(linguistics) Someone who records and describes actual rules regarding language usage, or who believes that linguistic norms should be defined by usage rather than theory.
Used in a Sentence
descriptivists
Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for descriptivists.
Editorial note
This should be recognizably true even if you take the side of the descriptivists in other contexts.
Examples17
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(linguistics) Someone who records and describes actual rules regarding language usage, or who believes that linguistic norms should be defined by usage rather than theory.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of descriptivists gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for descriptivists.
noun
(linguistics) Someone who records and describes actual rules regarding language usage, or who believes that linguistic norms should be defined by usage rather than theory.
Example sentences
This should be recognizably true even if you take the side of the descriptivists in other contexts.
We might know that, be well-behaved descriptivists, and yet still think that this definition is wrong.
Prescriptivists will try to tilt that windmill forever, descriptivists observe that most people just don't care.
Prescriptivists might not like it but descriptivists see it being used for hundreds of years.
Why do descriptivists think it's ok to force everyone to invent language on the spot when people are in dire need?
It is a very old divide, and the descriptivists won a very long time ago.
It's yet another fight between prescriptivists and descriptivists over what defines correct language usage.
He covers (very fairly and entertainingly, IMO) the major divide between linguistic prescriptivists and descriptivists, and why both camps have a point.
I know we're all supposed to be descriptivists now, but I can't let such a useful distinction fade away.
Others are descriptivists, arguing that languages are a living reflection of how they're used and that incorrect usage can become correct if and when it becomes widespread.
They'll come for my commas, eventually, those descriptivists will.
So I imagine most descriptivists would simply refuse to accept that there is a clear line between error and evolution in language usage.
Quote examples
There really is no space for "descriptivists" in technology and especially in standardized protocols.
I think descriptivists get a bad rap sometimes for "anything goes" but that's not true either.
The same people who prescribe these kinds of changes will call themselves linguistic descriptivists as they chastise you for accepting the notion of a "standard" English or for buying in to treating certain dialects as more "prestigious" than others.
Proper noun examples
Descriptivists think that you can't force people to not invent language on the spot.
Just like beloved is supposed to be pronounced (don't @ me Descriptivists).
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use descriptivists in a sentence?
This should be recognizably true even if you take the side of the descriptivists in other contexts.
What does descriptivists mean?
(linguistics) Someone who records and describes actual rules regarding language usage, or who believes that linguistic norms should be defined by usage rather than theory.
What part of speech is descriptivists?
descriptivists is commonly used as noun.