Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
SUBSTANDARD, NONSTANDARD
In this book Substandard usage refers to a pronunciation, spelling, word, meaning, grammatical structure, or other locution that the Standard-using language community deems typical of other than Standard English; the usage may seem typical rather of Common or even Vulgar English. Substandard means “absolutely unacceptable and inappropriate at any level of Standard English,” and Nonstandard means something less absolute, perhaps that the locution may be acceptable regionally but not nationally or that it’s simply not so egregious a blunder as a Substandard locution is. Substandard usages are frequently shibboleths; Nonstandard usages are usually not so damning. See also STANDARD ENGLISH.
