Theatre practitioners use to mean the form of English spoken by a non-native speaker and to mean the kind spoken in regions where English is the first language. Linguists use the term to refer to the sound of a variation of speech, while refers to accent, language changes and word choice.

A "standard" is an form of . So there may be many standards that you use in every day that change based on your environment. Actors in North America traditionally use (at least) two standards in the theatre: and Standard (sometimes called " American Stage " or SASD. In , the "accepted of speech" (at least in some circles) in called Received or Southern British Speech.