5 ms·

Grammar and style guides are prescriptive in nature.

• jaggederest 3y ago
  Which is why we should ignore them and write however we like. Note that I'm not saying we should write poorly, or deliberately sloppily, just it's at the author or editor's preference.
  • epgui 3y ago
    You do you, but I think it's insane not to want to have more norms around the particular uses of language. We already barely understand each other (see any political conversation or pseudoscientific debate on the internet where words get thrown around in abandon, with an abundance of ambiguous constructions). The English/American are culturally less prescriptive around grammar, but other languages (such as French) are often much more prescriptive with it.
    • pc86 3y ago
      Having majored in political science it's rare that political arguments are due to a lack of understanding. They're almost always due to just prioritizing things differently.
      • epgui 3y ago
        I think that's true only when both people have a certain degree of sophistication, but in the vast majority of cases involving laypeople, basic theory (including semantics / working definitions for basic concepts) and reading comprehension skills are probably limiting factors.