prescriptivist
Language rules stickler
A prescriptivist holds that language has correct and incorrect forms that should be enforced.
Prescriptivists favor rules like "don't split infinitives" or "whom, not who, as an object." The term is often pejorative among linguists, who prefer descriptive approaches that document how people actually speak: He's such a prescriptivist about grammar.
One demanding strict adherence
- dogmaticAsserting opinions as facts
- correctnessState of being accurate
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
rigidity · inflexibility · strictness · pedantry · elitism · gatekeeping · snobbery · linguistic purism
Rules for arranging words
- punctuationWritten clarity symbols
- usageAct of employing something
- dictionChoice of words
- orthographyStandard writing conventions
spelling · comma · semicolon · split infinitive · dangling modifier · whom · apostrophe · hyphenation
Of ancient Greece/Rome
- time-honoredRespected due to age
- establishedFormally set up
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- conventionAgreed standard of behavior
custom · Strunk and White · Fowler · schoolmarm · old-fashioned · nineteenth-century · Victorian · antiquated
Compiled official guidelines
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- mandateFormal authoritative directive
- dictateGive orders imperiously
- stipulationCondition in an agreement
directive · decree · stricture · injunction · codification · standardization · enforcement · compliance
Correct, formal language usage
- standard languageCodified, official linguistic form
- Queen's EnglishStandard British formal speech
- BBC EnglishStandard British broadcast accent
purist
One demanding strict adherence
- dogmaticAsserting opinions as facts
- correctnessState of being accurate
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
orthodoxy · rigidity · inflexibility · strictness · pedantry · elitism · gatekeeping · snobbery · linguistic purism · language police
syntax
Rules for arranging words
- punctuationWritten clarity symbols
- usageAct of employing something
- dictionChoice of words
orthography · spelling · comma · semicolon · split infinitive · dangling modifier · whom · apostrophe · hyphenation · subject-verb agreement
classical
Of ancient Greece/Rome
- time-honoredRespected due to age
- establishedFormally set up
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
convention · custom · Strunk and White · Fowler · schoolmarm · old-fashioned · nineteenth-century · Victorian · antiquated · outdated
rulebook
Compiled official guidelines
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- mandateFormal authoritative directive
- dictateGive orders imperiously
stipulation · directive · decree · stricture · injunction · codification · standardization · enforcement · compliance · violation
proper English
Correct, formal language usage
- standard languageCodified, official linguistic form
- Queen's EnglishStandard British formal speech
- BBC EnglishStandard British broadcast accent
- word peoplelexicographer, linguist, neologist, etymologist, grammarian