Standard English is that variety of English which is usually used in print, and which is n

ormally taught in schools and to non -native speakers learning the language. It is also the variety which is normally spoken by educated people and used in news broadcasts and other similar situations. The difference between standard and non - standard, it should be noted, had nothing in principle to do with differences between formal and colloquial language, Standard English has colloquial as well as formal variants.

Historically, the standard variety of English is based on the London dialect of English that developed after the Norman conquest resulted in the removal of the Court from Winchester to London. This dialect became the one preferred by the educated, and it was developed and promoted as a model, or a norm, for wider and wider segments of society. It was also the norm that was carried overseas, but not one unaffected by such export. Today, standard English is codified to the extent that the grammar and vocabulary of English are much the same everywhere in the world where English is used: variation among local standards is really quite minor, so that the Singapore, south Africa, and Irish varieties are really very little different from one another so far as grammar and vocabulary are concerned. Indeed, Standard English is so powerful that it exerts a tremendous pressure on all local varieties, to the extent that many of the long - established dialects of England have lost much of their vigor and there is considerable pressure on them to converge toward the standard. This latter situation is not unique to English: it is also true in other countries where processes of standardization are under way. But it sometimes creates problems for speakers who try to strike some kind of compromise between local norms and national, even supranational ones.

Which of the following statements is true according to this passage？

A．Standard English is better than non -standard English.

B．Standard English does not differ from non - standard English in principle.

C．Standard English can be both formal and colloquial.

D．Non- standard English is the same as colloquial English.