What are four attitudes linguists have in regards to prescriptivists?
- Lack of interest in what they’re saying
- Derision: what prescriptivists say is nonsensical and illogical
- Attack prescriptivism because it is dangerous and it reinforces social class distinctions
- Proactivity: issues of language are important
and linguists should get involved in the discussion
Where did prescriptive grammar come from?
In terms of English, the formal rules for the language began i the 18th century when the British empire felt the need to standardize English as the language of the empire. The model for formalizing grammar rules came from the highly logical structure of Latin.
What are some prescriptive rules of English that formed from Latin grammar?
- Don’t split infinitives.
Ex: don’t say “I want to REALLY understand this”. Rather say “I want really to understand this”. - Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.
Ex: don’t do this–“What did you write this WITH?”. Rather do this–“WITH what did you write this?”. - Use nominative pronouns after ‘be’.
Ex: don’t say “It was me” say “It was I”
What are the categories of prescriptive criticism?
- Illogical constructions (“solecisms”)
- “Barbarisms (linguistic distortions which are unneeded and work against clarity and concision)
- Mistakes in accepted convention of language use (“improprieties”) AKA the most common focus of high school English classes
What are some examples of solecisms?
Double negatives, tough movement, redundancy (deeply profound)
What are some examples of barbarisms?
barbarous derivations (WaterGATE,MarATHON), cliche buzzwords, nouns created from verbs (to parent, to birth), political correct innovations (undocumented workers rather than illegal aliens), mindless fillers (ya know)
What are some examples of improprieties?
wrong verb morphology (saying snuck instead of sneaked), agreement mistakes (is vs. are), word misuses, spelling and pronunciation errors, pronunciation errors
What is the role of linguists in debates involving prescriptivism?
Linguists can distinguish between nonstandard usage and bad grammar; they recognize innovation (slang) as a source of language enrichment not degradation.
What are some of Pinker’s prescriptivist tendencies?
Hates use of “disinterested” when people mean “uninterested”
Hates use of “parameter” instead of “perimeter”
What are some of Professor Schuh’s prescriptivist tendencies?
Hates pronunciation of “processes” as “processeez”
Hates use of nouns as verbs
Hates use of “comprised of” when speakers means “composed of”
What makes a word offensive?
The combination of particular words with particular meanings. Words themselves are not offensive, it depends on the context in which you use them.
What are some common sources of offensive or tabooed words?
sex, elimination, religion, social avoidance patterns, ethnicity/race
Sex obscenity
sexual acts or genitalia
fuck, dick, cunt, tits
Elimination obscenity
bodily waste or organs of elimination
shit, piss, crap, bullshit, asshole
Religion obscenity
curses invoking deities
Oh my God, Fucking Christ, Holy shit
Social avoidance patterns obscenity
taboos on mentioning certain members of a society, like family members
motherfucker, son of a bitch, yo momma
Ethnic obscenity
racial, tribal, ethnic slurs
How to avoid using offensive terms?
Euphemisms
Ex: Oh my Gosh!, doo doo, pee pee, penis
What are some social functions of offensive language
A way to show aggression without physical aggression;
A way to establish social identities;
Social bonding