The attitude or belief that one variety of a language is superior to others and should be promoted as such. A key aspect of traditional grammar, prescriptivism is characterized by a concern for "good," "proper," or "correct" usage. Contrast with descriptivism.
Descriptivism;
A non-judgmental approach to language that focuses on how it is actually spoken and written. Contrast with prescriptivism.
Lynne truss is the author of a non-fiction
book “eats, shoots & leaves: the zero tolerance approach to punctuation.”
And is former host of BBC 4’s cutting a dash program. In this book she addresses
the subject of punctuation in the United kingdom and the United states; she
describes that rules are being relaxed in todays society. She wants to remind
the readers of the importance of punctuation in the English language.
A
panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and
proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.
"Why?"
asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes
towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and
tosses it over his shoulder.
"Well,
I'm a panda," he says. "Look it up."
The
waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an
explanation. "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to
China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
