Grassroots prescriptivism

Routledge eBooks, pp. 227–245

Abstract

This chapter is an exploration of bottom-up, or grassroots, prescriptivism and the shift in the dynamics of language policing. The notion that language ideologies and norms are tied to and reinforced by formalized authorities – grammarians, language associations, media platforms and the like – has to be questioned in the digital and postdigital age characterized by its participatory culture. This chapter argues that the rise in importance of grassroots prescriptivism is tied to larger shifts in late-modern publics and the making of authority. The first part of this contribution introduces the theoretical foundations of grassroots prescriptivism and it defines its forms and structures as well as the common topics and targets. For a closer look at the phenomenon, a case study is presented on grassroots prescriptivism as observed on the online platform Reddit whose users discuss pronunciation variation of the internet coinage imgur .

Authors 2

1. Morana Lukač Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   de Universiteit Leiden , op

2. Theresa Heyd Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   de Universiteit Leiden , op