Editing Pluricentric language (section)

== Examples of varying degrees of pluricentrism ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2016}}

=== Arabic ===
{{Main|Varieties of Arabic}}
[[Pre-classical Arabic|Pre-Islamic Arabic]] can be considered a polycentric language.{{Sfn | Abd-el-Jawad | 1992 | p = 262}} In [[List of countries where Arabic is an official language|Arabic-speaking countries]] different levels of polycentricity can be detected.{{Sfn | Abd-el-Jawad | 1992 | p = 271}} [[Arabic|Modern Arabic]] is a pluricentric language with varying branches correlating with different regions where Arabic is spoken and the type of communities speaking it. The [[vernacular]] varieties of Arabic include:
*[[Peninsular Arabic]]
**[[Hejazi Arabic]] (urban cities of western Saudi Arabia)
**[[Najdi Arabic]] (much of central Saudi Arabia)
**[[Omani Arabic]] 
**[[Gulf Arabic]] (spoken around the coasts of the [[Persian Gulf]] in [[Kuwait]], [[Bahrain]], [[Qatar]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], as well as parts of [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], and [[Oman]])
**[[Yemeni Arabic]]
*[[Levantine Arabic]] (spoken in the [[Levant]] region)
**[[Syrian Arabic]]
**[[Jordanian Arabic]]
**[[Lebanese Arabic]]
**[[Palestinian Arabic]]
*[[Maghrebi Arabic]] (spoken in the [[Maghreb]] region)
**[[Algerian Arabic]]
**[[Libyan Arabic]]
**[[Moroccan Arabic]]
**[[Tunisian Arabic]],
*[[Mesopotamian Arabic]]
**[[Baghdad Arabic]]
*[[Egyptian Arabic]]
*[[Sudanese Arabic]], and many others.

In addition, many speakers use [[Modern Standard Arabic]] in education and formal settings. Therefore, in Arabic-speaking communities, [[diglossia]] is frequent.

=== Armenian ===
{{See also|Armenian orthography reform}}
The [[Armenian language]] is a pluricentric language with two standard varieties, [[Eastern Armenian]] and [[Western Armenian]], which have developed as separate literary languages since the eighteenth century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dum-Tragut |first=Jasmine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SGyop5guXDkC |title=Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian |publisher=John Benjamins |year=2009 |location=Amsterdam |pages=xiii, 1 |isbn=978-9027238146 |oclc=932596142}}</ref> Prior to this, almost all Armenian literature was written in [[Classical Armenian]], which is now solely used as a [[Sacred language|liturgical language]]. Eastern and Western Armenian can also refer to the two major [[Armenian dialects|dialectal blocks]] into which the various non-standard dialects of Armenian are categorized. Eastern Armenian is the official language of the [[Armenia|Republic of Armenia]]. It is also spoken, with dialectal variations, by [[Iranian Armenians]], Armenians in [[Karabakh]] (see [[Karabakh dialect]]), and in the [[Armenian diaspora]], especially in the former Soviet Union (Russia, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], Ukraine). Western Armenian is spoken mainly in the [[Armenian diaspora]], especially in the Middle East, France, the US, and Canada.

Additionally, Armenian is written in two standard orthographies: [[Classical Armenian orthography|classical]] and [[Armenian orthography reform|reformed]] Armenian orthography. The former is used by practically all speakers of Western Armenian and by Armenians in [[Iran]], while the latter, which was developed in [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Armenia]] in the 20th century, is used in Armenia and [[Republic of Artsakh|Nagorno-Karabakh]].

=== Catalan ===
{{Main|Catalan dialects}}

In the modern era, Catalan is a pluricentric language with differences primarily in pronunciation and vocabulary. This language is internationally known as [[Catalan language|Catalan]], as in [[Ethnologue]]. This is also the most commonly used name in [[Catalonia]], but also in [[Andorra]] and the [[Balearic Islands]], probably due to the prestige of the Central Catalan dialect spoken in and around [[Barcelona]]. However, in the [[Valencian Community]], the official name of this language is [[Valencian language|Valencian]]. One reason for this is political (see Serbo-Croatian for a similar situation), but this variant does have its own literary tradition that dates back to the [[Reconquista]].

Although mutually intelligible with other varieties of Catalan, Valencian has lexical peculiarities and its own spelling rules, which are set out by the [[Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua]] since 1998, as do other regions within the Catalan area, e.g. Aragon.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Esteve Valls Alecha |author2=Martijn Wieling |date=2024 |title=Towards a social dialectometry: the analysis of internal border effects |journal=Estudos de Lingüística Galega |volume=16 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.15304/elg.16.9725 |url=https://www.academia.edu/126238713|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, this institution recognizes that Catalan and Valencian are varieties of the same language. For their part, there are specific varieties in the two major Balearic islands, Mallorcan ({{langx|ca|mallorquí}}) in [[Mallorca]], Menorcan (''menorquí'') in [[Menorca]], Ibizan (''eivissenc'') in [[Ibiza]].

