Noun
(linguistics) The practice of prescribing idealistic norms, as opposed to describing realistic forms, of linguistic usage.
E.g.
- Most linguists in this age believe that prescriptivism is outmoded and should no longer be used
- Most linguists in this age believe that descriptivism is a more accurate model of language than prescriptivism
- Most linguists in this age believe that “correcting” language unnecessarily is actively harmful, as it stifles the evolution of a living growing thing, which prescriptivism fails to accurately model
- Most linguists in this age agree the more important factor is CONTEXT, that you should use the correct language style for the context, whereas prescriptivism falls flat as it ignores context. Contextual Language is the idea that you use a different style of language talking to your boss then you do to your friend, then you do to your best friend, than you do to a stranger