But while the debate between prescriptivism and descriptivism continues, the two are not mutually exclusive.
尽管描写主义和规定主义之间的争论会一直持续下去但它们二者之间并不是互相排斥的
And while any language needs consistent patterns to function, the study of these patterns opens up an ongoing debate between two positions known as prescriptivism and descriptivism.
尽管所有语言都得按照一套固定的规则来但有两方观点在这些规则的研究上始终争论不休即规定主义和描写主义
At its best, prescriptivism is useful for informing people about the most common established patterns at a given point in time.
规定主义可以在某个特定的时间点告诉人们最为通用的确定模式
Other results
Grossly simplified, prescriptivists think a given language should follow consistent rules, while descriptivists see variation and adaptation as a natural and necessary part of language.
简单来说规定主义认为一门既定的语言要遵循固定的规则而描写主义则认为变化和调整是语言正常且必要的一部分
Like language itself, it's a wonderful and complex fabric woven through the contributions of speakers and listeners, writers and readers, prescriptivists and descriptivists, from both near and far.
就像语言本身就像一匹精美复杂的布经由从古至今的说话者和听众作者和读者规定主义者和描写主义者们的共同努力编织而成
The linguistic approach that tries to understand and map such differences without dictating correct ones is known as descriptivism.
尝试去理解和比对语法上的这些差异却不定义对错的语言学方法被称为描写主义
Descriptivism, on the other hand, gives us insight into how our minds work and the instinctive ways in which we structure our view of the world.
另一方面描写主义会让我们看到自己的想法如何运作以及如何本能地构建自己的世界观