deskriptivna

Deskriptivna is a feminine adjective used in several South Slavic languages, notably Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian, meaning "descriptive." It is used to form terms that denote an approach or description of phenomena, rather than prescriptive rules. In academic and scientific contexts, deskriptivna is commonly combined with nouns to name fields or methods, such as deskriptivna lingvistika (descriptive linguistics) and deskriptivna gramatika (descriptive grammar).

In linguistics, the descriptive approach describes how language is actually used by speakers, documenting sound systems, word formation, sentence structure, and vocabulary without judging correctness or prescribing norms. This stands in contrast to preskriptivna linguistika or preskriptivna gramatika, which aim to enforce standard language usage and rules. Descriptive studies often emphasize variation across dialects, registers, and sociolects, and frequently rely on corpora, fieldwork, and cross-linguistic comparison.

The form deskriptivna derives from Latin descriptivus, via European terminology, and has become integrated into contemporary South Slavic usage. Like other adjectives in these languages, deskriptivna agrees with the gender, number, and case of the noun it modifies (for example, lingvistika is feminine, hence deskriptivna lingvistika; masculine nouns would use deskriptivan, neuter deskriptivno).