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67-515: According to the view of many English-language prescriptivists , including influential 18th-century grammarian Robert Lowth , than is exclusively a conjunction and therefore takes either nominative (or subjective) or oblique (or objective) pronouns, depending on context, rather than exclusively oblique pronouns as prepositions do. This rule is broken as often as it is observed. For instance, William Shakespeare 's 1600 play Julius Caesar has an instance of an oblique pronoun following than where

134-580: A lingua franca may evolve by itself, the tendency to formally codify and normalize it is widespread in most parts of the world. Foreign language instruction is also considered a form of prescription, since it involves instructing learners how to speak, based on usage documentation laid down by others. Linguistic prescription may also be used to advance a social or political ideology. Throughout history, prescription has been created around high-class language, and therefore it degeneralizes lower-class language. This has led to many justifications of classism , as

201-548: A certain degree of conceptual overlap as comprehensive descriptive accounts must take into account and record existing speaker preferences, and a prior understanding of how language is actually used is necessary for prescription to be effective. Since the mid-20th century some dictionaries and style guides , which are prescriptive works by nature, have increasingly integrated descriptive material and approaches. Examples of guides updated to add more descriptive material include Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961) and

268-405: A certain time one after another, from century to century, we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who is able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay, that it

335-719: A chapter on American English grammar and use, and a revised treatment of mathematical copy. In August 2010, the 16th edition was published simultaneously in the hardcover and online editions for the first time in the manual's history. In a departure from the earlier red-orange cover, the 16th edition features a robin's-egg blue dust jacket (a nod to older editions with blue jackets, such as the 11th and 12th). The 16th edition featured "music, foreign languages, and computer topics (such as Unicode characters and URLs )". It also expands recommendations for producing electronic publications, including web-based content and e-books . An updated appendix on production and digital technology demystified

402-463: A citation guide summary, and searchable access to a Q&A, where University of Chicago Press editors answer readers' style questions. The Chicago Manual of Style also discusses the parts of a book and the editing process. An annual subscription is required for access to the online content of the manual (access to the Q&;A, however, is free, as are various editing tools). Many publishers throughout

469-467: A comprehensive reference style guide of 1,146 pages in its 17th edition. It was one of the first editorial style guides published in the United States, and it is largely responsible for research methodology standardization, notably citation style . The most significant revision to the manual was made for the 12th edition, published in 1969. Its first printing of 20,000 copies sold out before it

536-404: A correct or proper form, or advise on effective and stylistically apt communication. If usage preferences are conservative, prescription might appear resistant to language change ; if radical, it may produce neologisms . Such prescription may be motivated by attempts to improve the consistency of language to make it more "logical"; to improve the rhetorical effectiveness of speakers; to align with

603-564: A distinction between "prescription" and "prescriptivism", defining the former as "a process of codification of a certain variety of language for some sort of official use", and the latter as "an unscientific tendency to mystify linguistic prescription". Linguistic prescription is a part of a language standardization process. The chief aim of linguistic prescription is to specify socially preferred language forms (either generally, as in Standard English , or in style and register ) in

670-642: A few cases, an entire publishing sector complies with a publication that originated as a house style manual, such as The Chicago Manual of Style and New Hart's Rules in non-fiction book publishing in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, and The Associated Press Stylebook in American news style . Others are by self-appointed advocates whose rules are propagated in the popular press, as in " proper Cantonese pronunciation ". The aforementioned Fowler, and Strunk & White, were among

737-538: A foreign language . Although these have a more democratic base, they still exclude the vast majority of the English-speaking world: speakers of Scottish English , Hiberno-English , Appalachian English , Australian English , Indian English , Nigerian English or African-American English may feel the standard is arbitrarily selected or slanted against them. Therefore, prescription has political consequences; indeed, it can be—and has been—used consciously as

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804-412: A full bibliography at the end. Two types of citation styles are provided. In both cases, two parts are needed: first, notation in the text, which indicates that the information immediately preceding was from another source; and second, the full citation, which is placed at another location. Using author-date style, the sourced text is indicated parenthetically with the last name(s) of the author(s) and

871-429: A full citation either at the bottom of the page (as a footnote) or at the end of a main body of text (as an endnote). In both instances, the citation is also placed in a bibliography entry at the end of the material, listed in alphabetical order of the author's last name. The two formats differ: notes use commas where bibliography entries use periods. The following is an example of a journal article citation provided as

