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is normative. It tells us
( prescribes) what we should
say, should write, and what we should not say or do or write. It
gives us a set of norms to follow, and tells us which ``errors" to
avoid. It tells us that somethings are ``bad" and some things are
``good". Prescriptive grammar fails to distinguish between style and
grammar, often confusing the two. It condemns all styles or dialects
of a language except the standard or classical or ``King's English"
style and often characterizes non-standard language as corrupt or
vulgar or even morally deficient. Examples from 8th-grade English
grammar:
- do not split infinitives.
- Do not dangle participles
- Do not end a sentence with a preposition.
Linguistics is not prescriptive grammar.
Harold Schiffman
Fri Jan 17 09:48:04 EST 1997