prescriptivists
Language rule sticklers
Prescriptivists are people who believe language should follow established rules and standards rather than simply describing how people actually speak and write.
They advocate for "correct" usage based on traditional grammar, often objecting to changes or innovations they consider errors.
The term is typically used by linguists who favor descriptivism—the view that language should be documented as it naturally occurs—and carries a slightly dismissive tone.
Prescriptivists insist on "whom" even when most speakers have abandoned it.
Rules for arranging words
- punctuationWritten clarity symbols
- spellingCorrect letter sequence
- conjugationVerb form variation system
- inflectionWord form alteration
morphology · usage · diction · orthography · correctness · precision · clarity · grammarians
Insistence on correctness
- dogmatismUnyielding adherence to doctrine
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- rigidityState of being unbending
- inflexibilityQuality of being unbending
fundamentalism · conservatism · traditionalism · elitism · pedantry · snobbery · sticklers · purists
Implementing uniform technical specifications
- codificationOrganizing rules into system
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- canonAccepted authoritative works
- dictumAuthoritative formal statement
mandate · edict · stricture · decree · injunction · protocol · rubric · enforcement
Those studying language as-is
- linguistsScholars of language structure
- language changeHow speech transforms over time
- living languageLanguage still naturally spoken
- neologismsNewly invented words
slang · colloquialisms · barbarisms · solecisms · corruptions · degradation · standards · decline
syntax
Rules for arranging words
- punctuationWritten clarity symbols
- spellingCorrect letter sequence
- conjugationVerb form variation system
inflection · morphology · usage · diction · orthography · correctness · precision · clarity · grammarians · rulebook
purism
Insistence on correctness
- dogmatismUnyielding adherence to doctrine
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- rigidityState of being unbending
inflexibility · fundamentalism · conservatism · traditionalism · elitism · pedantry · snobbery · sticklers · purists · correctness
standardization
Implementing uniform technical specifications
- codificationOrganizing rules into system
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- canonAccepted authoritative works
dictum · mandate · edict · stricture · decree · injunction · protocol · rubric · enforcement · gatekeeping
descriptivists
Those studying language as-is
- linguistsScholars of language structure
- language changeHow speech transforms over time
- living languageLanguage still naturally spoken
neologisms · slang · colloquialisms · barbarisms · solecisms · corruptions · degradation · standards · decline · evolution
- Language ShapersNoah Webster, simplifiers, orthographers, Sequoyah, lexicographers