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Linguists don’t say varieties are right or wrong (even though they might have private aesthetic opinions like everyone else). That would be like a biologist say

Linguists don’t say varieties are right or wrong (even though they might have private aesthetic opinions like everyone else). That would be like a biologist saying dogs are the correct version of mammals and cats are wrong and/or don’t exist.

menage 1y ago
Biologists actually say the opposite of that! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-are-perfect-an-evolutionary-biologist-explains-why1/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-are-perfect-...
- MarkusQ 1y ago
  Just because someone has a degree and a job in the field doesn't mean they understand how science works. Prescriptive biology is even sillier than prescriptive linguistics.
  - mcphage 1y ago
    I think her tongue is planted firmly in cheek.
simiones 1y ago
There do exist prescriptivist linguists, who do exactly that: they try to divine "correct" from "incorrect" usage of language.
- School-Cotton 1y ago
  > There do exist prescriptivist linguists That is not true, at least in mainstream serious academia. Prescriptive linguistics doesn’t exist any more than prescriptive biology or astronomy.
  - simiones 1y ago
    Maybe in the USA. But bodies like the French Academy and many similar ones in other countries very much do issue opinions on correct grammatical (and vocabulary) usage. And members of these institutions are very much considered the top of their field in their countries.
    - School-Cotton 1y ago
      The members of the French Academy are not linguists. They are mostly writers or academics from other fields (history, philosophy, etc). If you can read French, check here: https://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/les-quarante-aujourdhui https://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/les-quarante... > And members of these institutions are very much considered the top of their field in their countries. Maybe, but their field isn't linguistics.

menage 1y ago

Biologists actually say the opposite of that! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-are-perfect-an-evolutionary-biologist-explains-why1/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-are-perfect-...

MarkusQ 1y ago
Just because someone has a degree and a job in the field doesn't mean they understand how science works. Prescriptive biology is even sillier than prescriptive linguistics.
- mcphage 1y ago
  I think her tongue is planted firmly in cheek.

simiones 1y ago

There do exist prescriptivist linguists, who do exactly that: they try to divine "correct" from "incorrect" usage of language.

School-Cotton 1y ago
> There do exist prescriptivist linguists That is not true, at least in mainstream serious academia. Prescriptive linguistics doesn’t exist any more than prescriptive biology or astronomy.
- simiones 1y ago
  Maybe in the USA. But bodies like the French Academy and many similar ones in other countries very much do issue opinions on correct grammatical (and vocabulary) usage. And members of these institutions are very much considered the top of their field in their countries.
  - School-Cotton 1y ago
    The members of the French Academy are not linguists. They are mostly writers or academics from other fields (history, philosophy, etc). If you can read French, check here: https://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/les-quarante-aujourdhui https://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/les-quarante... > And members of these institutions are very much considered the top of their field in their countries. Maybe, but their field isn't linguistics.