=== Chinese ===
{{Main|Varieties of Chinese}}
Until the mid-20th century, most Chinese people spoke only their local [[varieties of Chinese]].
These varieties had diverged widely from the written form used by scholars, [[Literary Chinese]], which was modelled on the language of the [[Chinese classics]].
As a practical measure, officials of the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]] dynasties carried out the administration of the empire using a [[Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)|common language based on northern varieties]], known as ''Guānhuà'' (官話, literally "speech of officials"), known as ''Mandarin'' in English after the officials.
Knowledge of this language was thus essential for an official career, but it was never formally defined.<ref name="Norman">{{cite book
  | surname = Norman | given = Jerry | author-link = Jerry Norman (sinologist)
  | title = Chinese | pages = 136–137
  | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1988
  | isbn = 978-0-521-29653-3
  }}</ref>

In the early years of the 20th century, Literary Chinese was replaced as the written standard by [[written vernacular Chinese]], which was based on [[Mandarin Chinese|northern dialects]].
In the 1930s, a [[Standard Chinese|standard national language]] ''Guóyǔ'' (國語, literally "national language") was adopted, with its pronunciation based on the [[Beijing dialect]], but with vocabulary also drawn from other northern varieties.<ref>{{cite book
  | surname = Ramsey | given = S. Robert 
  | title = The Languages of China | pages = 3–15
  | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 1987 | isbn = 978-0-691-01468-5
  }}</ref>
After the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1949, the standard was known as ''Pǔtōnghuà'' (普通话/普通話, literally "common speech"), but was defined in the same way as ''Guóyǔ'' in the [[Republic of China]] now governing Taiwan.<ref name="Norman"/> It also became one of the official languages of [[Singapore]], under the name ''Huáyǔ'' (华语/華語, literally "Chinese language").

Although the three standards remain close, they have diverged to some extent. Most Mandarin speakers in Taiwan and Singapore came from the southeast coast of China, where the local dialects lack the retroflex initials /tʂ tʂʰ ʂ/ found in northern dialects, so that many speakers in those places do not distinguish them from the [[apical consonant|apical]] sibilants /ts tsʰ s/. Similarly, retroflex codas (''[[erhua]]'') are typically avoided in Taiwan and Singapore. There are also differences in vocabulary, with [[Taiwanese Mandarin]] absorbing loanwords from [[Min Chinese]], [[Hakka Chinese]], and [[Japanese language|Japanese]], and [[Standard Singaporean Mandarin|Singaporean Mandarin]] borrowing words from English, [[Malay language|Malay]], and southern varieties of Chinese.<ref>{{cite book
  | surname = Bradley | given = David | author-link = David Bradley (linguist)
  | chapter = Chinese as a pluricentric language | pages = 305–324
  | title = Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations
  | editor-given = Michael G. | editor-surname = Clyne
  | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | year = 1992 | isbn = 978-3-11-012855-0
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | surname = Chen
  | given = Ping
  | title = Modern Chinese: History and sociolinguistics
  | location = New York
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | year = 1999
  | isbn = 978-0-521-64572-0
  | pages = [https://archive.org/details/modernchinesehis00chen/page/46 46–49]
  | url-access = registration
  | url = https://archive.org/details/modernchinesehis00chen/page/46
  }}</ref>

=== Eastern South Slavic (Bulgarian–Macedonian–Torlakian (Gorani)–Paulician (Banat)) ===
{{Further|Eastern South Slavic|Macedonian language#Relationship to Bulgarian|Bulgarian language#Relationship to Macedonian|Political views on the Macedonian language|Bulgarian dialects|Banat Bulgarian dialect}}
{{See also|Bulgarian nationalism| Bulgarian irredentism|Macedonian nationalism|Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union}}

Some linguists and scholars, mostly from [[Bulgaria]] and [[Greece]], but some also from other countries,<ref name="ucla">[http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=42 Language profile Macedonian] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311172655/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=42&menu=004 |date=11 March 2009 }}, UCLA International Institute</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppbuavUZKEwC&pg=PA116 |title=Who are the Macedonians? |first=Hugh |last=Poulton |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-85065-534-3 |page=116}}</ref> consider [[Eastern South Slavic]] to be a pluricentric language with four standards: [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] (based on the [[Rup dialects|Rup]], [[Balkan dialects of Bulgarian|Balkan]] and [[Moesian dialects|Moesian]] ("[[Yat#Bulgarian|Eastern Bulgarian]]") dialects), [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] (based on the [[Western Macedonian dialects|Western and Central Macedonian dialects]]), [[Gora dialect|Gorani]] (based on the [[Torlakian dialects]]), and [[Paulician dialect|Paulician]] (including [[Banat Bulgarian dialect|Banat Bulgarian]]).<ref name="Kamusella">{{Cite book |last=Kamusella |first=Tomasz |date= 17 June 2021|title=Politics and the Slavic Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUcrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT125 |location= |publisher= Routledge|page=125 |isbn= 9781000395990|access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> Politicians and nationalists from Bulgaria are likely to refer to this entire grouping as 'Bulgarian', and to be particularly hostile to the notion that Macedonian is an autonomous language separate from Bulgarian, which [[North Macedonia|Macedonian]] politicians and citizens tend to claim.<ref name="Kamusella"/> As of 2021, the hypothesis that Eastern South Slavic, 'Greater Bulgarian', 'Bulgaro-Macedonian', or simply 'Bulgarian', is a pluricentric language with several mutually intelligible official standards in the same way that [[Serbo-Croatian]] is, and [[Czechoslovak language|Czechoslovak]] used to be,{{Clarify|date=May 2022|reason=Czech and Slovak languages are far less mutually intelligible than Serbo-Croatian varieties. Another is issue is that it says "used to be", would that imply they are not anymore?}} has not yet been fully developed in linguistics; it is a popular idea in Bulgarian politics, but an unpopular one in North Macedonia.<ref name="Kamusella"/>

=== English ===
{{Main|List of dialects of English|Regional accents of English|List of countries by English-speaking population}}
English is a pluricentric language,<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Crystal |year=2003 |title=A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics |publisher=Blackwell}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=P.H. |last=Matthews |year=2007 |title=Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> with [[American and British English differences|differences]] in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, etc., between each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, North America, the Caribbean, Ireland, English-speaking African countries, Singapore, India, and Oceania. Educated native English speakers using their version of one of the [[Standard English|standard forms of English]] are almost completely mutually intelligible, but non-standard forms present significant dialectal variations, and are marked by reduced intelligibility.