938-415: A hardcover book, and by subscription as a searchable website as The Chicago Manual of Style Online. The online version provides some free resources, primarily aimed at teachers, students, and libraries. The Chicago Manual of Style is published in hardcover and online. The online edition includes the searchable text of the 16th through 18th—its most recent—editions with features such as tools for editors,

1005-525: A note and its bibliography entry. In order of appearance, the elements of a bibliography entry are: What now is known as The Chicago Manual of Style was first published in 1906 under the title Manual of Style: Being a compilation of the typographical rules in force at the University of Chicago Press, to which are appended specimens of type in use . From its first 203-page edition, the CMOS evolved into

1072-414: A political tool. A second issue with prescriptivism is that it tends to explicitly devalue non-standard dialects . It has been argued that prescription, apart from formulating standard language norms, often attempts to influence speakers to apply the proposed linguistic devices invariably, without considering the existence of different varieties and registers of language. While some linguists approve

1139-529: A prestige language or dialect over a less prestigious one, even if it is their native tongue. Government bureaucracy tends toward prescriptivism as a means of enforcing functional continuity. Such prescriptivism dates from ancient Egypt , where bureaucrats preserved the spelling of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt into the Ptolemaic period through the standard usage of Egyptian hieroglyphics . From

1206-488: A prestige variety.) A classic example from 18th-century England is Robert Lowth's tentative suggestion that preposition stranding in relative clauses sounds colloquial. This blossomed into a grammatical rule that a sentence should never end with a preposition. For these reasons, some writers argue that linguistic prescription is foolish or futile. Samuel Johnson commented on the tendency of some prescription to resist language change: When we see men grow old and die at

1273-431: A standard language when a society establishes social stratification and a socio-economic hierarchy . The spoken and written language usages of the authorities (state, military, church) is preserved as the standard language. Departures from this standard language may jeopardize social success (see social class ). Sometimes, archaisms and honorific stylizations may be deliberately introduced or preserved to distinguish

1340-417: A way that is easily taught and learned. Prescription may apply to most aspects of language, including spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Prescription is useful for facilitating inter-regional communication, allowing speakers of divergent dialects to understand a standardized idiom used in broadcasting , for example, more readily than each other's dialects. While such

1407-478: Is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press . Its 18 editions (the most recent in 2024) have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publishing. The guide specifically focuses on American English and deals with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage, as well as document preparation and formatting. It is available in print as

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1474-439: Is for block quotations , where the citation is placed outside the punctuation. The full citation for the source is then included in a references section at the end of the material. As publication dates are prominent in this style, the reference entry places the publication date following the author(s) name. Using notes and bibliography style, the sourced text is indicated by a superscripted note number that corresponds to

1541-763: Is imposed by regulation in some places. The French Academy in Paris is the national body in France whose recommendations about the French language are often followed in the French-speaking world (francophonie) , though not legally enforceable. In Germany and the Netherlands , recent spelling and punctuation reforms, such as the German orthographic reform of 1996 , were devised by teams of linguists commissioned by

1608-404: Is in his power to change sublunary nature, and clear the world at once from folly, vanity, and affectation. With this hope, however, academies have been instituted, to guard the avenues of their languages, to retain fugitives, and repulse intruders; but their vigilance and activity have hitherto been vain; sounds remain too volatile and subtle for legal restraints; to enchain syllables, and to lash

1675-634: Is propagated by people with an opposing ideology. Later, during the second half of the 20th century, efforts driven by various advocacy groups had considerable influence on language use under the broad banner of " political correctness ", to promote special rules for anti-sexist , anti-racist , or generically anti- discriminatory language (e.g. " people-first language " as advocated by disability rights organizations). Prescription presupposes authorities whose judgments may come to be followed by many other speakers and writers. For English, these authorities tend to be books. H. W. Fowler 's Modern English Usage

1742-493: Is text ( corpus ) analysis and field study, both of which are descriptive activities. Description may also include researchers' observations of their own language usage. In the Eastern European linguistic tradition, the discipline dealing with standard language cultivation and prescription is known as "language culture" or "speech culture". Despite being apparent opposites, prescriptive and descriptive approaches have

1809-543: Is that prescription has a tendency to favor the language of one particular area or social class over others, and thus militates against linguistic diversity. Frequently, a standard dialect is associated with the upper class , for example the United Kingdom 's Received Pronunciation (RP). RP has now lost much of its status as the Anglophone standard, and other standards are now alternative systems for English as

1876-441: Is that prescriptive rules quickly become entrenched and it is difficult to change them when the language changes. Thus, there is a tendency for prescription to lag behind the vernacular language . In 1834, an anonymous writer advised against the split infinitive , reasoning that the construction was not a frequent feature of English as he knew it. Today the construction is in everyday use and generally considered standard usage, yet

