deskriptieve

Deskriptiewe is an Afrikaans term meaning descriptive. In academic and linguistic contexts, it describes approaches, analyses, or styles that aim to describe phenomena as they occur, without prescribing norms or judgments. In linguistics, the phrase deskriptiewe taalkunde refers to descriptive linguistics, the field that documents language structure, usage, and variation across dialects and registers.

Etymology and related terms: deskriptiewe derives from the Latin descriptivus, via the French descriptif or through Dutch into Afrikaans. The English cognate is descriptive, and related terms exist in several Germanic languages with similar meaning. In Afrikaans, the form deskriptiewe is used as the attributive adjective in many contexts, including phrases like deskriptiewe taalkunde (descriptive linguistics), deskriptiewe grammatika (descriptive grammar), and deskriptiewe verslag (descriptive report).

Usage and distinctions: Deskriptiewe language study contrasts with preskriptiewe approaches, which prescribe how language should be used. Deskriptiewe analysis documents actual language use, including phonetic variation, syntactic patterns, and lexical trends, without assigning value judgments about correctness.

See also: linguistics, descriptive linguistics, prescriptive linguistics, descriptive grammar, language variation.

Note: Spelling and usage may vary slightly with related Dutch forms (descriptieve) in non-Afrikaans contexts, but deskriptiewe is the standard Afrikaans form.