British and American English are the two most commonly taught varieties in the education systems where English is taught as a [[foreign language|second language]]. British English tends to predominate in Europe and the former British colonies of the West Indies, Africa, and Asia, where English is not the [[first language]] of the majority of the population. (The [[Falkland Islands]], a British territory off the southeast coast of South America with English as its native language, have their [[falkland Islands English|own dialect]], while British English is the standard.) In contrast, American English tends to dominate instruction in Latin America and East Asia<ref>Yuko Goto Butler. "How Are Nonnative-English-Speaking Teachers Perceived by Young Learners?" ''TESOL Quarterly''. Vol. 41, No. 4 (Dec., 2007), pp. 731–755.</ref><ref>Timothy J. Riney, Naoyuki Takagi & Kumiko Inutsuka. "Phonetic Parameters and Perceptual Judgments of Accent in English by American and Japanese Listeners." ''TESOL Quarterly'' Vol. 39, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 441–466</ref> (In Latin America, British English is taught in schools with British curriculum in countries with descendants of British settlers.)

Due to globalisation and the resulting spread of the language in recent decades, English is becoming increasingly decentralised, with daily use and statewide study of the language in schools growing in most regions of the world. However, in the global context, the number of native speakers of English is much smaller than the number of non-native speakers of English of reasonable competence. In 2018, it was estimated that for every native speaker of English, there are six non-native speakers of reasonable competence,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dollinger|first=Stefan|url=https://www.academia.edu/35184221|title=Creating Canadian English|journal=Cambridge University Press|year=2019|location=Cambridge, UK|pages=18}}</ref> raising the questions of [[English as a lingua franca]] as the most widely spoken form of the language.

[[Philippine English]] (which is predominantly spoken as a second language) has been primarily influenced by American English. The rise of the [[call center industry in the Philippines]] has encouraged some [[Filipino people|Filipinos]] to [[accent reduction|"polish" or neutralize their accents]] to make them more closely resemble the accents of their client countries.

Countries such as [[Australian English|Australia]], [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]], and [[Canadian English|Canada]] have their own well-established varieties of English which are the standard within those countries but are far more rarely taught overseas to second language learners.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leitner|first=Gerhard|title=English as a pluricentric language|publisher=Mouton|year=1992|editor-last=Clyne|editor-first=Michael|location=Berlin|pages=208}}</ref> (Standard English in Australia and New Zealand is related to British English in its common pronunciation and vocabulary; a similar relationship exists between Canadian English and American English.)

English was historically pluricentric when it was used across the independent kingdoms of [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] prior to the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] in 1707. [[English language in England|English English]] and [[Scottish English]] are now subsections of British English.

=== French ===
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2018}}
{{Main|Varieties of French}}
In the modern era, there are several major loci of the French language, including [[Standard French]] (also known as Parisian French), [[Canadian French]] (including [[Quebec French]] and [[Acadian French]]), [[Belgian French]], [[American French]] (for instance, [[Louisiana French]]), [[Haitian French]], and [[African French]].

Until the early 20th century, the French language was highly variable in pronunciation and vocabulary within France, with varying dialects and degrees of intelligibility, the [[langues d'oïl]]. However, government policy made it so that the dialect of Paris would be the method of instruction in schools, and other dialects, like [[Norman dialect|Norman]], which has influence from [[Scandinavia]]n languages, were neglected. Controversy still remains in France over the fact that the government recognizes them as languages of France, but provides no monetary support for them nor has the [[Constitutional Council of France]] ratified the [[Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].

North American French is the result of [[French colonization]] of the [[New World]] between the 17th and 18th centuries. In many cases, it contains vocabulary and dialectal quirks not found in Standard Parisian French owing to history: most of the original settlers of [[Quebec]], [[Acadia]], and later what would become [[Louisiana]] and northern [[New England French|New England]] came from Northern and Northwest France, and would have spoken dialects like Norman, [[Poitevin dialect|Poitevin]], and [[Angevin dialect|Angevin]] with far fewer speaking the dialect of Paris. This, plus isolation from developments in France, most notably the drive for standardization by [[Académie française|L'Académie française]], make North American dialects of the language quite distinct. Acadian French, spoken in [[New Brunswick]], Canada, has many words no longer used in modern France, much of it having roots in the 17th century, and a distinct intonation. Québécois, the largest of the dialects, has a distinct pronunciation that is not found in Europe in any measure and a greater difference in vowel pronunciation, and syntax tends to vary greatly. [[Cajun French]] has some distinctions not found in Canada in that there is more vocabulary derived from both local Native American and African dialects and a pronunciation of the letter r that has disappeared in France entirely. It is rolled, and with heavier contact with the English language than any of the above the pronunciation has shifted to harder sounding consonants in the 20th century. Cajun French equally has been an oral language for generations and it is only recently that its syntax and features been adapted to French orthography.

Minor standards can also be found in [[Belgian French|Belgium]] and [[Swiss French|Switzerland]], with particular influence of Germanic languages on grammar and vocabulary, sometimes through the influence of local dialects. In Belgium, for example, various Germanic influences in spoken French are evident in [[Wallonia]] (for example, to ''blink'' in English, and ''blinken'' in German and Dutch, ''blinquer'' in [[Walloon language|Walloon]] and local French, ''cligner'' in standard French). ''Ring'' (''rocade'' or ''périphérique'' in standard French) is a common word in the three national languages for [[beltway]] or ring road. Also, in Belgium and Switzerland, there are noted differences in the number system when compared to standard Parisian or Canadian French, notably in the use of ''septante'', ''octante/huitante'' and ''nonante'' for the numbers 70, 80 and 90. In other standards of French, these numbers are usually denoted ''soixante-dix'' (sixty-ten), ''quatre-vingts'' (fourscore) and ''quatre-vingt-dix'' (fourscore-and-ten).
French varieties spoken in [[Oceania]] are also influenced by local languages. New Caledonian French is influenced by [[Kanak languages]] in its vocabulary and grammatical structure.
[[African French]] is another variety.

