Let’s repeat that again. I am not a prescriptivist.

Do I think that not all nonsense combinations of sounds become words as soon as someone, somewhere, decides they mean something? Yes. Do I think that language must stay static, unchanging, set in linguistic stone for all eternity? No. Therefore, I am not a prescriptivist.

In everything, I am a moderate. I support the balance, as I have been saying, of invention and tradition. That is what makes new words effective and interesting. But to expect to make up a word and have it fly in your academic papers? That’s not always reasonable.

It’s come to my attention that a lot of people are calling me a prescriptivist anyways. In which case, we are going to have to talk some more. As always, there are some people who are being quite reasonable, courteous, and sensible; there are some others who are calling me names and criticizing my personal blog as an extension of this debate. My personal blog is pretty much a fandom blog. Unless my love of Doctor Who demonstrates to you that I’m a prescriptivist somehow, I ask that you keep your discussions focused where they belong.

Also, I’m a creative writing major. Don’t say stuff like “ugh, English majors” just because you don’t like something I’m saying.

We may or may not continue this later. Ideally, I’d like to move the discussion elsewhere, since Tumblr is not necessarily a solid platform for lengthy debates. All the posts connected to this discussion have been moved off the main blog and over to the answerblog; you can find them here.