this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2023
847 points (98.2% liked)

Memes

45719 readers
1057 users here now

Rules:

  1. Be civil and nice.
  2. Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
gary_host_laptop@lemmy.ml
sexy_peach@feddit.de
cyclohexane@lemmy.ml
cypherpunks@lemmy.ml
847
We’ll see (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 11 months ago by sjmarf@sh.itjust.works to c/memes@lemmy.ml
15 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Just because there is no central authority does not mean there is no general consensus. English classes from elementary school to university aren't accidentally in line with each other by some weird coincidence.

Descriptivism has a place in the evolution of language, but not in a wholesale "everything native speakers might say is grammatically correct if they are understood".

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 2 points 11 months ago

English classes from elementary school to university aren’t accidentally in line with each other by some weird coincidence.

So who has the authority when experts disagree? Like I said, no one is saying "I house go" but some people think "Give this to whomever comes here first" is correct while others argue for "whoever". Descriptivism by definition seeks to explain how language functions. Prescriptivism only works within a narrowly defined framework, like APA or MLA for example, but even within those there's disagreement.