=== German ===
{{Main|Standard German}}
[[Standard German]] is often considered an asymmetric pluricentric language;{{Sfn | Ammon | 1995 | pp = 484–499}} [[German Standard German|the standard used in Germany]] is often considered dominant, mostly because of the sheer number of its speakers, compared to the [[Austrian Standard German]] and [[Swiss Standard German]] varieties. Although there is a uniform stage pronunciation based on a manual by [[Theodor Siebs]] that is used in theatres, and, nowadays to a lesser extent, in radio and television news all across German-speaking countries, this is not true for the standards applied at public occasions in Austria, South Tyrol and Switzerland, which differ in [[pronunciation]], [[vocabulary]], and sometimes even [[grammar]]. (In Switzerland, the letter [[ß]] has been removed from the alphabet, with ''ss'' as its replacement.) The varieties of Standard German used in those regions are to some degree influenced by the respective [[dialect]]s (but by no means identical to them), by specific cultural traditions (e.g. in culinary vocabulary, which differs markedly across the German-speaking area of Europe), and by different terminology employed in law and administration. A list of Austrian terms for certain food items has even been incorporated into [[EU law]], even though it is clearly incomplete.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/translation/german/guidelines/documents/austrian_expressions_de.pdf |title=Protokoll Nr. 10 über die Verwendung spezifisch österreichischer Ausdrücke der deutschen Sprache im Rahmen der Europäischen Union |publisher=European Commission |access-date=13 November 2015 |language=de |trans-title=Protocol number 10 on the usage of specific Austrian terms of the German language within the European Union |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305081116/http://ec.europa.eu/translation/german/guidelines/documents/austrian_expressions_de.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref> Scholarly scepticism in German dialectology about the pluricentric status of German has led some linguists to detect a [[One Standard German Axiom]] (OSGA) as active in the field.

=== Hindustani ===
The [[Hindi Belt|Hindi languages]] are a large [[dialect continuum]] defined as a unit culturally. Medieval [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] (then known as ''Hindavi''<ref>Shaban, Abdul. "Urdu and Urdu Medium Schools in Maharashtra." Economic & Political Weekly 50.29 (2015): 47.</ref>) was based on a register of the [[Delhi dialect]] and has two modern literary forms, [[Hindi|Standard Hindi]] and [[Urdu|Standard Urdu]]. Additionally, there are historical literary standards, such as the closely related [[Braj Bhasha]] and the more distant [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]], as well as recently established standard languages based on what were once considered Hindi dialects: [[Maithili language|Maithili]] and [[Dogri language|Dogri]]. Other varieties, such as [[Rajasthani languages|Rajasthani]], are often considered distinct languages but have no standard form. [[Caribbean Hindi]] and [[Fijian Hindi]] also differ significantly from the [[Sanskritized]] standard [[Hindi]] spoken in India.

=== Malay ===
{{Main|Malay language|Comparison of Standard Malay and Indonesian|Malay trade and creole languages}}
The [[Malay language]] has many local dialects and creolized versions, but it has two main normative varieties which are [[Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]: Indonesian is codified by [[Indonesia]] as its own ''lingua franca'' based on the dialect spoken in [[Riau Islands]], whereas [[Malaysia]] codifies Malaysian based on the vernacular dialect of [[Johor]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Malay as a pluricentric language|pages=413–417|year=1992|author=Asmah Haji Omar|author-link=Asmah Haji Omar|postscript=, in [[#CITEREFClyne1992|Clyne 1992]].}}</ref> Thus, both lects have the same dialectal basis, and linguistic sources still tend to treat the standards as different forms of a single language.<ref>An example of equal treatment of Malaysian and Indonesian: the ''Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu'' database from the [[Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka]] has a "Istilah [[Majlis Bahasa Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia|MABBIM]]" section dedicated to documenting Malaysian, Indonesian and Bruneian official terminologies: [http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Cari1?keyword=language&d=286464&#LIHATSINI see example]</ref> In popular parlance, however, the two varieties are often thought of{{who|date=September 2023}} as distinct tongues in their own rights due to the growing divergence between them and for political reasons.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} Nevertheless, they retain a high degree of [[mutual intelligibility]] despite a number of differences in vocabulary (including many [[false friend]]s) and grammar.

=== Malayalam ===
[[Malayalam]] is a pluricentric language with historically more than one written form. [[Malayalam script]] is officially recognized, but there are other standardized varieties such as [[Arabi Malayalam]] of [[Muslim Mappila|Mappila Muslims]], [[Karshoni]] of [[Saint Thomas Christians]] and [[Judeo-Malayalam]] of [[Cochin Jews]].

=== Persian ===
The [[Persian language]] has three standard varieties with official status in [[Iran]] (locally known as Farsi), [[Afghanistan]] (officially known as [[Dari language|Dari]]), and [[Tajikistan]] (officially known as [[Tajik language|Tajik]]). The standard forms of the three are based on the [[Tehrani accent|Tehrani]], [[Kabul]]i, and [[Dushanbe]] varieties, respectively.

