YES - Regulation shapes standards

Can language be regulated?

• Somewhat — regulatory bodies could work as institutions do exercise a degree of influence

How does Haugen’s model support this?

• Haugen’s model of standardisation — selection, codification, elaboration, acceptance — explains how spelling conventions such as colour v color persist

• They persist because they are reinforced by educations systems, dictionaries, and publishing practices.

What supports societies desire for regulation?

• Cameron’s notion of ‘verbal hygiene’ 

• Highlights society’s desire for language regulation as a way of asserting norms and values

• Resulting in prescriptive guidelines governing grammar, punctuation

Do institutions have limits to their influence?

• Institutions do have a limit to their influence

• Efforts to resist singular ‘they’ common in prescriptive grammars well in the 20th century proved ineffective

• Driven by social shifts around gender inclusivity

How did the BBC prove ineffective at regulation?

• BBC insistence on RP during the mid-20th century did not prevent widspread diffusion of Estuary English features

• L-vocalisation

• Glottalisation

What do these examples provide?

• Such examples can show that institutions can stabilise orthographic and formal standards

• But cannot control the deeper phonological, morphological, or pragmatic changes shaped by speakers themselves

Conclusion 

• While limited regulation may be feasible, a full authority governing Englush would have little real power