Prescriptivism In English Essay

and linguistic history. The heterogeneous and conflicting nature of this criteria, and pronouncements of grammarians to win acceptance not only from the public but even from their colleagues and successors, ought to have put an end to vain notions of ‘fixing’ English once and for all.

Undesirable conservatism in matters of language is sometimes reinforced by an excessive emphasis on literature as the realization of linguistic excellence. Obviously, over and above its unquestionable humanistic value, literature is a most valuable exponent of the art of writing. But language activity is more than an art., and more than writing and reading. It includes the practical business of speaking and of understanding speech. To stress the primacy of the oral skills—as linguistics does – is not to claim for them a superior absolute value, but

To some extent he must prescribe to educate. His most appropriate position is that of Bloomfield’s ‘wise and moderate prescriptivism’. To be ‘moderate’ his injunctions should be few in number and liberal in tone, to be ‘wise’ they should recognize the facts—as distinct from the folklore—of language. R.A. Hall looks forward to a distinct future when claims to dispense ‘correct’ English will be indictable offences. We readily concede that the courts would have been kept busy in the past with all those offenders who condemned split infinitives and final prepositions, and insisted on ‘not so… as’ and ‘his agreeing’. We too readily assume often without taking the elementary precaution of consulting the records, that our own prescriptions are more soundly based. Now w may be experiencing a kind of reversion. It may be that this particular usage is one on which we should at least fight a retreating action. If so, at least we should take a stand on firm ground rationally