Descriptive grammar studies how language is actually used, while prescriptive grammar focuses on how it should be used. Descriptive grammar creates rules based on observation, while prescriptive grammar creates rules based on belief. Both approaches are important, but prescriptive grammar can have flaws, such as imposing rules from other languages.
Descriptive grammar refers to a system by which language is studied that attempts to understand how words and ideas are assembled in language, rather than assigning rules to how language should be constructed. This type of grammar typically relies on observing and researching a language and its various dialects. From this research, grammarians are able to discern how people actually use language and then establish rules or systems for constructing language based on that usage. Descriptive grammar contrasts with prescriptive grammar, where rules are created based on how a grammarian believes the language should be constructed correctly.
In linguistics and grammar research, there are typically two approaches to language study and grammar: prescriptive and descriptive. These different approaches allow grammarians to consider different aspects of language construction and determine different rules regarding a language based on those approaches. Descriptive grammar is typically used by those who are interested in how language is actually used, rather than how language should be used or what counts as “proper” language. Researchers and descriptive grammarians often interview people or find samples of recorded language from natural context to observe and understand how people use language.
Since descriptive grammar is based on actual usage, it can still be used to create rules relating to a particular language, but these are based on how people speak. In English, for example, there’s a descriptive rule that an article typically precedes a noun in a noun phrase, such as “the dog” or “a hat.” This rule is not based on a sense of how the English language should be used, but instead is based on the observations of English speakers using the language. Descriptive grammar is about understanding language in natural use and creating rules or guidelines to better encode and understand linguistic structures.
In contrast to descriptive grammar, prescriptive grammar is an approach designed to understand how language should be constructed. Many of the rules that language learners are taught in a classroom, especially young language learners, are based on a prescriptive understanding of the language. While both prescriptive and descriptive grammar are equally important and simply approach language study in different ways, there can be problems with a purely prescriptive approach. The commonly cited rule prohibiting a preposition at the end of a sentence, for example, is a prescriptive rule based on the grammatical rules of Latin. Many grammarians have argued against this rule for more than a century and insist that ending a sentence with a preposition is perfectly acceptable in English.
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