Linguistic prescription

Linguistic prescription, sometimes called linguistic prescriptivism or language purism, refers to how language experts feel a language should be used, rather than how it is actually used by native speakers. It prescribes the standards that users of a language should follow. In contrast, how a language is actually used is referred to as linguistic description, which is also a scientific field of study by linguists.

The idea of language having set rules that should be followed for correct use, or a particular dialect of a language being more acceptable than another, is the foundation of linguistic prescription. Language instruction classes use a prescriptive approach, teaching students how a language is to be used in the correct way. Rules on grammar, spelling, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation are also features of linguistic prescription. In addition to providing standardization, linguistic prescription contributes to socially acceptable and preferred language use.

Brief History

The origin of language prescription dates back to the invention of language, which is a hallmark of human society. Once a language develops in a society, people can look at the common patterns of the language and begin to infer rules and standards. The development of writing systems also requires a certain amount of standardization to be intelligible and useful. Rules and standards in both spoken and written language can be used to prevent it from being changed, which allows a society to use a language to maintain an identity.

Often, religious institutions were responsible for dictating and influencing the development and rules of a language. For example, the Hebrew alphabet is tied to Judaism and Christianity to Latin. Before the invention of the printing press, written text was expensive to produce, and religious works were often given priority. These religious works had to be copied or translated into different languages individually by devout individuals. It became a matter of practical necessity to develop rules in a language to maintain consistency and preserve the meaning of the sacred text if none already existed. Religion also utilizes language to set norms in society. Certain words or topics can be considered inappropriate or blasphemous and deemed unacceptable.

At some level, societies have used language to establish social hierarchies as well. Honorific or formal use of a particular style of language can create a way for a person or event to be identified as more important, valuable, or higher-class. Prestige can be attached to a particular way a person speaks or writes, thus allowing others to easily identify which social class they belong to. Being able to speak and write in the form of a language viewed as more correct indicates a high level of education and, therefore, social and economic status.

Governments have also used prescription to promote their ideologies. Along with determining which language will be officially used by their people and in official business, the way the language is used can also determine political affiliation. The most powerful people set their particular dialect or style as the standard. Standards of languages in some nations are regulated by language academies, such as the French language academy in France, which was formed about four hundred years ago. Language academies promote a particular variety of a language as being superior or purer. Although not usually enforced by legislation, language academies can, to a large degree, dictate language instruction and use in a society.

In the United States, the modern prescriptive approach began to take shape in the eighteenth century with the goal of adding clarity to the mass production of published works. It helped to standardize the spelling and grammar of the modern English language. Before this time, it was up to the publisher of a book to decide how to use the English language, leading to many variations. This led to much confusion, and the need for regulation was crucial to the development of the United States as a united nation. In 1755, Dr. Samuel Johnson published A Dictionary of the English Language, which is considered by lexicographers the first definitive American English dictionary. It set standards for spellings and definitions, as well as proper and improper usage of words. Although the United States and Britain rejected the idea of forming a formal English language academy, this set the stage for other works setting standards and rules on grammar and style. During this time, it became fashionable for influential authors to publish English language manuals and style guides.

In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the study of linguistic prescription continued. Linguistic description as a scientific field of study also became more popular, describing how the English language is actively used and is changing. The divide between the two fields of study is often debated by language experts, with strong feelings on both sides.

Overview

Linguistic prescription is a normative practice that decides how a particular language should be structured, which contributes to standardization and the ability of it to be understood by those who speak the same language, even across generations. For example, many modern Arabic readers from different Arabic-speaking areas are able to easily understand ancient Arabic texts due to prescription. It supports consistency, logic, and aesthetics. It also allows for a hierarchy of language that determines a person’s intellectual, social, or vocational position. While some language experts feel that prescription is overly controlling of the natural evolution of language, they also see prescription as necessary to some degree.