1943-512: Is the system of Japanese honorific speech . Most, if not all, widely spoken languages demonstrate some degree of social codification in how they conform to prescriptive rules. Linguistic prestige is a central research topic within sociolinguistics . Notions of linguistic prestige apply to different dialects of the same language and also to separate, distinct languages in multilingual regions. Prestige level disparity often leads to diglossia : speakers in certain social contexts consciously choose

2010-404: Is used in comparisons. Prescription (linguistics) Linguistic prescription is the establishment of rules defining preferred usage of language , including rules of spelling , pronunciation , vocabulary , morphology , syntax , and semantics . Linguistic prescriptivism may aim to establish a standard language , teach what a particular society or sector of a society perceives as

2077-426: Is used widely by academic and some trade publishers, as well as editors and authors who are required by those publishers to follow it. Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations also reflects Chicago style. Chicago style offers writers a choice of several different formats. It allows the mixing of formats, provided that the result is clear and consistent. For instance,

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2144-952: The American Medical Association , the Modern Language Association , and the Modern Humanities Research Association ; there are many others. Scientific Style and Format , by the Council of Science Editors, seeks to normalize style in scientific journal publishing, based where possible on standards issued by bodies like the International Standards Organization . None of these works have any sort of legal or regulatory authority (though some governments produce their own house style books for internal use). They still have authority in

2211-738: The Greek and Cyrillic alphabets. Judaism used the Hebrew alphabet , and Islam the Arabic script . Hinduism used the Devanagari script . In certain traditions, strict adherence to prescribed spellings and pronunciations was and remains of great spiritual importance. Islamic naming conventions and greetings are notable examples of the linguistic prescription being a prerequisite to spiritual righteousness. Another commonly cited example of prescriptive language usage closely associated with social propriety

2278-402: The 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style permits the use of both in-text citation systems and/or footnotes or endnotes , including use of "content notes"; it gives information about in-text citation by page number (such as MLA style ) or by year of publication (like APA style ); it even provides for variations in styles of footnotes and endnotes, depending on whether the paper includes

2345-500: The ability of the language to make subtle distinctions are easier to defend. Judgments based on the subjective associations of a word are more problematic. Finally, there is the problem of inappropriate dogmatism. Although competent authorities tend to make careful statements, popular pronouncements on language are apt to condemn. Thus, wise prescriptive advice identifying a form as colloquial or non-standard and suggesting that it be used with caution in some contexts may – when taken up in

2412-523: The belief that non-codified forms of language are innately inferior, creating social stigma and discrimination toward their speakers. In contrast, modern linguists would generally hold that all forms of language, including both vernacular dialects and different realizations of a standardized variety, are scientifically equal as instruments of communication, even if deemed socially inappropriate for certain situational contexts. Resulting in standard language ideology , normative practices might also give rise to

2479-402: The classroom – become converted into a ruling that the dispreferred form is automatically unacceptable in all circumstances, a view academic linguists reject. (Linguists may accept that a construction is ungrammatical or incorrect in relation to a certain lect if it does not conform to its inherent rules, but they would not consider it absolutely wrong simply because it diverges from the norms of

2546-484: The concept where a certain language variety is promoted as linguistically superior to others, thus recognizing the standard language ideology as a constitutive element of prescriptivism or even identifying prescriptivism with this system of views. Others, however, use this term in relation to any attempts to recommend or mandate a particular way of language usage (in a specific context or register ), without, however, implying that these practices must involve propagating

2613-484: The consistent transcription of culturally important transactions (laws, scriptures, contracts, poetry, etc.) allow a large number of discussants to understand written conversations easily, and across multiple generations. Early historical trends in literacy and alphabetization were closely tied to the influence of various religious institutions. Western Christianity propagated the Latin alphabet . Eastern Orthodoxy spread

2680-487: The conviction that explicit formal instruction is an essential prerequisite for acquiring proper command of one's native language, thus creating a massive feeling of linguistic insecurity . Propagating such language attitudes is characteristic of the prescriptivists in Eastern Europe , where normativist ideas of correctness can be found even among professional linguists. Another serious issue with prescription

2747-419: The earliest attempts at prescription in classical times grammarians have based their norms on observed prestige use of language. Modern prescriptivist textbooks draw heavily on descriptive linguistic analysis. The prescription may privilege some existing forms over others for the sake of maximizing clarity and precision in language use. Others are subjective judgments of what constitutes good taste. Some reflect

