Editing Dialect continuum (section)

== Relationship with standard varieties ==
{{main|Autonomy and heteronomy (sociolinguistics)}}
[[File:West Germanic dialect diagram.svg|thumb|right|upright=2|Local dialects of the West Germanic continuum are oriented towards either Standard Dutch or Standard German, depending on which side of the international border they are spoken.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=10}}]]
[[Standard language|Standard varieties]] may be developed and codified at one or more locations in a continuum until they have independent cultural status (autonomy), a process the [[Germany|German]] linguist [[Heinz Kloss]] called ''[[abstand and ausbau languages|ausbau]]''. Speakers of local varieties typically read and write a related standard variety, use it for official purposes, hear it on radio and television, and consider it the standard form of their speech, so that any standardizing changes in their speech are towards that variety. In such cases the local variety is said to be dependent on, or heteronomous with respect to, the standard variety.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=9–12}}

A standard variety together with its dependent varieties is commonly considered a "language", with the dependent varieties called "dialects" of the language, even if the standard is mutually intelligible with another standard from the same continuum.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = William A. | last = Stewart | author-link = William Alexander Stewart
  | chapter = A sociolinguistic typology for describing national multilingualism
  | pages = 531–545 | doi = 10.1515/9783110805376.531
  | editor-first = Joshua A. | editor-last = Fishman
  | title = Readings in the Sociology of Language
  | publisher = De Gruyter | year = 1968
  | isbn = 978-3-11-080537-6
}}</ref>{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=11}} The [[North Germanic language|Scandinavian languages]], [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]], are often cited as examples.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=3–4}} Conversely, a language defined in this way may include local varieties that are mutually unintelligible, such as the [[German dialects]].{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=4}}

The choice of standard is often determined by a political boundary, which may cut across a dialect continuum.
As a result, speakers on either side of the boundary may use almost identical varieties, but treat them as dependent on different standards, and thus part of different "languages".{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=9}}
The various local dialects then tend to be leveled towards their respective standard varieties, disrupting the previous dialect continuum.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = Curt | last = Woolhiser
  | chapter = Border effects in European dialect continua: dialect divergence and convergence
  | pages = 501–523
  | title = The Languages and Linguistics of Europe: A Comprehensive Guide
  | editor1-first = Bernd | editor1-last = Kortmann
  | editor2-first = Johan | editor2-last = van der Auwera
  | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | year = 2011
  | isbn = 978-3-11-022025-4
}} p. 501.</ref>
Examples include the boundaries between [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[German language|German]], between [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and [[Polish language|Polish]], and between [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]].<ref>Woolhiser (2011), pp. 507, 516–517.</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | first = Peter | last = Trudgill
  | chapter = Norwegian as a Normal Language
  | chapter-url = http://www.sprakradet.no/Vi-og-vart/Om-oss/English-and-other-languages/English/Norwegian_as_a_Normal_Language/
  | pages = 151–158
  | title = Language Contact and Language Conflict
  | editor-first = Unn | editor-last = Røyneland
  | publisher = Volda College | year = 1997
  | isbn = 978-82-7661-078-9
}} p. 152.</ref>

The choice may be a matter of national, regional or religious identity, and may be controversial.
Examples of controversies are regions such as the disputed territory of [[Kashmir]], in which local [[Muslim]]s usually regard their language as [[Urdu]], the national standard of [[Pakistan]], while [[Hinduism|Hindus]] regard the same speech as [[Hindi]], an official standard of [[India]]. Even so, the [[Languages with official status in India|Eighth Schedule]] to the Indian Constitution contains [[Languages with official status in India#Scheduled languages of the Indian Constitution|a list of 22 scheduled languages]] and Urdu is among them.

During the time of the former [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia]], a standard was developed from local varieties of [[Eastern South Slavic]], within a continuum with [[Torlakian]] to the north and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] to the east. The standard was based on varieties that were most different from standard Bulgarian. Now known as [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], it is the national standard of [[North Macedonia]], but viewed by Bulgarians as a dialect of Bulgarian.<ref>{{cite journal
  | last = Trudgill | first = Peter
  | title = Ausbau sociolinguistics and the perception of language status in contemporary Europe
  | journal = International Journal of Applied Linguistics
  | year = 1992 | volume = 2 | number = 2 | pages = 167–177
  | doi = 10.1111/j.1473-4192.1992.tb00031.x
  }} pp. 173–174.</ref>