is . . . it has been just found out by me this present
afternoon, p.m." (Hardy 8). This speaker has the incorrect form of first person reflexive pronoun,
whereas Standard English has myself as the correct form. Personal pronouns are used to
associate a pronoun to a grammatical person. However, in nonstandard English, people have
been using us as a singular pronoun, when it should be a plural pronoun. An example of us
as a singular pronoun in nonstandard English is as follows: "I'm glad of that. Will it do us any
good, mother?" (Hardy 17). Standard English has other singular pronouns to use instead of the
word us. Relative pronouns are an important part of Standard English. Sometimes in nonstandard
English, we do not use the proper form of the relative pronoun needed. For example, in Tess of
the dUrbervilles a character says, And you as well agreed as he, mother!" (Hardy 18). Standard
English has the pronoun him, whereas the speaker uses he to describe her father. To make this
into the standard, the speaker should have said him instead of he. In conclusion, many people use
nonstandard English instead of the standard. Over time, people will probably keep moving
towards the nonstandard.

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Work Cited
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the D'Urbervilles: An Authoritative Text. Ed. Scott Elledge. New York:
Norton, 1979. Print.