Prescriptief

Prescriptief is an approach to language that prescribes how language should be used, through rules, norms, and guidelines. It contrasts with descriptief, which describes language use without judgments. Prescriptief aims to promote a standard, often for clarity, tradition, or social cohesion, and is widely used in education, style guides, and editorial practice.

The term is used across languages; in Dutch linguistics, prescriptief denotes normative grammar, contrasted with descriptief. Prescriptive rules may govern spelling, punctuation, vocabulary choice, syntax, and pronunciation. They are often codified in grammars, style guides, and official standards.

Examples include avoiding sentence-ending with prepositions in formal English, not splitting infinitives in traditional grammar, insisting on who versus whom in formal contexts, and requiring subject-verb agreement. Rules about punctuation, capitalization, and word choice also form prescriptive guidance. Critics argue that prescriptivism enforces arbitrary norms, ignores regional variation, and can lag behind actual usage. Descriptivists, by contrast, document language as it is used and see rules as evolving rather than fixed.

In practice, prescriptief is common in education, journalism, legal writing, and publishing. Some modern guides blend descriptive insight with prescriptive advice to balance clarity and inclusivity, recognizing that language changes over time while maintaining accessible standards.