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2814-491: The facet of language, or very compact works insistent upon only a few matters of particular importance to the publisher. Some aim to be comprehensive only for a specific field, deferring to more general-audience guides on matters that are not particular to the discipline in question. There are different types of style guides, by purpose and audience. Because the genres of writing and the audiences of each manual are different, style manuals often conflict with each other, even within

2881-405: The latest publishing practices and electronic workflows and self-publishing. Citation recommendations, the glossary of problematic words and phrases, and the bibliography have all been updated and expanded. In the 17th edition, email lost its hyphen, internet became lowercase, the singular "they" and "their" are now acceptable in certain circumstances, a major new section on syntax has been added, and

2948-412: The long-standing recommendation to use "ibid" has changed due to electronic publishing. The 18th edition was the first to recommend omitting publication locations from citations. It added citation styles for A.I. generated text and images, increased the scope of usage of singular and non-binary "they," and abandoned its efforts (since 1969) of writing "Roman" in "Roman numerals" in lowercase. It removed

3015-481: The lower-class can easily be portrayed to be incoherent and improper if they do not speak the standard language. This also corresponds to the use of prescription for racism , as dialects spoken by what is seen as the superior race are usually standardized in countries with prominent racism. A good example of this is the demeaning of AAVE in the United States , as the idea that the "lower race" speaks improperly

3082-486: The many questions that arise when documenting online and digital sources, from the use of DOIs to citing social networking sites . Figures and tables are updated throughout the book, including a return to manual's popular hyphenation table and new, selective listings of Unicode numbers for special characters. In 2013, an adapted Spanish version was published by the University of Deusto in Bilbao , Spain. In April 2016,

3149-459: The nominative is also possible: Likewise, Samuel Johnson wrote: In simple comparisons in contemporary English, than often takes an oblique pronoun, which lexicographers and usage commentators regard as prepositional use and as standard. The case of a pronoun following than can be determined by context. For example: In writing, than and then are often erroneously interchanged. In standard English, then refers to time, while than

3216-460: The old prohibition can still be heard. A further problem is a challenge of specifying understandable criteria. Although prescribing authorizations may have clear ideas about why they make a particular choice, and their choices are seldom entirely arbitrary, there exists no linguistically sustainable metric for ascertaining which forms of language should be considered standard or otherwise preferable. Judgments that seek to resolve ambiguity or increase

3283-456: The practical role of language standardization in modern nation states, certain models of prescriptive codification have been criticized for going far beyond mere norm-setting, i.e. by promoting the sanctioned language variety as the only legitimate means of communication and presenting it as the only valid baseline of correctness, while stigmatizing non-standard usages as " mistakes ". Such practices have been said to contribute to perpetuating

3350-455: The prescriber's aesthetics or personal preference; to impose linguistic purity on a language by removing foreign influences; or to avoid causing offense (i.e. for etiquette or political correctness ). Prescriptive approaches to language are often contrasted with the descriptive approach of academic linguistics , which observes and records how language is actually used (while avoiding passing judgment). The basis of linguistic research

3417-402: The prestige form of the language from contemporary colloquial language . Likewise, the style of language used in ritual also differs from everyday speech. Special ceremonial languages known only to a select few spiritual leaders are found throughout the world; Liturgical Latin has served a similar function for centuries. When a culture develops a writing system, orthographic rules for

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3484-437: The process of electronic workflow and offered a primer on the use of XML markup. It also includes a revised glossary, including a host of terms associated with electronic and print publishing. The Chicago system of documentation is streamlined to achieve greater consistency between the author-date and notes-bibliography systems of citation, making both systems easier to use. In addition, updated and expanded examples address

3551-401: The promotion of one class or region within a language community over another, which can become politically controversial. Prescription can also reflect ethical considerations, as in prohibiting swear words . Words referring to elements of sexuality or toilet hygiene may be regarded as obscene. Blasphemies against religion may be forbidden. In the 21st century, political correctness objects to

3618-511: The publisher released The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation , Bryan A. Garner 's expansion of his Chicago Manual of Style chapter on the topic, and coinciding with the release of the new edition of Garner's Modern American Usage . The 17th edition was published in September 2017. It offers new and expanded style guidelines in response to advancing technology and social change. It also includes new and revised content reflecting

3685-405: The quality of advice given in many usage guides, including highly regarded books like Strunk and White's The Elements of Style . In particular, linguists point out that popular books on English usage written by journalists or novelists (e.g. Simon Heffer 's Strictly English: The Correct Way to Write ... and Why It Matters ) often make basic errors in linguistic analysis. A frequent criticism