The [[Persian alphabet]] is used for both Farsi (Iranian) and Dari (Afghan). Traditionally, Tajiki is also written with [[Tajik alphabet#Persian alphabet|Perso-Arabic script]]. In order to increase literacy, a [[Tajik alphabet#Latin|Latin alphabet]] (based on the [[Common Turkic Alphabet]]) was introduced in 1917. Later in the late 1930s, the [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic]] promoted the use of [[Tajik alphabet#Cyrillic|Cyrillic alphabet]], which remains the most widely used system today. Attempts to reintroduce the Perso-Arabic script were made.<ref>[https://www.news.tj/en/news/tajikistan-use-persian-alphabet-iranian-website-says 'Tajikistan to use Persian alphabet,' Iranian website says]. ''Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus''. Published 3 May 2008, retrieved 9 April 2019.</ref>

The language spoken by [[Bukharan Jews]] is called [[Bukhori dialect|Bukhori]] (or Bukharian), and is written in [[Hebrew alphabet]].

=== Portuguese ===
Apart from the [[Reintegrationism|Galician question]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] varies mainly between [[Brazilian Portuguese]] and [[European Portuguese]] (also known as "Lusitanian Portuguese", "Standard Portuguese" or even "[[reduplication|Portuguese Portuguese]]"). Both varieties have undergone significant and divergent developments in phonology and the grammar of their [[pronominal]] systems. The result is that communication between the two varieties of the language without previous exposure can be occasionally difficult, although speakers of European Portuguese tend to understand Brazilian Portuguese better than vice versa, due to the heavy exposure to music, soap operas etc. from [[Brazil]]. Word ordering can be dramatically different between European and Brazilian Portuguese, without significantly hampering [[mutual intelligibility]].<ref name=HPL>{{cite book |first1=W. Leo |last1=Wetzels |first2=Sergio |last2=Menuzzi |first3=João |last3=Costa |title=The Handbook of Portuguese Linguistics |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |date=7 April 2016}}</ref>

A [[Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990|unified orthography]] for all the varieties (including a limited number of words with dual spelling) has been approved by the national legislatures of the Portuguese-speaking countries and is now official; see [[Spelling reforms of Portuguese]] for additional details. Formal written standards remain grammatically close to each other, despite some minor syntactic differences.

[[African Portuguese]] and [[Portuguese language in Asia|Asian Portuguese]] are based on the standard European dialect, but have undergone their own phonetic and grammatical developments, sometimes reminiscent of the spoken Brazilian variant. A number of [[creole language|creole]]s of Portuguese have developed in African countries, for example in [[Guinea-Bissau]] and on the island of [[São Tomé]].<ref name=HPL/>

