Descriptive, Prescriptivism, linguistics

1. in 2 Timothy 3. I, like all other real missionaries and ministers, memorized the entire
Bible years ago (assume this to be true). I’ll go ahead and quote it for the less-commited
among us, going from verse 14 through 17:
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,
because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have
known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith
in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.”
Paul encouraged Timothy to continue in the pathway laid down by a life of learning.
Specifically, Paul red-lettered the Holy Scriptures. More than simply excellent reading
material, these selections possessed the capability to make Timothy and presumably all
who read them “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” That simple phrase
contains a wealth of theology, from the definition of wisdom to the nature of salvation
and the role of faith in the entire process.
The apostle continued to extoll the virtues of the Scriptures in possibly the most well-
known passage ever to form the foundation of an entire doctrine: “All Scripture is God-
breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Consider what existed when Paul wrote to Timothy in the mid-to-late 60′s. A good many
epistles were finding their way into circulation, but they likely had not risen to the level
of being widely accepted as Scripture to the degree that Paul could assume Timothy
grasped his reference. Therefore, what else could Paul have been envisioning as he
exhorted Timmy to continue studying?
Genesis. Exodus. Sections of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Joshua and Judges.
Both books of Samuel. The annals of the Kings, and all that stuff in Chronicles.
Esther. Ruth. Jonah.
All those great narrative sections in Ezra and Nehemiah and Daniel and…man, wears me
out just trying to think of all the Bible stories in those books.
Plus some legal stuff, wisdom literature, and prophecy.
The epistles, in all their expository-ready exegetical glory, provide great fodder for
salvation and faith; however, that was likely not what Paul was considering when he
wrote to Timothy. I think I am on fairly safe ground in my assertions, though I’ve been
wrong before. As my wife and she’ll lay it all out; alphabetically, chronologically,
ecumenically.
The worst part is that we overlook storying as a legitimate learning tool for all students of
the Bible, literate learners or not.
LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION
In the study of language, description, or descriptive linguistics, is the work of
objectively analyzing and describing how language is spoken (or how it was spoken in
the past) by a group of people in a speech community. All scholarly research in linguistics

2. is descriptive; like all other sciences, its aim is to observe the linguistic
Prescription seeks to define standard language forms and give advice on
effective language use, and can be thought of as a presentation of the fruits
of descriptive research in a learnable form, though it also draws on more
subjective aspects of language aesthetics. Prescription and description are
complementary, but have different priorities and sometimes are seen to be
in conflict. Descriptivism is the belief that description is more significant
or important to teach, study, and practice than prescription.
What is the definiton of Prescriptivism
In linguistics, prescription or prescriptivism is the practice of championing one
variety or manner of speaking of a language against another. It may imply a view
that some forms are incorrect, improper, illogical, lack communicative effect, or
are of low aesthetic value.[1] Sometimes it is informed by linguistic purism.[2]
These normative practices may address such aspects of language use as spelling,
grammar, semantics, pronunciation, and syntax. Linguistic prescriptivism
includes judgments on what usages are socially proper and politically correct.
WHAT IS ANALYTIC PHIOLOSPHY
ORALITY MEANS
Orality is thought and verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy
(especially writing and print) are unfamiliar to most of the population