PHI 1101 Study Guide - Final Guide: Ope, Scurvy, Standard Written English

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Devin Shaw

Document Summary

Each answer should be no more than one page double spaced. Please answer in complete sentences (8 marks: please explain the difference between prescriptivism and descriptivism. Answers: descriptivism is an approach that proposes the objective and systematic description of language, in which investigators confine themselves to facts as they can be observed. Prescriptivism is an approach, especially to grammar, that sets out rules for what is regarded as correct in language. Essentially prescriptivism is how language ought to be used, and descriptivism is how language is used. David foster see"s benefits in both prescriptivism and descriptivism, as well as propositions he does not agree with. Prescriptivism describes standard written english as the only proper form of english and that rules are normative, required when dealing with languages. Descriptivism is the exact opposite, stating standard written english is one of many proper forms of dialect when writing, and that rules are arbitrary, subjective to the situation presented.