A descriptivist attitude towards the study of language based on the contend on how one speaks or why they use certain words rather than observing grammar.
2. Why might linguists be more likely to adopt a descriptivist attitude towards studying language than a prescriptive attitude?
They adopt a descriptive attitude because it characterizes how a person or group speak and relates to the ever changing factor of language.
3. What are two examples of descriptive language rules?
- Adjectives precede the nouns they modify
- Regular nouns form the plural by adding -s
4. What is prescriptive attitude toward language use?
A formal language where you have to follow the grammatical rules of the language.
5. What are two examples pf prescriptive language rules?
- Do not end a sentence with a preposition
- Do not use double negatives
6. Explain McKean's Law and Deborah Cameron's viewpoint
McKean's Law explains that when correcting another's speech or language, the corrector will inevitably make a mistake of their own. Deborah Cameron believes that correcting another is a natural part of language development. She further argues that studying these incidents of correction should be a part of linguistics.
7. What point of information did you find most interesting in Chapter 2?
- The word "ain't" first appeared in the seventeenth century
- The history of dictionary and its evolution
- Prescriptive and Descriptive language rules
- Written versus spoken word
Hi Ayse, Would you please comment on what this text is and on what it means to you? Thank you. --Barbara
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