Standard language in the contemporary social context and the phenomenon of the so-called language destandardization

The standardization of the contemporary European languages was triggered by the process of social centralization which began as the Middle Ages drew to an end. It got its momentum during the period of nation-building, the age that saw the emergence of dozens of European standard languages. In the contemporary context, a phenomenon called language destandardization is observed. In this paper we take it under scrutiny and argue that it can be interpreted in different manners depending on the perspective applied. We conclude that socially conditioned linguistic variation within standard languages is a consequence of their spread through the population and, as such, inevitable. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 178021]