Do you ever have compulsive urges to correct other peoples' language? Do you feel like you're part of some kind of "language elite"? Here are some signs that you might be going down the more judgmental path of linguistics. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, read my article Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism.
You might be a prescriptivist linguist if......
...You mark off points for grammar and spelling... on your own grocery list!
...You insist that your cell phone's text messaging program come with a spell-checker.
...You refuse to get a personalized license plate until the DMV allows punctuation marks.
...You write nasty letters-to-the-editor every time your dictionary adds one of them new-fangled "slang" words.
...Your girlfriend says "Let's go out!" and you respond "You mean, 'outward let's go!'"
...You get in a yelling match with a Chinese person over whether it's "Beijing" or "Peking".
...You return the syllabus to your English teacher, covered with red markings and X's.
...The word "ain't" throws you into a blind rage.
...You own multiple dictionaries and stay up late at night distressed by the points where they disagree.
...You've organized your dictionary into books, chapters, and verses- a la The Bible.
...You misunderstood Louis Armstrong's "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" and thought it was about a nasty breakup.
...You undertake a selfless quest to correct all the grammar and spelling errors in lolcats pictures.
...You refuse to legally recognize any signature not written in proper cursive.
...You correct peoples' spelling and punctuation... in a verbal conversation!
...You criticize the spellings of comic book sound effects.
...Your home answering machine says, "This call may be monitored for linguistic quality assurance purposes."
And finally, you might be a prescriptive linguist if you were bothered when I used "prescriptive linguist" in this article's title and "prescriptivist linguist" after the opening paragraph!
AND NOW ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE...
Read my main article about prescriptive linguistics and descriptive linguistics. What about you... do you describe or do you prescribe?
Will there ever come a day when prescriptivists around the world can unite? Read more in: Will The Languages Of The World Ever Merge?
If you ARE a prescriptive linguist, here's one more thing for you to nitpick about! Ergative Verbs!
You might be a prescriptivist linguist if......
...You mark off points for grammar and spelling... on your own grocery list!
...You insist that your cell phone's text messaging program come with a spell-checker.
...You refuse to get a personalized license plate until the DMV allows punctuation marks.
...You write nasty letters-to-the-editor every time your dictionary adds one of them new-fangled "slang" words.
...Your girlfriend says "Let's go out!" and you respond "You mean, 'outward let's go!'"
...You get in a yelling match with a Chinese person over whether it's "Beijing" or "Peking".
...You return the syllabus to your English teacher, covered with red markings and X's.
...The word "ain't" throws you into a blind rage.
...You own multiple dictionaries and stay up late at night distressed by the points where they disagree.
...You've organized your dictionary into books, chapters, and verses- a la The Bible.
...You misunderstood Louis Armstrong's "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" and thought it was about a nasty breakup.
...You undertake a selfless quest to correct all the grammar and spelling errors in lolcats pictures.
...You refuse to legally recognize any signature not written in proper cursive.
...You correct peoples' spelling and punctuation... in a verbal conversation!
...You criticize the spellings of comic book sound effects.
...Your home answering machine says, "This call may be monitored for linguistic quality assurance purposes."
And finally, you might be a prescriptive linguist if you were bothered when I used "prescriptive linguist" in this article's title and "prescriptivist linguist" after the opening paragraph!
AND NOW ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE...
Read my main article about prescriptive linguistics and descriptive linguistics. What about you... do you describe or do you prescribe?
Will there ever come a day when prescriptivists around the world can unite? Read more in: Will The Languages Of The World Ever Merge?
If you ARE a prescriptive linguist, here's one more thing for you to nitpick about! Ergative Verbs!
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