Pluricentric language
A language with multiple national or regional standard varieties, each associated with a distinct center of use and often its own norms.
Standard language: A codified language variety used in formal settings and supported by institutions. Pluricentricity concerns how a standard language can have several centers of authority.
English language: A West Germanic language with major national standard varieties around the world. British, American, and other national standards make English a prominent pluricentric case.
Monocentric language: A language whose standard norms are centered primarily in one national or regional community. It contrasts with languages whose standards have several recognized centers.
Sociolinguistics: The study of how language varies and functions in social life. Pluricentricity links linguistic norms to social groups and institutions.
Language variety: A form of language distinguished by features such as region, social group, or communicative situation. National standards are varieties within a broader language.
German language: A West Germanic language spoken chiefly in Central Europe and organized around several national standards. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland maintain distinct standard conventions.
Dialect continuum: A chain of geographically adjacent varieties in which neighboring speech forms are more similar than distant ones. A continuum describes gradated local differences, not multiple codified national standards.
Language policy: Rules and practices through which institutions manage language use and status. Policy determines which national norms receive official recognition.
Language standardization: The process of selecting, codifying, and promoting norms for a language variety. Different centers may standardize their varieties separately.
Portuguese language: A Romance language spoken in Portugal, Brazil, and several other countries. Brazilian and European Portuguese are major national standard varieties.