7 ms·
Just in case you're talking about descriptivism vs. prescriptivism. I'm a descriptivist. I don't believe language should have arbitrary rules, like which kind
by static_void 1y ago
Just in case you're talking about descriptivism vs. prescriptivism.
I'm a descriptivist. I don't believe language should have arbitrary rules, like which kinds of words you're allowed to end a sentence with.
However, to be an honest descriptivist, you must acknowledge that words are used in certain ways more frequently than others. Definitions attempt to capture the canonical usage of a word.
Therefore, if you want to communicate clearly, you should use words the way they are commonly understood to be used.
- furyofantares 1y ago> However, to be an honest descriptivist, you must acknowledge that words are used in certain ways more frequently than others. Definitions attempt to capture the canonical usage of a word. True. And that's generally how they order the definitions in the dictionary, in order of usage. For example, "an unfounded or mistaken impression or notion" is indeed the 2nd definition in M-W for "hallucination", not the first.
- trehalose 1y agoA dictionary entry's second definition isn't necessarily an uncommonly used one. It could be up to 49% of the word's usage (assuming the dictionary has such precise statistics).