=== Serbo-Croatian ===
{{See also|Language secessionism#In Serbo-Croatian}}
[[Serbo-Croatian]] is a pluricentric language{{Sfn | Kordić | 2024 | p = 168–169}} with four standards (Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian) promoted in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Montenegro]], and [[Serbia]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Mørk |first=Henning |year=2002 |language=da |title=Serbokroatisk grammatik: substantivets morfologi |trans-title=Serbo-Croatian Grammar: Noun Morphology |series=Arbejdspapirer ; vol. 1 |location=Århus |publisher=Slavisk Institut, Århus Universitet |page=unpaginated (Preface) |oclc=471591123}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brozović |first=Dalibor |author-link=Dalibor Brozović |editor1-last=Clyne |editor1-first=Michael G |title=Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |pages=347–380 |chapter=Serbo-Croatian as a pluricentric language |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wawGFWNuHiwC&q=serbo-croatian+pluricentric&pg=PA347 |series=Contributions to the sociology of language 62 |location=Berlin & New York |year=1992 |isbn=3-11-012855-1 |oclc=24668375 |access-date=2 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bunčić |first=Daniel |editor1-last=Kempgen |editor1-first=Sebastian |title=Deutsche Beiträge zum 14. Internationalen Slavistenkongress, Ohrid, 2008 |series=Welt der Slaven |publisher=Otto Sagner |page=93 |language=de |chapter=Die (Re-)Nationalisierung der serbokroatischen Standards |trans-chapter=The (Re-)Nationalisation of Serbo-Croatian Standards |location=Munich |year=2008 |isbn=978-3-86688-007-8 |oclc=238795822}} [http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC06909884 (ÖNB)].</ref><ref name="JiN">{{cite book |last=Kordić |first=Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |year=2018|orig-date=1st pub. 2010 |language=sh |title=Jezik i nacionalizam |trans-title=Language and Nationalism |url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf |url-status=live |series=Rotulus Universitas |location=Zagreb |publisher=Durieux |pages=69–168 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3467646 |isbn=978-953-188-311-5 |lccn=2011520778 |oclc=729837512 |ol=15270636W |s2cid=220918333 |id={{CROSBI|475567}} |archive-date=1 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601175359/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf |access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Zanelli|first=Aldo|year=2018|title=Eine Analyse der Metaphern in der kroatischen Linguistikfachzeitschrift Jezik von 1991 bis 1997|trans-title=An analysis of the metaphors in the Croatian linguistic journal Jezik from 1991 to 1997|language=de|series=Studien zur Slavistik ; 41|location=Hamburg|publisher=Dr. Kovač|pages=20–21|isbn=978-3-8300-9773-0|oclc=1023608613|id={{CROSBI|935754}}}} [http://katalog.nsk.hr/F/?func=direct&doc_number=001013945 (NSK)]. [https://koha.ffzg.hr/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=385977 (FFZG)].</ref><ref name=sipka>{{cite book|last=Šipka|first=Danko|author-link=Danko Sipka|year=2019|title=Lexical layers of identity: words, meaning, and culture in the Slavic languages|location=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=166|doi=10.1017/9781108685795|isbn=978-953-313-086-6|s2cid=150383965|lccn=2018048005 |oclc=1061308790}}</ref> These standards do differ slightly, but do not hinder [[mutual intelligibility]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Pohl |first=Hans-Dieter |editor1-last=Ohnheiser |editor1-first=Ingeborg |title=Wechselbeziehungen zwischen slawischen Sprachen, Literaturen und Kulturen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart : Akten der Tagung aus Anlaß des 25jährigen Bestehens des Instituts für Slawistik an der Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 25. – 27. Mai 1995 |series=Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft, Slavica aenipontana ; vol. 4 |publisher=Non Lieu |page=219 |language=de |chapter=Serbokroatisch – Rückblick und Ausblick |trans-chapter=Serbo-Croatian – Looking backward and forward |location=Innsbruck |year=1996 |isbn=3-85124-180-0 |oclc=243829127}} [http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC06149239 (ÖNB)].</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kordić |first=Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |editor1-last=Golubović |editor1-first=Biljana |editor2-last=Raecke |editor2-first=Jochen |title=Bosnisch – Kroatisch – Serbisch als Fremdsprachen an den Universitäten der Welt |publisher=Otto Sagner |pages=93–102 |language=de |chapter=Nationale Varietäten der serbokroatischen Sprache |trans-chapter=National Varieties of Serbo-Croatian |chapter-url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/426566.NATIONALE_VARIETATEN_DER.PDF |url-status=live |series=Die Welt der Slaven, Sammelbände – Sborniki, Band 31 |location=Munich |year=2008 |isbn=978-3-86688-032-0 |oclc=244788988 |ssrn=3434432 |id={{CROSBI|426566}} |archive-date=1 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601173739/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/426566.NATIONALE_VARIETATEN_DER.PDF |access-date=5 October 2013}} [http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC07155292 (ÖNB)].</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gröschel |first=Bernhard| author-link=Bernhard Gröschel |year=2009 |language=de |title=Das Serbokroatische zwischen Linguistik und Politik: mit einer Bibliographie zum postjugoslavischen Sprachenstreit |trans-title=Serbo-Croatian Between Linguistics and Politics: With a Bibliography of the Post-Yugoslav Language Dispute |series=Lincom Studies in Slavic Linguistics 34 |location=Munich |publisher=Lincom Europa |page=451 |isbn=978-3-929075-79-3 |oclc=428012015 |lccn=2009473660 |ol=15295665W}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Thomas, Paul-Louis |title=Le serbo-croate (bosniaque, croate, monténégrin, serbe): de l'étude d'une langue à l'identité des langues |trans-title=Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian): from the study of a language to the identity of languages |url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/slave_0080-2557_2002_num_74_2_6801 |language=fr |journal=Revue des études slaves |volume=74 |issue=2–3 |page=325 |year=2003 |issn=0080-2557 |oclc=754204160 |id={{ZDB|208723-6}} |access-date=5 March 2013}} [http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC07247877 (ÖNB)].</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kordić, Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |title=Le serbo-croate aujourd'hui: entre aspirations politiques et faits linguistiques |trans-title=Serbo-Croatian nowadays: between political aspirations and linguistic facts |url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/slave_0080-2557_2004_num_75_1_6860 |language=fr |journal=Revue des études slaves |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=31–43 |year=2004 |doi=10.3406/slave.2004.6860 |issn=0080-2557 |oclc=754207802 |s2cid=228222009 |ssrn=3433041 |id={{CROSBI|430127}}. {{ZDB|208723-6}} |archive-date=29 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529002251/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/430127.LE_SERBO-CROATE_AUJOURDHUI.PDF |access-date=16 April 2020}} [http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC07248653 (ÖNB)].</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kafadar |first=Enisa |editor1-last=Henn-Memmesheimer |editor1-first=Beate |editor2-last=Franz |editor2-first=Joachim |title=Die Ordnung des Standard und die Differenzierung der Diskurse; Teil 1 |publisher=Peter Lang |page=103 |language=de |chapter=Bosnisch, Kroatisch, Serbisch – Wie spricht man eigentlich in Bosnien-Herzegowina? |trans-chapter=Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian – How do people really speak in Bosnia-Herzegovina? |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63hKaFGtTDAC&pg=PA95 |location=Frankfurt am Main |year=2009 |isbn= 9783631599174|oclc=699514676 |access-date=9 August 2012 }}</ref> Rather, as all four standardised varieties are based on the prestige [[Shtokavian]] dialect, major differences in intelligibility are identified not on the basis of standardised varieties, but rather dialects, like [[Kajkavian]] and [[Chakavian]].<ref name="JiN"/>"Lexical differences between the ethnic variants are extremely limited, even when compared with those between closely related Slavic languages (such as standard Czech and Slovak, Bulgarian and Macedonian), and grammatical differences are even less pronounced. More importantly, complete understanding between the ethnic variants of the standard language makes translation and second language teaching impossible."<ref name=sipka/>

=== Spanish ===
{{Main|Spanish dialects and varieties}}
[[Spanish language|Spanish]] has both national and regional linguistic norms, which vary in terms of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, but all varieties are mutually intelligible and the same [[Spanish orthography|orthographic rules]] are shared throughout.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=R.W. |editor1-last=Clyne |editor1-first=Michael G |title=Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |pages=45–70 |chapter=Spanish as a pluricentric language |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wawGFWNuHiwC&q=spanish+pluricentric&pg=PA45 |series=Contributions to the sociology of language 62 |location=Berlin & New York |year=1992 |isbn=978-3-11-012855-0 |access-date=4 August 2012}}</ref>

