[1] It is a set of spoken and written formal varieties used by the educated francophones of several nations around the world.
The syntax, morphology, and orthography of Standard French are explained in various works on grammar and style such as the Bescherelle, a reference summary of verb conjugations first compiled in the 19th century by Louis-Nicolas Bescherelle from France, and Le Bon Usage written in the 20th century by Belgian grammarian Maurice Grevisse.
[citation needed] Although Standard French has in fact undergone centuries of human intervention and language planning, popular opinion contends that Standard French should consist solely of the rulings by the Académie française in France or in standardization from terminological work by the Office québécois de la langue française in Quebec.
There is further perceived or actual linguistic hegemony in favour of France by virtue of tradition, the former imperialism, and a demographic majority.
The standard pronunciation of Metropolitan French is, out of concerns for comprehension or social stigma, sometimes favoured over other standard national pronunciations in teaching French to non-native speakers in Francophone nations other than France.