Norms in British and South African English

Abstract

In E n g l i s h as w i t h a l l other languages, norms r e f l e c t and d e f i n e common e x p e r i e n c e and a r e e s s e n t i a l to e f f i c i e n t communication. T h i s e x p l a i n s the unconsc ious f o r c e s which operate w i t h i n s o c i e t y to r e t a i n language c o n v e n t i o n s . I t a l s o accounts for language p r e s c r i p t i o n . A t h r e a t to norms i s p e r c e i v e d as a t h r e a t to c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t y .