In [[Spain]], [[Standard Spanish]] is based upon the speech of educated speakers from [[Madrid]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Penny |first1=Ralph |title= Variation and Change in Spanish |url=https://archive.org/details/variationchanges00penn |url-access=limited |year= 2000 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 0-521-78045-4 |page= [https://archive.org/details/variationchanges00penn/page/n214 199] |quote= ''whatever might be claimed by other centres, such as Valladolid, it was educated varieties of Madrid Spanish that were mostly regularly reflected in the written standard.''}}</ref> All varieties spoken in the [[Iberian Peninsula]] are grouped as [[Peninsular Spanish]]. [[Canarian Spanish]] (spoken in the [[Canary Islands]]), along with [[Spanish language in the Americas|Spanish spoken in the Americas]] (including [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish spoken in the United States]], [[Central American Spanish]], [[Mexican Spanish]], [[Andean Spanish]], and [[Caribbean Spanish]]), are particularly related to [[Andalusian Spanish]].

The United States is now the world's second-largest Spanish-speaking country after [[Mexico]] in total number of speakers (L1 and L2 speakers). A report said there are 41 million L1 Spanish speakers and another 11.6 million L2 speakers in the U.S. This puts the US ahead of Colombia (48 million) and Spain (46 million) and second only to Mexico (121 million).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/us-second-biggest-spanish-speaking-country|title=US now has more Spanish speakers than Spain – only Mexico has more|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=29 June 2015}}</ref>

The Spanish of [[Latin America]]ns has a growing influence on the language across the globe through music, culture and television produced using the language of the largely bilingual speech community of US Latinos.<ref>Mar‐Molinero, C., & Paffey, D. (2011). Linguistic imperialism: who owns global Spanish?. The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics, 747–764.</ref><ref>Mar-Molinero, Clare. "The European linguistic legacy in a global era: Linguistic imperialism, Spanish and the Instituto Cervantes." In Language Ideologies, Policies and Practices, pp. 76–88. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2006.</ref><ref>Mar-Molinero, C. (2008). Subverting Cervantes: language authority in global Spanish. International Multilingual Research Journal, 2(1–2), 27–47.</ref>

In [[Argentina]] and [[Uruguay]] the Spanish standard is based on the local dialects of [[Buenos Aires]] and [[Montevideo]]. This is known as [[Rioplatense Spanish]], (from Rio de la Plata (River Plate)) and is distinguishable from other standard Spanish dialects by {{lang|es|[[voseo]]}}. In [[Colombia]], [[Colombian Spanish#Rolo dialect|Rolo]] (a name for the dialect of Bogotá) is valued for its clear pronunciation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2010-06-21/clearest-spanish/|title = The clearest Spanish| date=14 August 2013 }}</ref> The [[Judeo-Spanish]] (also known as ''Ladino''; not to be confused with ''Latino'') spoken by [[Sephardi Jews]] can be found in [[Israel]] and elsewhere; it is usually considered a separate language.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

=== Swedish ===
Two varieties exist,{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} though only one written standard remains (regulated by the [[Swedish Academy]] of Sweden): ''[[Rikssvenska]]'' (literally "Realm Swedish", also less commonly known as "Högsvenska", 'High Swedish' in Finland), the official language of Sweden, and ''[[Finlandssvenska]]'' which, alongside Finnish, is the other official language of Finland. There are differences in vocabulary and grammar, with the variety used in Finland remaining a little more conservative. The most marked differences are in pronunciation and intonation: Whereas Swedish speakers usually pronounce the so-called "tj-sound" as {{IPAblink|ɕ}}, this phoneme is usually pronounced by a Swedo-Finn as {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}}; in addition, the two tones that are characteristic of Swedish (and Norwegian) are absent from most Finnish dialects of Swedish, which have an intonation reminiscent of Finnish and thus sound more monotonous when compared to ''Rikssvenska''.

There are dialects that could be considered different languages due to long periods of isolation and geographical separation from the central dialects of Svealand and Götaland that came to constitute the base for the standard ''Rikssvenska''. Dialects such as [[Elfdalian]], [[Jamtlandic dialects|Jamtlandic]], and [[Gutnish]] all differ as much, or more, from standard Swedish than the standard varieties of [[Danish language|Danish]]. Some of them have a standardized orthography, but the Swedish government has not granted any of them official recognition as regional languages and continues to look upon them as dialects of Swedish. Most of them are severely endangered and spoken by elderly people in the countryside.

=== Tamil ===
The vast majority of [[Tamil language|Tamil]] speakers reside in southern India, where it is the official language of [[Tamil Nadu]] and of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]], and one of 22 languages listed in the [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India]].
It is also one of two official languages in [[Sri Lanka]], one of four official languages in [[Singapore]], and is used as the medium of instruction in government-aided [[Tamil primary schools in Malaysia]].
Other parts of the world have Tamil-speaking populations, but are not loci of planned development.{{sfnp|Annamalai|1992|p=94}}

Tamil is [[diglossic]], with the literary variant used in books, poetry, speeches and news broadcasts while the spoken variant is used in everyday speech, online messaging and movies.
While there are significant differences in the standard spoken forms of the different countries, the literary register is mostly uniform, with some differences in semantics that are not perceived by native speakers.
There has been no attempt to compile a dictionary of Sri Lankan Tamil.{{sfnp|Annamalai|1992|p=95}}

As a result of the [[Pure Tamil Movement]], Indian Tamil tends to avoid loanwords to a greater extent than Sri Lankan Tamil.
Coinages of new technical terms also differ between the two.{{sfnp|Annamalai|1992|p=96}}
Tamil policy in Singapore and Malaysia tends to follow that of Tamil Nadu regarding linguistic purism and technical coinages.{{sfnp|Annamalai|1992|p=98}}

