Finding the fun in prescriptivism

Spelling makes the difference
Spelling makes the difference

One might think that reading too many articles on language pedantry and disputed usage items would, sooner or later, take its toll. But surprisingly, studying prescriptivism and descriptivism has so far not only caused the occasional head shaking and nodding, but also giggles and fits of laughter. To share some of my findings with you, I have put together a small collection of links which I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Finding good grammar jokes is not always easy. But here are two good ones:


That do you say when you are comforting a grammar nazi?   –    There, their, they’re.

There are plenty of funny cartoons and memes on punctuation, grammar, and usage items on the internet. My colleague Morana Lukac has created a Pintrest board with some graphical highlights such as the ones below.

Not so funnyBiceps

Similar graphics can be found on the facebook page of Grammarly, a grammar checker. Mocking signs such as the one below can be done in such a well-considered and accomplished manner.

Mocking door signs

For those of you, who are familiar with The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, the following video is a must.

If you want to find out, whether you lean towards prescriptivism or descriptivism, you can take a test. But beware: take it with a pinch of salt!

As you can see, the prescriptivism and descriptivism debate bears a huge potential to find humour and there is more to discover.