34.577, Books: Unraveling prescriptivism: van der Meulen

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-577. Wed Feb 15 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.577, Books: Unraveling prescriptivism: van der Meulen

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Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:28:33
From: Tessa Arneri [lotdissertations-fgw at uva.nl]
Subject: Unraveling prescriptivism: van der Meulen

 


Title: Unraveling prescriptivism 
Subtitle: Relations between language advice publications and language use in the
Netherlands 
Series Title: LOT Dissertation Series  

Publication Year: 2023 
Publisher: Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT)
	   http://www.lotpublications.nl/
	

Book URL: https://www.lotpublications.nl/unraveling-prescriptivism 


Author: Marten van der Meulen

Paperback: ISBN:  9789460934162 Pages: 275 Price: Europe EURO 37


Abstract:

Language advice publications contain precepts about specific cases of language
variation (usage items), for which one variant is deemed unacceptable. Such
works are a manifestation of the ideology of prescriptivism, or the idea that
there are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ linguistic forms. Dutch examples of usage items
include the comparative conjunctions als and dan ‘as/than’ and verb agreement
with quantifying noun aantal ‘number’, among many others. This thesis takes
these rather neglected books, particularly aimed at Dutch speakers in the
Netherlands, as a starting point, investigating both the development of usage
items and their interplay with usage.

Results highlight the variability of prescriptivism. Studies of the general
usage item tradition and specific selections of usage items show that the
stance towards variation differs synchronically and diachronically between
usage items. Argumentation is used haphazardly. The mapping of Dutch
prescriptivism to actual language usage presents a similarly varied picture.
The influence of usage on language advice publications seems limited.
Frequency and recency statements rarely conform to actual usage, although
exceptions can be found. Conversely, a case study of parliamentary language
shows that precepts can influence language use, depending on the mode, usage
item and linguistic level (grammatical or lexical). The final chapter finds a
limited number of patterns in the distribution of acceptance between precept,
usage and attitude, suggesting mutual influence.

All in all, this thesis emphasizes the importance of studying prescriptivism
as a complex, rather than a monolithic phenomenon, and argues for a
re-evaluation of the intricate relations between prescriptivism and usage.
 



Linguistic Field(s): Text/Corpus Linguistics


Written In: English  (eng)

See this book announcement on our website: 
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=168533




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