There are some spelling differences, particularly in the greater use of [[Grantha script|Grantha letters]] to write loanwords and foreign names in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.
The Tamil Nadu [[simplified Tamil script|script reform of 1978]] has been accepted in Singapore and Malaysia, but not Sri Lanka.{{sfnp|Annamalai|1992|pp=96, 98}}

=== Others ===
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2022}}
* Standard [[Irish language|Irish]] (Gaeilge), [[Scottish Gaelic]] and possibly [[Manx language|Manx]] can be viewed as three standards arisen through divergence from the [[Early Modern Irish|Classical Gaelic]] norm via orthographic reforms.
* [[Komi language|Komi]], a [[Uralic languages|Uralic]] language spoken in northeastern European Russia, has official standards for its [[Komi-Zyrian language|Komi-Zyrian]] and [[Komi-Permyak language|Komi-Permyak]] dialects.
* [[Kurdish language]] has two main literary norms: [[Kurmanji]] (Northern Kurdish) and [[Sorani]] (Central Kurdish). The [[Zaza–Gorani languages]], spoken by some Kurds, are occasionally considered to be Kurdish as well, despite not being mutually intelligible.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
*For most of its history, [[Hebrew]] did not have a center. The grammar and lexicon were dominated by the canonical texts, but when the pronunciation was standardised for the first time, its users were already scattered. Therefore, three main forms of pronunciations developed, particularly for the purpose of prayer: [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]], [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]], and [[Yemenite Hebrew|Temani]]. When Hebrew was revived as a spoken language, there was a discussion about which pronunciation should be used. Ultimately, the Sephardi pronunciation was chosen even though most of the speakers at the time were of Ashkenazi background, because it was considered more authentic. The standard Israeli pronunciation of today is not Identical to the Sephardi, but is somewhat of a merger with Ashkenazi influences and interpretation. The Ashkenazi pronunciation is still used in Israel by [[Haredi Judaism|Haredim]] in prayer and by Jewish communities outside of Israel.
* [[Lao language|Lao]] and [[Isan language|Isan]], the situation in Thailand is in stark contrast to Laos where the Lao language is actively promoted as a language of national unity. Laotian Lao people are very conscious of their distinct, non-Thai language and although influenced by Thai-language media and culture, strive to maintain 'good Lao'. Although spelling has changed, the Lao speakers in Laos continue to use a modified form of the ''Tai Noi'' script, the modern [[Lao alphabet]].<ref name="LaoLaw">Session VI of the People's Supreme Assembly, II Legislature. [http://www.un.int/lao/constitution.htm The Constitution of the Lao People's Democratic Republic] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806080917/http://www.un.int/lao/constitution.htm |date=2011-08-06 }}. (15, Aug 1991).</ref>
* [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] consists of a multitude of [[vernacular|spoken dialects]] displaying a great deal of variation in pronunciation and (to a somewhat lesser extent) vocabulary, with no officially recognized "standard spoken Norwegian" (but see [[Urban East Norwegian]]). All Norwegian dialects are mutually intelligible to a certain extent. There are two written standards: [[Bokmål]], "book language", based on Danish (Danish and Norwegian Bokmål are mutually intelligible languages with significant differences primarily in pronunciation rather than vocabulary or grammar), and [[Nynorsk]], "Modern [lit. New] Norwegian", based primarily on rural Norwegian dialects.
*[[Pashto]] has three official standard varieties: [[Central Pashto]], which is the most prestigious{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} standard dialect (also used in [[Kabul]]), [[Northern Pashto]], and [[Southern Pashto]].
* Romance languages
** [[Gallo-Italian languages]] include a great variety of dialects, some mutually unintelligible, and various written standards unrecognised both by [[Italy]] and [[Switzerland]]. [[Lombard language|Lombard]], [[Piedmontese]], [[Friulian language|Friulian]] and [[Istriot]] orthographies exist, with varying degrees of territorial specificity.
** [[Romanian language|Romanian]] in Romania and that in Moldova during the Soviet era, but nowadays, Romania and Moldova use the same standard of [[Romanian language|Romanian]].
** [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] consists of a [[Sardinian language#Varieties|conglomerate of spoken dialects]], displaying a significant degree of variation in phonetics and sometimes vocabulary. The Spanish subdivision of Sardinia into two administrative areas led to the emergence of two separate orthographies, [[Logudorese dialect|Logudorese]] and [[Campidanese dialect|Campidanese]], as standardized varieties of the same language.
* [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]] (Priashiv ([[Prešov]]), [[Lemkos#Language|Lemko]], [[Pannonian Rusyn language|Pannonian]]) are either considered to be standardized varieties of the [[Ruthenian language|same language]] or separate languages.
* [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is considered pluricentric with recognised varieties in [[Suriname]], [[ABC islands (Leeward Antilles)|ABC Islands]], [[Belgium]] and the [[Netherlands]].
* The [[Albanian language]] has two main varieties [[Gheg]] and [[Tosk]]. Gheg is spoken to the north and Tosk spoken to the south of the Shkumbin river. Standard Albanian is a standardised form of spoken Albanian based on Tosk.
* The [[Belarusian language]] features two orthographic standards: official Belarusian, sometimes referred to as [[Narkamaŭka]], and [[Taraškievica]], also known as "classical orthography". The division stems from [[Belarusian orthography reform of 1933|1933 reform]] believed by some to be an attempt to artificially similarize Belarusian and Russian languages. Originally, these standards differed only in written form, but due to Taraškievica being widely used among [[Belarusian diaspora]], it grew some distinct orthoepic features, as well as differences in vocabulary.
* [[Afrikaans]] varieties of [[South Africa]] and [[Namibia]].