ABSTRACT
This chapter looks the notion of language variation and varieties, asking how some of them come to be regarded as 'standard' while others are viewed as 'non-standard' or even 'incorrect'. It addresses the distinction between native and non-native varieties of a language, and issues of language authority and linguistic insecurity. The chapter tackles the 'monolithic myth' which dominates folk belief, namely that there is, or ought to be, one correct, standard language, from which departure is inevitable but lamentable. It illustrates the main dimensions of monolingual variation and turns to the process of standardization and the distinction between 'standard' and 'non-standard' varieties. The chapter discusses the notion of linguistic insecurity, fostered by ideologies of intolerance for language variation and stresses its role in the very survival of linguistic diversity. Global Englishes refers to the phenomenon of English as an international language as part of a bilingual or multilingual repertoire, by perhaps one-third of the world's population, spread across every continent.
