4 ms·
You are right there are a select few. But it is very few. I linked to the quora as just one example. The challenge is that they focus on what is "right" not wh
by drakaal 14y ago
You are right there are a select few. But it is very few. I linked to the quora as just one example. The challenge is that they focus on what is "right" not what is "common".
It is like swum. It is a real word, and I have swum many times in my pool, but it is not how humans write. More of practical linguistics is about how people use words, not how they are supposed to use words.
- curiousdannii 14y agoLinguists get descriptivism drilled into them from day one! If anyone who goes on about what is "right" I would highly doubt they were trained as a linguist. You could perhaps instead mean "standard" instead of "right" - that they're describing a standard dialect, which doesn't meet reality. That could be true, I'm sure it is in places. Btw, I'd be interested to know how many parts of speech the CGEL describes. Anyone got easy access?
- lake99 14y ago> You are right there are a select few. But it is very few. Man! How do you come up with these "facts"? > I linked to the quora as just one example. So, Ɐx(CommentsOnQuora(x) -> Linguist(x))? And by the way, linguists are trained to think like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nYmWt1J4Lg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nYmWt1J4Lg. If you want a wider commentary, read http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?cat=5 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?cat=5 You guys probably do good work. Making wild claims reflects badly on the company; all the more so if the CxO does it.