Page 320 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

kinds of English (1): standard English and dialects 308
3 just now
Just now can mean either 'at this moment' or 'a few moments ago'. Compare: She's not in just now. Can f take a message?
f saw Phil just now. He wanted to talk to YOlL
When just now means 'a few moments ago', two positions are possible:
a in end-position, usually with a past tense.
f telephoned Ann just now.
b in mid-position (see 24) with the verb, with a present perfect or past tense. frve) just now realised what f need to do.
308 kinds of English (1):
standard English and dialects
'A language is a dialect that has an army and a navy.' (Max Weinreich)
'Dialect: A language variety that has everything going for it, except the government, the schools, the middle class, the law and the armed forces.'
(Tom McArthur)
1 What is 'standard English'?
After King Alfred's victory over the VIkings in 878, the government of Southern England came to be established in London, which later became the capital of the whole of Britain. Because of this, the English spoken in London and the East Midlands was gradually adopted as the'official' variety of English. And as time went by, this dialect (and its later developments, profoundly influenced by Norman French), became the 'standard' language - the form of English generally accepted for use in government, the law, business, education and literature. Standard English, like all standard languages, is therefore largely the result of historical accident. If the Vikings, who held the north of England, had defeated Harold's army, the capital of modem Britain might well be York, and this book would be written in (and about) a very different kind of English.
2 What is a dialect?
Many people think that dialects are corrupted forms of a language, spoken by· ignorant people who make mistakes because they have not learnt correct grammar. This is not at all true (for more about correctness, see 309). A standard language is not linguistically 'better' than other dialects; it is simply the dialect that has been adopted for official purposes such as government and education. All English dialects have a long history, going back to the distinct forms of speech of the Germanic and Scandinavian invaders who came from various parts of northern Europe to occupy Britain during the Middle Ages.
And each of these dialects has a grammar that is as rich and systematic as standard English, even though it may be very different. Some examples of English dialect forms:
f bain't ready. (= I'm not ready.)
He don't like it. I wants a rest.
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