3752-467: The respective governments and then implemented by statutes, some met with widespread dissent. Examples of national prescriptive bodies and initiatives are: Other kinds of authorities exist in specific settings, most commonly in the form of style guidebooks (also called style guides, manuals of style, style books, or style sheets). Style guides vary in form, and may be alphabetical usage dictionaries, comprehensive manuals divided into numerous subsection by

3819-557: The same vernacular of English. Many publishers have established an internal house style specifying preferred spellings and grammatical forms, such as serial commas , how to write acronyms , and various awkward expressions to avoid. Most of these are internal documentation for the publisher's staff, though various newspapers, universities, and other organizations have made theirs available for public inspection, and sometimes even sell them as books, e.g. The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage and The Economist Style Guide . In

3886-432: The self-appointed, as are some modern authors of style works, like Bryan A. Garner and his Modern English Usage (formerly Modern American Usage ). Various style guides are used for academic papers and professional journals and have become de facto standards in particular fields, though the bulk of their material pertains to formatting of source citations (in mutually conflicting ways). Some examples are those issued by

3953-512: The sense that a student may be marked down for failure to follow a specified style manual; a professional publisher may enforce compliance; a publication may require its employees to use house style as a matter of on-the-job competence. A well-respected style guide, and usually one intended for a general audience, may also have the kind of authority that a dictionary does consult as a reference work to satisfy personal curiosity or settle an argument. Historically, linguistic prescriptivism originates in

4020-406: The standard language ideology. According to another understanding, the prescriptive attitude is an approach to norm-formulating and codification that involves imposing arbitrary rulings upon a speech community , as opposed to more liberal approaches that draw heavily from descriptive surveys; in a wider sense, however, the latter also constitute a form of prescriptivism. Mate Kapović makes

4087-678: The third edition Garner's Modern English Usage (2009) in English, or the Nouveau Petit Robert (1993) in French. A partially descriptive approach can be especially useful when approaching topics of ongoing conflict between authorities, or in different dialects , disciplines, styles , or registers . Other guides, such as The Chicago Manual of Style , are designed to impose a single style and thus remain primarily prescriptive (as of 2017 ). Some authors define "prescriptivism" as

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4154-462: The use of words perceived as offensive. Some elements of prescription in English are sometimes thought to have been based on the norms of Latin grammar . Robert Lowth is frequently cited as having done so, but he specifically objected to "forcing the English under the rules of a foreign Language". Prescriptivism is often subject to criticism. Many linguists, such as Geoffrey Pullum and other posters to Language Log , are highly skeptical of

4221-590: The wind, are equally the undertakings of pride, unwilling to measure its desires by its strength. The French language has visibly changed under the inspection of the academy ; the stile of Amelot 's translation of Father Paul is witnessed, by Pierre François le Courayer to be un peu passé ; and no Italian will maintain that the diction of any modern writer is not perceptibly different from that of Boccace , Machiavel , or Caro . The Chicago Manual of Style The Chicago Manual of Style (abbreviated as CMOS , TCM , or CMS , or sometimes as Chicago )

4288-787: The world adopt "Chicago" as their style. It is used in some social science publications, most North American historical journals, and remains the basis for the Style Guide of the American Anthropological Association , the Style Sheet for the Organization of American Historians , and corporate style guides, including the Apple Style Guide . The Chicago Manual of Style includes chapters relevant to publishers of books and journals. It

4355-433: The year of publication with no intervening punctuation. When page numbers are used, they are placed along with the author's last name and date of publication after an interposed comma. If the author's name is used in the text, only the date of publication need be cited parenthetically (with or without the page number). In-text citations are usually placed just inside a mark of punctuation. An exception to this rule

4422-454: Was printed. In 1982, with the publication of the 13th edition, it was officially retitled The Chicago Manual of Style , adopting the informal name already in widespread use. More recently, the publishers have released a new edition about every seven to ten years. The 15th edition (2003) was revised to reflect the emergence of computer technology and the internet in publishing, offering guidance for citing electronic works. Other changes include

4489-589: Was widely taken as an authority for British English for much of the 20th century; Strunk and White 's The Elements of Style has done similarly for American English . The Duden grammar (first edition 1880) has a similar status for German. Although lexicographers often see their work as purely descriptive, dictionaries are widely regarded as prescriptive authorities. Books such as Lynne Truss 's Eats, Shoots & Leaves (2003), which argues for stricter adherence to prescriptive punctuation rules, also seek to exert an influence. Linguistic prescription

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