Language diversity and change

What is Prescriptivism?

An approach to language that dictates rules of usage, focusing on concepts of 'right' and 'wrong' rather than 'appropriateness' and 'acceptability'.

What is descriptivism?

An approach to language based on observation of language in use, focusing on appropriateness and acceptability rather than concepts of 'right' and 'wrong'

Plain English Campaign

Set up in 1979. Claims to challenge “misleading public information”/jargon. Attempts to prescribe clearer, simpler English

Political correctness (PC) movement

Campaign to remove discriminatory and offensive language (to remove the use of words that have negative or loaded connotations)

Sticklerism

(A form of prescriptivism). A finger-wagging approach - correcting perceived errors. linguistic one-upmanship

Declinism

A belief that change is the same as deterioration. But literacy rates are higher than ever and there is no “peak” to be found. The idea of peak is mythical.

Benign prescriptivism

A form of prescriptivism that cares more for clarity than correctness

What did John Cheke (a past prescriptivist) object to?

English being mixed with other languages

What year did John Cheke make his claim?

1557

What did Johnathan Swift (a past prescriptivist) want?

An academy (to keep English the same forever)

What year did Johnathan Swift make his claim?

1712

What did Robert Lowth (a past prescriptivist) believe?

That grammar is for teaching us how to express ourselves “correctly”

What year did Robert Lowth make his claim

1762

What is the inkhorn controversy?

People didn’t like that scholars were excessively adopting words from Latin. The term “inkhorn” was used to describe writers who kept using Latin to create words that are unnecessarily complicated, foreign, or pretentious (esp to ordinary people)

Standardisation

Making all variations of language conform to an agreed set of rules. It is a gradual process.

Dr Johnson's dictionary

1755 dictionary (not first in English, but one of first major attempts). 43,000 words. Part of the 18th century movement to standardisation in English

Robert Lowth’s book

1762 grammar book (“A short introduction to the English language”) covering various rules. Part of the 18th century movement to standardisation in English.