prescriptivism and descriptivism

Question 1

what are the features of prescriptivism

Answer 1

• prescriptivists who oppose to borrowing are purists
• favour rules for ‘correct’ language usage
• believe we should stick to the rules and precepts laid down by 18th and 19th century grammarists
• object to non standard grammar, phonology and vocabulary

Question 2

who was Jonathon Swift and what did he suggest in 1712

Answer 2

• Swift was an early prescriptivist who had very definitive views and beliefs about linguistic usage
• in 1712, he suggested that an academy should be set up to regularise English usage

Question 3

what was Swifts aim

Answer 3

to prevent ‘gross improprieties’ by authors

Question 4

what was linguistic usage linked to in the 19th century

Answer 4

linked to morals and etiquette

Question 5

what did a bishop in 1867 comment about language

Answer 5

• commented that speech was a gift from God
• ‘the habit of speaking correct English, next to good morals, is one of the best things in the world’

Question 6

give an example of someone using the good morals-good English debate in the late 20th century

Answer 6

Norman Tebbitt commented that that poor use of English and turning up at school in grubby clothes were proof that a young person had no standards at all

Question 7

what do prescriptivists object too

Answer 7

• glottal stop
• failure to pronounce consonants at the end of words
• American influencing English spelling
• dropping of letter ‘h’ at the beginning of words
• split infinitives
• prepositions at the end of sentences
• borrowing from other Englishes/languages
• double negatives

Question 8

what is the prescriptivist approach to language change

Answer 8

rigid prescriptivists believe that language change=language decay

Question 9

what are the three prescriptivist attitudes to language change Jean Aitchison found

Answer 9

• damp spoon
• crumbling castle
• infectious disease

Question 10

damp spoon

Answer 10

people who use language in sloppy or lazy ways are vulgar

Question 11

crumbling castle

Answer 11

• believe that there was once a ‘golden age’ when English was used correctly and that we should continue to emulate the usage of that age
• language should be preserved in tact

Question 12

infectious disease

Answer 12

• language change spreads like a disease
• language change is out of control and can’t be stopped

Question 13

what are the features of descriptivism

Answer 13

• argue that people need to use different linguistic styles in different contexts
• seeks to describe how language is actually used
• don’t label particular uses of language as ‘correct or incorrect’
• are aware that language is constantly changing and so imposing artifical rules is pointless

Question 14

how do descriptivists define the rules surrounding language

Answer 14

‘patterns of usage’

Question 15

what is the descriptivist approach to language change

Answer 15

• see language change as inevitable
• change is a natural process
• interested in why language changes the way it does

Question 16

what did Aitchison suggest about consonants

Answer 16

• people omit consonants on the end of words for ease of articulation
• speech has to be fast and efficient and the consonants slow people down

Question 17

what does Aitchison suggest about social context

Answer 17

• people adapt their language to fit in with their surroundings
• social context is a key factor

Question 18

when does linguistic change occur

Answer 18

• as we ‘tidy up’ the language
• this is a logical and practical process
• often leads to regularisation

Question 19

what’s an example of linguistic change

Answer 19

dropping inflections that were used in old and middle English as we didn’t need them anymore