Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme for people who like to learn new words. Visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion for links to eclectic additions to your vocabulary.
My word today was inspired by last week’s post on Weird Al Yankovic’s video “Word Crimes.” In my post, I related that Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty said of Yankovic’s video, (which insults people who use poor grammar) “Prescriptivism sells.”
I had to find out more about prescriptivism.
Webster’s got me this far:
prescriptive \pri-‘skrip-tiv\ adj from Latin praescribere to write at the beginning, dictate, order; acquired by, founded on, or determined by a long-standing custom
Grammar.about.com explains that prescriptivism is the ardent belief that one variety of language is superior to all others and should be promoted as such. It’s concerned with proper and correct usage.
In contrast, descriptivism is a nonjudgmental approach to language concerned with how it is actually spoken and written.
A graphic on the About Grammar site says:
I believe sensible prescriptivism ought to be part of any education.
~Noam Chomsky
I can relate to this quote. Sometimes I worry that our casual approach to language, all the texting and slang, will erode its power over time. Ask my kids. I like rules. But, I don’t want to be obnoxious or pretentious about grammar.
Yes, I think students should still diagram sentences (I loved it!) No, I don’t think that one should insult people who use inappropriate possessive apostrophes. (We word nerds should just correct the error mentally and make sure our writing doesn’t have that or some other mistake.)
The emphasis on sensible from Chomsky’s quote comes from the original graphic, and it deserves the attention.
Word Nerd Workout
Would you describe yourself as a fan of prescriptivism or descriptivism? Why?
Thanks for adding to the discussion!
Julia
Grammatical errors (and spelling errors) bug me when I encounter them in books. I think authors and editors should know better. On the other hand I let errors slide in others. I read a lot of blogs, websites, etc. and talk to a wide variety of people. I notice a lot of grammar mistakes – but – I know that my grammar isn’t perfect either, so I try to forgive. Good post Julie.
I guess I have to be considered a fan of prescriptivism. I try to not be too obnoxious about it. That being said, it drives me crazy when I see obvious grammar errors on marquees, billboards and most of all in our local newspaper. I considered once, highlighting all the errors on the front page and sending it back to the editor. Instead, I cancelled my subscription, with an explanation! No response was received!
I haven’t really thought about this issue a lot. I’m probably more toward prescriptivism, but language is a changing art. (Oh, and I love the “Word Crimes” video!)
I lean more towards prescriptivism. Yet there are times when I’m writing in a more casual manner, and purposely use incorrect grammar or spelling. Those are the times I wish I could put a footnote at the bottom of my post, letting readers know that I know I’m not using proper grammar! I like rules too, so I think about these kinds of things. 🙂
I think both have their advantages in a way, I’m probably in the middle too! Thanks for sharing and visiting my blog too.
Both new to me 🙂
Some grammar errors really bug me but I can overlook others so I guess I’m in between. This is a great post!