ABSTRACT
The idea of a standard language is constructed and re-constructed on an on-going basis by those who have a vested interest in the concept. At this juncture, it is necessary to consider in some detail exactly what this mythical beast called US English is supposed to be. Dennis Preston has compiled a body of empirical studies in which he has quantified and summarized non-linguists’ beliefs about the geographic distribution of a standard language. The assumption, of course, is that Midwest is neutral – at least, that is the way students in Indiana see it. Standard language ideology is responsible for the fact that a large percentage of students from other parts of the country agree with them. The myth of standard language persists because it is carefully tended and propagated, with huge, almost universal success, so that language, the most fundamental of human socialization tools, becomes a commodity.
