The Gold Standard of the Language

The Gold Standard of the Language

1. What’s “language standard”? What are the constituent parts of it? What levels of language are standardized? What types of the norm are there, then?

1 standard language – that is, that version of the language held to be correct in pedagogical grammar books and usage guides and used in education, the workplace, and the government
1.1 A standard language (also standard dialect, standardized dialect, or standardised dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. As it is usually the form promoted in schools and the media, it is usually considered by speakers of the language to be more "correct" in some sense than other dialects.
Usually, but not always, based on the tongue of a capital city, a standard language is defined by the selection of certain regional and class markers, and the rejection of others. This is the version of a language that is typically taught to learners of the language as a foreign language, and most texts written in that language follow its spelling and grammar norms.

in my opinion, the main parts of a standardized language is correct pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary

The term “standard” itself is ambiguious. There are two kinds of standards, minimum standards and arbitrary standards

2. What’s a prescriptive approach/prescriptive grammar? How does a descriptive approach differ from it?

1. an approach to grammar that is concerned with establishing norms of correct and incorrect usage and formulating rules based on these norms to be followed by users of the language.
The prescriptive approach maintains traditional rules of grammar, such as classical rules established by Greek and Latin educators. The descriptive approach asserts that grammar, linguistics, data analysis and even ethics are adaptable and don't follow traditional clear-cut rules.
2. Descriptive grammar: the systematic study and description of a language. Descriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers and writers.

Prescriptive grammar: a set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language, usually intended as an aid to the learning of that language. Prescriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used.

Both kinds of grammar are concerned with rules--but in different ways. Specialists in descriptive grammar (called linguists) study the rules or patterns that underlie our use of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. On the other hand, prescriptive grammarians (such as most editors and teachers) lay out rules about what they believe to be the “correct” or “incorrect” use of language.

3. Prescriptive approach tells wrong and right language uses. Can you give any examples of prescriptive rules of English grammar?

4. According to the prescriptive grammar, one of the following sentences is correct, the other is wrong. Define which is which and explain your choice.

a. That is the box in which I store my compact discs.

b. That’s the box I store my CDs in.

5. Language users utilize tag questions to define whether their interlocutor agrees or disagrees with the statement. Form tags for the sentences below and explain how to construct a tag question.

NB: There are two possible tag questions for the last two statements. Prescriptivists will choose one of them, while the majority of speakers will choose the other. Which variant is close to your heart?

a. We are leaving for Europe tomorrow, ________________________?

b. We could have left later, _________________________?

c. The airport is nearby, ___________________?

d. You ordered a taxi this morning, _____________________?

e. Grumby may come with us to the airport, ____________________?

f. I am expected to carry our passports, ____________________?

6. Language norm changes, very slowly but it does. New variants enter dictionaries only when the majority of speakers agree in using them. Consider the following sentences and define those which seem accepting and those which are a sheer violation of the language norm.

a. After I graduated college, I applied for a grant to help explore caves in the Southwest.

b. Our team was comprised of three archeologists and two linguists.

c. By early afternoon on our first day out, no one felt like going any further along the trail.

d. All the cave drawings we found were photographed by our team leader and myself.

e. I hope to have alot of future opportunities to do archaeological explorations.

7. Some people are too conscious about their speech. The obsessive control of one’s speech may result in the lack of confidence. American linguists call such a phenomenon “linguistic insecurity”. Linguistic insecurity often leads to overcorrection/ hypercorrection. People tend to correct the sentences which are already accurate. Consider the following statements and define grammatically correct ones. Explain why, in your opinion, the other contains a mistake. How can you explain people’s reasoning in each overcorrected sentence?

a. Between you and me, I think she plays better than he.

b. Between you and I, I think she plays better than him.

a. Who do you think is telling the truth?

b. Whom do you think is telling the truth?

8. Language norm is not absolute. People often step aside from the standard variant in their everyday lives. They create some sort of “private norms” for various situations of their lives. These norms serve various functions. Some of them may be appropriate for two peers’ conversation; other norms may suit the situation of talking about a baseball match. Compare the following statements and define which is correct.

a. I didn’t get nothing at the store.

b. I didn’t get anything at the store.

a. The nOObs got totally pwned in a CTF match.

b. The newcomers were decisively beaten in a game of capture the flag.

a. The grocery checker put my pop in a plastic sack.

b. The grocery checker put my soda in a plastic bag.

a. I feel badly about what has happened.

b. I feel bad about what’s happened.