noun
- people who believe that language should follow strict rules and established standards, rather than evolving naturally with usage
Usage: plural form; often used in linguistics and language education contexts
Examples
- Prescriptivists argue that ending a sentence with a preposition is grammatically incorrect.
- Many prescriptivists insist on the distinction between 'who' and 'whom' in formal writing.
- The debate between prescriptivists and descriptivists has shaped modern language instruction.
- Prescriptivists often criticize the use of 'they' as a singular pronoun.
- Some prescriptivists believe that split infinitives should always be avoided.
- Language teachers who are prescriptivists emphasize adherence to traditional grammar rules.