Dictionaries, thesauruses, grammar books, and style guides are all part of linguistic prescription. Without these guides, communication would prove to be a challenge. It would be nearly impossible to speak or understand other speakers, to read or write, and to communicate across a large geographic area. Common standards hold a diverse nation, such as the United States, together. In addition, setting a standard in a language is necessary for instruction to school children and non-native speakers. It would be very difficult to learn a language if there were no standards set or rules to follow. Prescription allows a language to be more easily taught or learned, which in turn promotes the spread of a language. English simply could not be a widely used language without any rules or standards.

Linguistic prescription is often criticized as resistant to natural change and variety by linguists who prefer a descriptive approach. Descriptive linguists scientifically observe and analyze how a language is used and changes both in written and spoken form. In the United States, these linguists point to the fact that many rules set out by prescription are based on Latin, which is different from English in syntax. Therefore, they argue that many grammar, style, and spelling rules taught in school are impractical and unnecessarily complicated. What is considered “right” or “wrong” in a language, according to a prescriptivist, is determined by these strict rules. They also argue that language is meant to change, adapt, and grow over time, which is hindered by overly authoritarian prescriptionists. To a linguistic descriptionist, there are no wrong way to use a language, only observations on how it is used.

Instead of being opposing viewpoints, the perspectives of prescription and description in linguistics can be seen as complementary. It cannot be denied that prescription has contributed to the development and global use of the English language. Dictionaries, despite being generally considered prescriptive resources, often provide examples of how a word is used in a published text or alternative pronunciations or definitions. Etymology references show how words have changed and the popularity of usage. Liberal prescription can also allow some room for change as language evolves and alternate spellings, pronunciations, definitions, grammar, and style elements become acceptable.

English, a widely varied language that contains many idioms, synonyms, and expressions. It is also a language used by people in many different countries as their first or second language. It is considered to be a lingua franca, or a common second language that people can use to communicate despite a differing first language. Having only a prescriptionist approach would limit and prevent the English language from developing, and having just a descriptionist approach would prevent it from being mutually intelligible across regions and easily learned. It relies on the balance of both approaches to function.

A conservative approach can promote a particular variety of language as superior or encourage social and political division. Prescription can also be frustrating if it mandates that language usage follow a set of rules to be considered correct, even if those rules are arbitrary or outdated. Ideologies can be intertwined into linguistics, and linguistic description can be used to promote a political effort or determine which language is politically correct. Sometimes an influential individual’s particular taste in style or values can be promoted as a standard without any basis behind it other than fashion.

Stigmatization can also occur in a society governed by strict linguistic prescription. Language is a basic human need and evokes strong emotions. Less-educated classes that do not use the same type of a language that professionals use create barriers that can be difficult to cross. They development of a language and culture can be hindered. Language is also closely tied to identity. Parents and educators may not encourage children to use colloquial or regional forms of a language for fear that their child will not have as many opportunities. This can lead to a loss of a sense of individuality and cultural identity.

Bibliography

Al-Rushaidi, Sultan Mohammad Saaiyed. “Is the Linguists’ View of Prescriptive Grammar Reductionist? (A Re-Examination of the Accusations Made against the Prescriptive Tradition).” Arab World English Journal, 2020, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1269341.pdf. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.

Christensen, Eric. “Is There a Place for Prescriptivism?” BYU College of Humanities, Linguistics, 8 Apr. 2022, ling.byu.edu/is-there-a-place-for-prescriptivism. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

Curzan, Anne. Fixing English: Prescriptivism and Language History. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

“Descriptive vs. Prescriptive.” Polysyllabic, www.polysyllabic.com/?q=navigating/intro/prescriptive. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

Nordquist, Richard. “Prescriptivism.” ThoughtCo., 4 Feb. 2020, www.thoughtco.com/prescriptivism-language-1691669. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

Straaijer, Robin. “Linguistic Prescriptivism.” Oxford Bibliographies, 11 Jan. 2024, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199772810/obo-9780199772810-0208.xml. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.