Folk linguistics

Folk linguistics is a term applied to the amateur study of linguistics. The term is often used as a pejorative.

The linguist Ray Jackendoff points out that applying folk linguistics to education can be potentially damaging to the attainment of students who speak less standard dialects. Characterising different speech as "good" or "bad" can have a serious effect. ref|jackendoff

The term folk linguistics can also refer to ideological ideas of language, such as nationalist views of language. The scientific understanding of language by linguists often contradicts that of native speakers. ref|silverstein

Example

An example of folk etymology might be:

:"sparrow-grass for asparagus" ref|bris

ee also

* Folk etymology
* Prescriptivism
* Pseudoscience

Notes

# [http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/RayJackendoff/StructureofLanguage1.pdf Ray Jackendoff - Structure of Language] (as a PDF file)
# [http://www.celat.ulaval.ca/acef/252a.htm Language and Culture]
# [http://eis.bris.ac.uk/~gexnl/teaching/purism/folkling.html Linguistic Purism in Germany - Folk Linguistics]

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/prejudice/attitudes/ PBS - Language Prejudice - Language Myth # 17 - They Speak Really Bad English Down South and in New York City]
* [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001732.html Language Log - Prescriptivism and folk linguistics]