The Descriptivism–Prescriptivism War, Part 2: The Copyeditor’s Role

In language and editing, descriptivism and prescriptivism can affect how editors approach their work. But sometimes those terms can become a little muddled. 

In part 1, I shared an example of how we can misunderstand descriptivism and prescriptivism and offered more accurate definitions for each. In part 2, I’ll dive into the practical implications of these concepts, exploring how to balance these approaches in your editing practice. 

What Does This Have to Do with Copyediting? 

Critics of false de...